A busy but productive day (by sarah)

The day started with tidying and doing housework, feeding childs and the like, then Al put me on the insurance for the car as my provisional license came through last Saturday. Then he took me to an art class at Centre Arts - it was about drawing with your right hemisphere, whilst he went off to buy cuttle fish and other casting supplies and got Jean's hair cut.

We then went off in search of a crucible for silver casting - failed at that but found a really excellent art and craft supplies shop in Thrupp!

Then we went on to Tescos carpark for me to attempt driving - hmmm yes well - I can start the car and make it move but panic too much and stamp on brakes and the peddle motion ment that due to the pelvis I then had difficulty walking as it really acted things up but we are hoping seat adjustment might solve that!

Then we got some dinner - Alaric gave me a present for being brave about driving - a how to draw gothic book 🙂 (he picked it up at the art supplies place!).

Then we went on to find the new Stroud B&Q to get the fret saw and bits needed for the casting and on home.

Exhibition In Braille Sneak-Peek (by sarah)

Tomorrow Saturday 24th September 2011 sees the Exhibition in Braille a touchy feely art attraction set up by Centre Arts to raise money for the Gloucester County Association for the Blind. Tickets cost £5 and are avaliable at the doors which are open 12-7pm.

There are some really cool things there for you to touch and feel and an interactive braille table to boot!

Here are a few sneak peaks but you can not know the majesty of these pieces without actually going and feeling them!

The exhibition has been put together with the blind and visually impaired in mind and as such bright vibrant and therefore easier to see colours have been used in some of the pieces and there is also a bueatiful light sculpture.

Then we come to my piece - the giant coral I have been working on for what seems like forever!

Which I set up last night 🙂 Complete with beads for the molecular sand! There are also MP3s of some of my poems that I felt where a good counter point to the visual/textural piece there to listen too 🙂

Beaver Jeany (by sarah)

Wednesday Jean made her promise at the picnic tree in Cranham Woods and became a Beaver Scout - this is something she has been going on and on about ever since she was 3 yrs old!

She did very well and the District Commissioner already knew who she was because she had been so 'helpful' during the rest of the meet!

The DC also had Alaric's camp permit and Scouts came up with a plan of an off road mobility scooter so I can come back and be Skip :/

September Challenges/To-Do’s (by sarah)

September has snuck up on me and sees me papier mache-ing like a mad thing - my aim? To create a piece of textural science art for the visually impaired and the blind.

This piece of art work does not just involve papier mache though - it involves knitting, sewing, clay sculpting, sugru, polymer clay, wire work, metal casting, wood carving, stone carving, geology and acrylic paints not too mention lots of recycled pots and tubs and our mountain of graze boxes.

This all needs to be ready for the 24th of September for the Centre Arts Exhibition in Braille. And yes I am panicking - it is a play on the tree of life but I have gone for a more coral/byozoan feel and hope to have life in various forms sitting in the polyp tubes (what I have instead of branches). A relief of the scientific creation of life will hopefully be feelable along the base along with an audio poem/story of life.

Apart from that I am researching stuff for my Punk in Pink series and generally trying to take the musical me forward.

Milestone (by sarah)

So yesterday Alaric picked me and the girls up in his lunch break and dropped us off in Gloucester at the nearest he could to the City Museum. I had a crutch shoved in the basket and handle and limped my way painfully and slowely to the museum with Jean chatting. We went in and I was relieved to find seats liberally spread out though I really could have done with more but understand that they don't want to clutter the exhibitions.

We coloured dinosuars and Jean investigated urban night life and put a Roman helmet on and so on. We even went for a drink in the cafe before attempting the lift and going upstairs - this is where it went a bit wrong - it appears that my pushchair is too long for the wheelchair platform lift thingy (which mainly gets used for pushchairs). Part of me does wonder if they just expect parents to carry the puchchairs up the stairs because Al struggles with that one :/ Baby plus supplies plus decent pushchair/pram that doesn't tip over and that I can use as a psuedo frame is heavy!

Anyway it had only cost me £2 to get in so I wasn't too disheartened but the faffing with the lift had acted the pelvis up so we walked very slowely to Jean's choice of lunch Mac Donalds where I spent the rest of the afternoon knitting whilst Jean played with her happy meal toy and Mary mainly slept.

It is a milestone because though painful and one leg ended up just dragging and having to be then man handled into the car - I did it and know that this can now only improve.

And actually it was easier than when I was first attempting this with Jeany as I had a helpful Jeany there who was incredibly helpful.