Last year, I bought some mosaic china that I was going to do last summer - but somehow chickened out. Never had the time, or that was my excuse. Still have it in a box somewhere and I think, with Angie's help, I will do this. When I find a medium I can work with, I think nothing of it e.g. any form of writing and I love photography. It's because I know I can do it: I WANT to do different stuff, but just run scared trying new things. Somehow I will have to break myself of this. My thoughts turned to the pastels that I bought and I spoke to her about the art I did in my mid teens. It involved daffodils, so it must have been March (82/83?).

Daffodils in my kitchen
I was trying to get onto an art course rather than do Art 'O' level - I remember that much and I remember doing the daffodils and an Aladdin's lamp. Beyond that, nothing else much. Thankfully, she remembers more - I remember now that I did a pastel drawing of our jack russell dog, a spider plant, a long purple-fluted glass vase and other stuff - I must've churned out quite a bit. Alas, I didn't get my foot through the door in college, although I went on to do 'O' Level art (bored me rigid, there are only so many loo roll cartons one can draw - it was like ::: Yeah, bud - I know how to draw a cylinder, can we move on now?). I remember being in the art block and having a look at the gallery on the third floor - it was all full of photo-realistic art. I marveled and realised just WHY I didn't get in. Yet, there was and older woman that I knew, who was an accomplished artist (and exquisite sign writer) - and even SHE didn't get in. Something about not being able to 'mould' her at her age. I wonder what the criteria was at that time - be young, be able to shed your clothes and able to draw tins of tomato soup, it appears. Alas, I sucked at soup LOL :-)
My old art teacher wanted his budding artists to bud out in their own direction (he could be a bit loony anyway - he took a painting of mine and run it under a tap to see what would happen to the colours. I was stunned and more than a bit cross). Some thrived, some (like me) could have really done with some old art-school direction. Anyway, back to today - I can't do anything that will take me off of academic track for too long, so I have opted to draw something with pastels within a week. Not a massive commitment - maybe I will go retro and attempt to do the daffs in my kitchen. She may fuse glass or fire clay. I will have to do this as part of a reward in sticking with A Passage to India annotations that I will have to do.
Right now, all I want to do is trek to the beach and draw the sea - but nope, back to the grindstone. I will feel better when June 2nd comes and it is all done :-)
My old art teacher wanted his budding artists to bud out in their own direction (he could be a bit loony anyway - he took a painting of mine and run it under a tap to see what would happen to the colours. I was stunned and more than a bit cross). Some thrived, some (like me) could have really done with some old art-school direction. Anyway, back to today - I can't do anything that will take me off of academic track for too long, so I have opted to draw something with pastels within a week. Not a massive commitment - maybe I will go retro and attempt to do the daffs in my kitchen. She may fuse glass or fire clay. I will have to do this as part of a reward in sticking with A Passage to India annotations that I will have to do.
Right now, all I want to do is trek to the beach and draw the sea - but nope, back to the grindstone. I will feel better when June 2nd comes and it is all done :-)