Progress update August 2

Haram Bawbag has moved on significantly,  and I think will now be called Joy is not Haram, as I felt the message was more important than the catchy name for a variety of reasons.  It is looking good, but there is a way to go.

Two Grapes has made it past stage 1 and I am in possession of all of the required objects now, so I just have to pluck up courage to find the tiny beautiful man, who appears to be very busy with a project right now as I have not seen him for weeks. I am unusually serious about the tiny beautiful man, so I am a little edgy about this one.

A variety of entirely unfamiliar thoughts have broken through a work cycle I have had for years.  I usually make things on the basis of not getting involved with the person, for whatever reason.  Working on Two Grapes has been very different.  I am worrying about him a lot more than the piece, it is not clinical at all.

I may go into more detail about this at a later date, but it feels a bit  personal at the moment.

Little Shiva is on the home run for the central portion, which means it will be moving to the girder for hanging shortly.  Once I have the other two pieces finished, Little Shiva will be getting a variety of fairly complex additions and will take a couple more months.

Very busy with other things, and life is about to get very expensive, so will be upping the income shortly.

Ina

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Getting Serious

At some point in your life, you have to make decisions.

Decisions about your priorities, decisions about money, decisions about people.

Your judgement does improve over time, but even if you make a bad decision, it is just another fork in the road to wherever you are going.

Some people don’t seem to understand that.

When you are dealing with disordered people, often they expect you to simply forget what has happened.  This can be quite astonishing to witness.

I am very glad to have left some things behind. I won’t be going back there again.

I am very glad to be doing what I’m doing.  A young artist stopped by the car this evening, astonished by Little Shiva.

Having a bit of a fight with Two Grapes right now, but I think I will probably win.

Snowed under with work this weekend, so I will update early next week.

 

 

 

 

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August Update 2

Successful public sewing experiment in the coffee shop of my dreams, so I think the final assembly of Little Shiva may be done there, but I will give myself some extra time to get it to the point of assembly and put the backing on first I think.

Last of the stuff for Two Grapes arrived, it is going very well and looking exactly as envisaged so far.

Glass arrived for Haram Bawbag, which is going to be the first to finish I suspect.  It is a complicated bit of kit and involves a lot of curing time, so working hard on that just now.

Twisty asked to go to the aforementioned coffee shop this morning and I said no on the grounds that I am quite sure they will be sick of the sight of me over the weekend.

Working slightly too hard at the moment, but seem to be sleeping a lot in the moments between tasks.

I hope this update will be worthwhile in terms of both confidence and attention, but I am a lot happier than I was with my first resin experiments.  Basically by the time you are happy with resin, you are allergic to it, which is a rather annoying paradox.

Will be dropping Two Grapes off in Bearsden for His Glorious Tininess I suspect, as there is more room for storage there in case he hates it. There is a long way to go on it but I think it might be my best piece so far if it pans out.

Ina

 

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August Update 1 Little Shiva and Two Grapes

I haven’t updated for a week or so, and I see Little Shiva is needing an update, so here it is.

I have got Little Shiva to Layer four quite early, and it is now becoming very exhausting to work, as it is a bit bigger than a person, and it is now getting to the stiff stage.  I may need to add some more bells and whistles, but the Sanskrit lower layer is in place and I am increasing the tension on the structure.  I should be ready to add the carpet layer next week or so, which is quite exciting.

The audience seems to be sufficiently entranced to be circulating videos of me working on it in the car, and several people have been delighted as I have added signs to the car so that they can look up what I am doing if they want to.  I will probably do some of the finishing work on the shell in public, possibly in my favourite coffee shop during the week if things are looking good enough.

Two Grapes is going better than expected so far.

I put in quite a number of failsafes as I was not sure if I was quite competent enough to do what I wanted to do with it, as a result it is going too well for some of the effects I wanted to add.  This is a good thing, however, and I have also managed to procure several more items than expected to add to it.  It is intended as children’s art as I have noticed that smaller children get quite bored watching the adults drinking coffee.  It is reasonably classy however, so we will see if I can keep up this level of focus throughout.

Haram Bawbag‘s glass is coming early next week, which means another lot of work.  I have started the resin process on the external structure now but this will take at least a week as I am textile sculpting a helter skelter and a carousel.  I am also considering what to call it, as I think Haram Bawbag doesn’t cover the message entirely.

Pretty happy with things at the moment.  I will be searching out the webbing for the backing on Little Shiva, after this I will be constructing windows, waterproofing the work I have done, adapting the lengha and figuring out what beadwork I then need to do to make it flow correctly.  I also need to make a final decision on the trishul.

Iain Duncan Smith has fallen by the wayside until I free up some space and time to work.  I am working on a psycholinguistics project at the moment, so things are pretty busy.

I hope everyone is OK and reasonably happy, and I will update once I have a spare minute to think. Wolfe is invading my head a bit at the moment, so I think it is time to up the game a bit other than the art.

Lots of affection,

Ina

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Congrats

I am extremely touched that you dropped by, however I could do with an email instructing me on how to send you the item. It is also rather indiscreet to communicate via the blog, and I am not a natural name dropper, poppet.

I promise I will keep up marginally better. I have been assiduously avoiding reality for some months.

Keep up the standards, and good luck. I should be back to writing after I get these four pieces out.

Much affection,

Ina

 

 

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Inspiration

I am pondering a change in inspiration of late.  Things started to change with Little Shiva, I think.  I was very aware of favouring the object over any potential romantic activity, for his sake as much, if not more than mine.  In any case, I think the form it is taking indicates that Little Shiva is a representation of helpless chemistry.  It is a particularly raunchy piece I suspect, but it is also devotional.  I liked him a lot.

Haram Bawbag sort of started by accident, as Bawbag needed to move on from his ex, and I thought I was providing a means by which he could shift a little from a very self destructive course of action.  I shouldn’t have bothered.  It wasn’t my responsibility and he didn’t really understand friendship anyway, but it has raised a lot of interesting issues in terms of a thought process.  It is going to be a nice representation of his state of mind anyway, and the work done so far was storytelling in nature, which is a new development.

Both of these pieces are a bit more advanced in terms of the complexity of thought than previously. It used to be that I would wait until no relationship was possible, and then turn lemons into lemonade by creating something without thinking about it at all.  Twisty would tell you that he has witnessed me working until my hands bleed, such is the motivational angst behind it.

I did not get very far with the Boris collection, mainly due to money, but also because the work queue was interrupted by Twisty’s fear of the project and illness.  I have a few pieces to finish when the urge strikes, but I really need to write up a few things before I make them. I would also like to gift him one of the items, but I don’t think it can be arranged at the moment and after he gets PM it will be too late.

The new piece, Two Grapes is a complete departure from the norm, as it is a riposte and given half a chance, it is likely to be a beginning rather than an end.  I am very uptight about it so far, although gathering the materials has been fun.  I am looking forward to seeing how it works as a commercial image. As the interiors of coffee dude’s places are fabulous, I am shooting for outdoors, so I have selected a resin which will, like a photograph, become sepia with time, which I am hoping he will like.  It is very slow due to work issues and my hyper -carefulness.

When I am at work, I work on Little Shiva in the car, which has attracted a lot of attention as it is a pretty flash piece of embroidery sculpture so far.  The wild abandon with which I work on it is remarkable in comparison with the oodles of thought going into Two Grapes.  I wonder what this indicates?  Is it a respect issue perhaps? I will figure it out.

Anyway that is my pondering for the night as I am very tired and have another very long day tomorrow.

Toodle pip

 

Ina

Oh and for the person looking up politics, no I am not a Tory LOL

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July Progress 3 halfway

Almost at the halfway point for veneering the new piece, which I have provisionally entitled “Two Grapes.” It is morphing a little, but not too much and is a nice mash up.

Halfway down layer 3 of Little Shiva.  A fairly well known art dude stopped by and invited me out for coffee, which is very exciting.

Haram Bawbag is awaiting the glass, and I will update later in the week as to whether it is yet possible to get on and finish it.

Reopening an online store which I allowed to lapse.  Another store which I had not checked for a while had an invitation to participate in 100% Design in London in September, which I am still considering as it is expensive.

Apart from that, exploring some work opportunities whilst trying to get the labels done for Supermix.

Feeling very happy and certainly looking a lot better, but something is being fixed so no huge changes yet apart from my face. Updating the wardrobe and jettisoning some stuff shortly.

Should Bawbag stop by, your ex is at it again. Behave.

Trying to make sure that I sleep now and again.

 

Ina

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July Progress Report 2

Well, I am feeling much better, but am still looking a little flushed, almost like a permanent blush, so I am now investing in super strength sun block.  (I do not think I have ever spent as much time outdoors as I do now)

Still hammering down the nutrition, working ridiculous hours on these artworks and have made many a strange purchase for the coffee shop pieces.  I am nothing if not thorough. If that fabulous chap doesn’t cry there is no justice.

The first veneer portions went on last night, I think the first piece will take around a week to get beyond this stage, then there is a second piece to do which will take about the same time.  This may seem like a long winded process, but mixed media is a task of knowing what to prioritise and how to go about achieving the results you want.  Because I have combined veneer, paper, fabric, resin, embossing and found objects, the order of business is pretty strict to get it right.

Haram Bawbag is also mixed media, so it has similar issues.  I still haven’t ordered the organza for the slide for the supernatural feel I want to give it eventually, so it has rather a long way to go.  The base is moving on nicely though so I guess I should get on with that.

Little Shiva is becoming too big to manage in the car but is also looking rather fabulous.  I may do a public assembly if I think it will be relatively time friendly to do.

Apart from that, trying very hard to relax whilst achieving unreasonable amounts per day and doing a bit of a clear out.  Toying with the idea of replacing a couple of items.

Little Shiva, please stop worrying, you have potential if you stop fretting so much, poppet. I recommend you invest a little time working with the public.

See you soon,

 

Ina

 

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Subtleties of creating impact

Very tired today.  Had an unexpected shift last night, and although I am feeling a lot better I am very tired due to the nature of expelling every toxin extremely fast.  I am looking a bit rough today, but generally dewier so things are going reasonably well.

I am taking about 28,000 percent of the RDA for vitamin C, (I kid you not) and am still not seeing any evidence of overdose. (the only thing that happens with an OD of vit C is the runs, so it is pretty benign)

Doing some property photography this morning and I am now very tired, although the next task is clearing the dining room so that I can work on the very lovely and potentially most serious coffee dude. He will be residing in the dining room for the next month or so.

I am expecting some microscopic ceramic tiles today for this piece.  I am concerned about perspective, but I think alongside the rest of the image I probably shouldn’t worry too much.  It is quite a task, but I think it will be well worthwhile.

Asked myself a lot of questions about why I feel I have to do this?  Am I scared of reality?

I think if I am, it is probably justified, given the amount of scrapes I seem to get myself into, but in this particular case I feel I ought to update myself a bit.  I have gone from being uber respectable banking chick to scruffy artist very easily in the course of the last year, and the two opportunities in the pipeline will mean I will be one or the other for some time to come.  I am upgrading my period banking outfits as I upgrade my level of general self maintenance whilst I work on these pieces.

Finding Haram Bawbag quite exhausting at the moment, but this is in keeping with the person so I am hanging in there. I think the finished piece will be rather spectacular, unlike the person.  There is less of a time limit on this one than the coffee shop items, as I have convinced myself that gorgeous and somewhat swoonworthy coffee dude knows perfectly well what I am up to and I do not want to waste any time getting these done just in case.

Little Shiva is now at the stage where I am adding the more subtle elements, which can be quite confusing.  My instincts are usually right, however, so I tend to roll with whatever pops into my head rather than question it.  Still awaiting about four more different gold types and seeking more but the Italian yarn has been so stunning that a man came up to the car last night and informed me that he loved my sewing and loved me, which made me laugh a lot.

Exhausted after the morning photography so I am going to sleep now.

Kisses,

very tired  but reborn Ina

 

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July Progress Report 1

I haven’t posted for a few days, had a bit of a health emergency so I was dealing with that.

For the uninitiated a health emergency for a raw foodie is very different from a health emergency for a fan of pharmaceuticals.

I was showing some very similar symptoms to my friend, who used to work for the NHS and despite seeing me bring my mother back from the dead, still insists on seeing the doctor instead of eating properly.

I do not have this option, since the doctor’s first response is always to find a reason to not listen to anything I say, and as I have no time for repeated trips to be ‘monitored’ I like to find other ways of dealing with things.  Time will tell if this is a good option or not, but so far so good.  Despite being a little fat lady, I have none of the health problems my siblings and parents had had by my age and am markedly more cheerful, which to me is the most important thing.

Anyway, from time to time I am less assiduous about my diet, and had been low carbing and drinking coffee due to lack of time and the inconvenience of 20 plus toilet visits per day whilst working from my car. This turned out to be a bit of an acidic mistake.

Last week I was looking my age, starting to experience the lurking arthritis in my left hand, having chest issues and walking very slowly.  I also had marked inflammation in my face, which could indicate a variety of things, but I decided it was likely to be a complaint from my liver regarding the highly acidic diet I had fallen back into.  When I am busy, a little sad, or just lazy, I fall back into low carbing just because it is faster and more suitable during the winter months, and as this diet is extremely acid promoting, it is inevitable that I will hit tilt at some point and have to switch back.

I am happy to say my glow is restored somewhat after a few days of avoiding any stimulants and after only 48 hours of returning to ten vegetables per day.  When the chest issues, in particular flare up, I eat yet more vegetables.  It helps instantly. My digestive system gets busy using up any acid on dealing with the vegetables and my cells benefit from increased nutrition and water, and decreased salt.

So far a little patch of psoriasis has cleared up, my skin is recovering it’s usual freshness and I am less grumpy.  The pain in my hand has gone, despite spending 14 hours sewing yesterday and the stiffness in my legs has improved.  That is in a week of avoiding stimulants and gradually increasing the vegetables, and in only 48 hours of returning to 10 a day.

Generally speaking, you can see the difference in your health in about four days.  You then step up further in two weeks, and in six months you are likely to look like a completely different person.

I usually go through the ten a day until my gut bacteria has achieved sufficient balance for me to go back on supermix, once back on that I only really need to eat once a day, and usually that will be seaweed, avocado or sundried tomatoes, for some reason.

As far as the work is concerned, the new piece for the coffee shop has taken quite a bit of time and money just to get to a starting point.  I have defined the image, which appears to be sufficiently romantic to have entranced the lady making the enlargement for me to get the pieces precise enough to start work.  I have gathered some free materials, and I have a lot in my studio waiting to be used.  I have prepped the boards and tonight is likely to be spent tracing and cutting so that I can start the veneer portions.

I do not want to input any further information at this point, I am awaiting a few elements in the post but we have a seriously glamorous pre-plan and I am happy so far.

Haram Bawbag is going well and I am likely to do more work on this and get it ready for the return of the tabletop next week or so.  Thereafter there is probably another week or two’s work to do on it.

Little Shiva is starting to stand up by itself now, it is not quite alive yet, but it is getting quite exciting.  I am happy with results so far.

Gagging for some delicious coffee, but I am also quite keen to restore my immune system, so coffee will have to wait.

Toodle pip,

Ina

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