Finished Sharp Objects today. It made me think of cutting and cutters. I was never one and, until quite recently, never personally knew any. The closest I got was that period in '08 when I got a body part pierced every three months or so as a way to deal with everything I was feeling. The piercings are all gone (all rejected by my body) but the keloids never will.
Today, full day at work. FUUUUUCK. So I did a few mini cuttings. I rather like the one on the right which is actually just four four-sided shapes. Not exactly a mirror, but still somewhat symmetrical which looks pretty damn awesome! Gonna have to do another similar one! The other two are triangles. I'm thinking of layering with different colors ... might be a nice dizzying effect?
Giving Sharp Objects a second go after finishing Daytripper — which was great but won't count towards that read of the month for May.
Then I gotta figure out how to present it cuz there's no way I'm going to do one of those temporary frames with the patterned tape.
I'm kinda proud of this cutting, really (despite the shitty-looking handwriting)! I think it turned out pretty decent.
Got an idea for a cutting for Hazel's nuptials in June: silhouette of a kissing couple (preferably dancers with beautiful lines) on a calligram of a three-tiered cake, under a canopy of stringed beads or stars. Quote-wise (for the calligram), I'm leaning towards something from Night Circus (again) or maybe Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 (yeah, I know, boooooring). Unfortunately, dreaming up the idea is one thing; execution is whole 'nother ballgame ...
I remember when I was last in a relationship I noticed I hardly dreamed in the night. The scribbles dried up, my precision blade rusted away — I didn't even bring it with me. Yet, I didn't seem to mind that I was barren and didn't create.
Now that I'm alone again — my natural state I'd think — and working with my hands again (albeit less frequently than I'd like) and reading for pleasure more, the sehnsucht is greater than ever.
I wish it were possible to have the best of both situations — perhaps to be constantly inspired by someone I love, but, for now, I'd settle for being more disciplined and devoted to making time for all the things that make me feel fulfilled.
Oh ... forgot about this again last night although I wrote another blog post in the private blog.
I think Emily's cutting is coming along okay, but since I stuck at handwriting, the quote I selected ("your reality is just different from mine" from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) and wrote looks barely legible and quite horrid. Ah well ... hopefully it's the thought that counts.
Man, can't wait for the Thursday public holiday. So. Tired.
Brought 20 Ways to Draw a Tree and 44 Other Nifty Things from Nature, 20 Ways to Draw a Cat and 44 Other Awesome Animals, and Typography Sketchbooks home this weekend. Hopefully, I'd be able to doodle more this weekend. Managed a few bird shapes this morning before having to do other stuff (setting up an investment, lunch, Yin yoga, and shopping for workout clothes and groceries — in that order), and a bit of cutting on the piece for Emily after coming home.
Looking forward to another long weekend ... Please let it come soon.
Tgif, indeed.
I was so crossed today because Spotify told me it was unable to steam tracks due to my network. Fuck the school's network, and fuck CIS and ISS. I'm sure those two departments have their hands in this. The stupid institution wants me to be less productive? They got it.
On a more positive side, I got to know Gemma Correll's works (It's A Punderful Life was one of my selected new arrivals) and fun with her Monday Punday.
Oh weekend! Oh sleep!
Crazy ass day with teaching a two-hour workshop (quite enjoyed that one actually — the kids were lively enough without being obnoxiously rowdy), going through a fire drill (student: "Saving my work is more important than saving my life."), then giving a library tour to new (non-library) staff — back to back, in the span of four hours.
Having a hard time deciding the next book to read. I brought Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects home with me and so far have only read the first couple of pages ... which failed to get my attention. Didn't want to start on Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman because I don't want to get into a certain mood that Murakami's tales always bring — not that it's unpleasant (I like it actually, but only when I'm in the mood for it), I just don't want to feel that way for now.
So. Sleepy. -_-zzz
Book read for the month of April: The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.
So far so good when it comes to my resolution of trying to read at least a (new) book a month — although I did binge on the Thursday Next series earlier in the year. Can't wait to read The Woman Who Died A Lot and can't wait for the next book in the Shades of Gray series to come out!
Note to self: First day of school is a FUCKING MADHOUSE. Tertiary students move so sluggishly and are always fucking distracted, either by their friends, their crushes, their phones, or something — anything.
Finally made it to Yin last night cuz I figured I needed to unwind after a crazy day at work: best choice I made all day ...
Ah ha! Didn't forget the entry before bed tonight!
So, I've been thinking of the new cutting for Emily (I already have one idea; this is an alternative): I'm thinking of doing a cutting of a geometric pattern like one of those I did yesterday (and today too, for that matter; pics to be posted tomorrow) with words. I'll draw directly on an A3 paper tomorrow to see whether it'll be cut-able for me or not ... if I've the time after cooking my week's lunches.
In other news, I've an embarrassing crush on Sue Perkins (embarrassing only because of my low self-esteem). Oh my, she's utterly scrumptious ...
Anyway — doodling. I practised on bird shapes from Naive and a lovely geometric pattern I saw on YouTube. Totally love how easy the geometric shapes ones are (I tried triangles, quadrilaterals, and five-/six-/eight-sided shapes) and how great they look! I'm redoing Emily's papercutting so I might just try a cutting of that pattern.
Yeah, my birds suck. Gonna practise more, try harder.
Boy, I hope I can sleep the hell out of this long weekend ...
