Not Enough Hands

Well as many of you know, I rent a little studio, and at this time of year it becomes encased in ice, and I have to chip my way in, and then a friend or family member has to chip me and the dog out again at the end of the day. The sub zero temperature has not helped my injured fingers (my fingers aren't great at the best of times) and it took me all day (and more than a little pain) yesterday to engrave this image, for the first page of my book:-

When I was printing it, I realised I had completely missed out Bea's other hand. A Freudian slip, perhaps. So all in all, a failed day, hand-wise.

I can't decide whether or not to brave the journey to uni today. Maybe I will chip my way into my studio and see which body parts I can leave off my characters this time.

Struggling

Sorry once again for my absence...I have just got a new job with more hours so have even less precious time for my coursework. So you can imagine how I chortled when I stumbled down my steps last night while putting the rubbish out and hurt my RIGHT hand while trying to save myself! Oh, I roared with laughter, I can tell you. I was in denial at first, and went to work today as usual - but the fingers swelled and were stiff and painful. So I ended up having to go to hospital. Luckily it's not broken, just bruised and inflamed. But the doctor told me it could be like this for TWO WEEKS!! Two weeks!! Well, I won't allow it. I can hold a pencil and draw a little (albeit wobbly) but I can't curl my hand round an engraving tool at all at the moment. Hand in date is 5th January. What a hoot!


Here's a rough I did just before IT happened.

Not really catching up.

No uni this week - I've been feeling a bit under the weather - plus it's half term, so I thought instead of abandoning my child I would try and catch up a bit at home/in the studio. That was the theory but, of course, millions of obstacles were put in my path. You know when you have one of those bad dreams when you're trying to get somewhere or do something and you can't move properly or you realise hours have gone by and you've missed something really important? Well that's real life for me buddy! Anyway I did get to try a bit more engraving.

Bea and her (newly acquired in the re-write) cat:-

And a mouse I did for my New Address card:-
Thank you and good - Nytol enhanced - night.

Trying Out Tools!

Well I didn't let the lack of a press or any proper paper thwart my efforts at trying out the engraving tools! Printed on brown paper with a spoon (which really does hurt my hands!) .

May not be much to show for a few hours' work but I enjoyed doing it and learnt a bit too! (Like why John Lawrence suggested darkening the surface with ink - it would have been much easier to see where I had scraped away!)

In other news, we have fleas. Fleas which I must get rid of before moving. It's all glamour, glamour glamour in my life, I tell you.

It's a Start! Jeez!

Well I had a good time at my studio - mainly cleaning the thick layer of dust that had accumulated since my last visit, and mourning my mangle press which someone has recently rendered unusable. (Grr!)

But I did settle on a story for my next project - it's an idea I first thought of years ago but never developed. It's for a picture book. So I will be writing a draft of the text in the next couple of days and meanwhile starting to develop the character, Bea. She's going to be about 2/3 and a bit feisty. Just started doodling an idea of what she might look like.

As I like to work on two things at once (so I can send one to Coventry when it misbehaves) I shall also be doing an animation with this character I think.

I really want to do some more printmaking before I go back, too. The engraving tools I was kindly loaned over the summer keep glaring accusingly at me. So tonight I shall remind myself how to prepare an engraving block and draw out a little design.

Also I have been thinking about opening an Etsy shop, so have also been thinking about things I could make - as well as things for my new beautiful and trendy home (which I will have one day).

So although it may appear that not much is occurring, in my tired desperate mind, it is! (It's competing with day job hunting and moving, but it's there and I am trying to keep it going!)