Another weekend without makeup

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 14:49:54 GMT

I thought it was about time I showed you one of my sculptures' since the course is such a big part of my life. And what better sculpture to show you then one inspired by Ze Franz. Warning- bigish picture under cut.

I made this at the beginning of the year for the Mercury Art Prize. First prize is that your entry goes on the cover of the Mercury Prize CD... you know, the one Franz won a few years ago...

Sorry, any excuse to post a picture from that event. Eyeliner/tight shirts/trousers/general eyeraping- rawr! ; D

Moving on, you can also win tickets to the awards themselves and £5000! Sounds great eh.

The brief for the competition was to enter a piece of art inspired by music. At that time, I had recently seen Franz (OMG that was almost a year ago now!) and- with Nick's dancing still vivid in my mind- I made the sculpture above inspired by the way he moves when playing the guitar. And no, it does not have a big butt! I made this before I was enlightened by Nick's arse! ; D

Unfortunately I didn't even get shortlisted but I wasn't too surprised about that. But it was fun to make anyway and gave me a great excuse to watch the Brixton gig over and over again!

My art department has just gotten details through about this year's Mercury Art competition so I'm going to try entering a different piece and see if I do any better.

I really should get back to art now.

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 14:19:51 GMT

I've had a busy few days.

Monday- I FINALLY handed in my art dissertation- 4,300 words of pure brilliance... or at least I hope it is. Its the most words I have ever written in one essay. Its like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders now it is in. Shame none of us will actually get our marks back until the end of the year.

Tuesday- It was presentation time again- take two. The last one went soooo badly that my tutor allowed us 3rd years to do it again. This one went much smoother. It seems everyone likes my work (which is always a confidence builder) plus, I managed to get 2:1 which isn't too scabby at all! : D

Wednesday- I had my ultrasound and biopsy on my lump. Surprisingly, it wasn't as embarrassing as I thought it would be- I was just chatting away with the nurse about my art work when they were doing it all! There were no cute doctors this time but you can't have it all!

And finally, Thursday- I am not in a productive mood today, hence the fact I am sitting at the computer rather than doing any work. Its so bloody cold in here as well. I swear its warmer outside then it is in here.

Nick's face in my icon/mood theme pretty much sums up how I'm feeling right now. I feel extremely unsocialable at the moment- ideally I would spend the day in my bedroom, blasting out some music and eating lots of chocolate spread on toast. Mmmm. But alas I have work to do. : /

YES!

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:37:02 GMT

After what seems like years, I have finally copied and pasted all the URL codes for my new super duper Nick mood theme made by the superfantastic la_la_laurabee. Yayz! Thanks again Laura! : D

Will update properly tomorrow. Must get to bed so I can get up early to finish the dreaded dissertation. Almost finished it thank Bob.

Alexander the Great

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 01:08:24 GMT

My day started off badly. My presentation was like a car crash but with alot less blood! I almost broke down at the beginning and had to get the next person to do their presentation so I could compose myself. I don't want to go into details but I've learnt my lesson- its true when they say the truth hurts!

Thank goodness for Alex, who was a ray of sunshine in my otherwise awful day. I manage to speak to him briefly this time and got a laugh out of him and Andy when I walked off without my book after having my photo taken. I am glad my forgetfulness is amusing to someone!

I will write up more tomorrow. Heres a few points I can remember from the Q&A:

1. Alex and Bob have been going to lots of gigs in the last few weeks up in Glasgow.
2. Nick cooking speciality is turnips and carrots- I can't remember if they were mashed or roasted but it made me laugh. : D
3. Erm... my mind is blank now!

I had such a good time, not only because of Alex, but also because I got to see lots of my Franzy friends. I can't wait until we can all meet up again. : )

Everything works out in the end...

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 00:16:01 GMT

I had a stroke of luck after joining the queue for the gig. There was a group of young girls in front of us who were talking rather loudly about needing to sell an extra ticket. I asked them about it and they offered it to me for £10 (which is what I paid for it in the first place). So everything worked itself out in the end!

OK, so I ended up buying two tickets, but I had a great time at the gig which more then made up for it. I haven't sweated so much in my life!

I need a pissed off icon...

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 15:57:43 GMT

I went up to London to see the Rodin exhibition at The Royal Academy today (which was really good but thats not the point of this post). As I had a gig to go to this evening down in Brighton I decided to go straight from London back home to save journey time. So I met my mum in my home town, was just about to get in the car to drive home when I suddenly realised....

I had left my ticket at my uni house.

I am majorly pissed. Its too far to travel back to Canterbury to get the ticket. Plus it wouldn't be worth it. I would miss most of the gig and the ticket itself was only £10. I'm usually so careful about making sure I pack my tickets, just not this time.

At least it wasn't a Franz gig I forgot the ticket to! Still, I do really like The Automatic (who I was supposed to be seeing) and I've heard their really good live.

My parents seem to think that I might be able to get into the gig with just my ticket confirmation print out but I'm doubtful. If that doesn't work, I will be spending the evening with my parents while my brother and his girlfriend go to the gig. Oh joy! Don't get me wrong, I get on really well with my parents. Its just I'm in no mood to be around them when I'm this pissed off!

"She studied sculpture at Christ Church's College..."

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 12:24:38 GMT

I love my art class.

This morning my tutor got our life model to dance around to Talking Heads while we quickly drew her.

It was so funny.

I also found out today that my dissertation is 4000-5000 words instead of the 8000 words I had been told.

Thank Bob for that!

I feel bursting with ideas at the moment. I can't wait to start making my final sculptures. : )

One in a million, two is a crowd, three is company, fours allowed.

Sun, 08 Oct 2006 19:54:10 GMT

I saw Maximo Park on Friday. I feel sore all over from being crushed but I had such a good time regardless. The only downside was that I had to go on my own but I wasn't going to miss out on seeing them just because I had no one to go with!

The gig was held at Brixton Academy (which for me will always be the home of slashy Franz goodness). I decided to get there at 6 (the doors opened at 7) so I could start queueing for a good spot at the front. Well, that was the plan. Firstly, I missed the train from Canterbury to London. Then when I got into London, I found out that all direct trains to Brixton had been cancelled that day.

By the time I got to Brixton it was just before 7. I joined the long queue and before long I was inside the venue. I thought I had no chance of getting to the front now, so I had a look at the merchandise before putting my bag in the cloak room and then going to loo. Eventually I went in the main hall. I automatically went to the left hand side of the stage (its a habit of mine ever since I started standing on the left hand side at Franz gigs!) where I managed to get one person from the front. Before long, I managed to squeeze into the front row. So I didn't need to worry about getting there so early!

The first support band was Hot Club de Paris. Great name, OK songs but I didn't like their attitude on stage. It seemed like they couldn't really be bothered with it all. The next support band was Love Is All. I really liked them- they had so much energy, some good tunes, plus the guitarist had a really nice bum/thighs (I have a thing about men's thighs for some reason!).

But however great the support bands are, you always want them to hurry up and finish so you can see the band you actually brought the ticket for.

The lights dimmed and these fluorescent tube lights that lined the back of the stage started flashing in different colours. One by one the band came on, the last of which was Paul (the lead singer for those of you not in the know!) who was dressed completely in white....

The image of Paul in tight, white trousers will stay with me for a very long time. : D

I have never seen anyone jump around and put so much energy into their singing as he does. In between each of the songs he would say thank you and then introduce the next song and you could really hear how out of breath he was! He also had to change his shirt when he went off for the encore as he was just so sweaty!

They played most of my favourite tracks, plus some of their new stuff which sounds really good. Must download the live versions soon.

Anyway, thats enough chatter for now. If you've read through all this rambling, well done! I will post some of my photos later.

Ahhhhhhh! You think that hat is nice?

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 12:56:19 GMT

I'm going to see The Fratellis in a few hours, woot! If you haven't heard any of their stuff go here- http://www.myspace.com/littlebabyfratelli

My brother found out about the gig on Sunday. You had to buy the album from the Virgin Megastore in London's Oxford Street in order to get into the gig. As my brother was working on Monday and therefore couldn't make it up to London, he asked if I could go up and get it for him. He was paying for my train fare up there so I didn't see why not! Anyway, I decided to give him some company at the gig so I brought a copy of the album as well. Its actually really good. There must be something in the water up in Glasgow, all the great bands that come from there.

I was in music heaven when I was up in London. I found Box Codax's album (at last!) and I couldn't resist buying another Franz vinyl as well. I will probably buy some more CDs/vinyls up there today, especially since my nan has just paid me for the work I did round her house.

Yay for new music! : )

MS Paint masterpieces

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 18:21:25 GMT

Amanda and Kelsey, your ms paint masterpieces await you behind the LJ cut...

For Amanda's picture, I chose the interests Britain and Nick McCarthy:

Norfolk makes the perfect arse for Nick... and Wales is making him look very 'excited'... oh dear. ; )

For Kelsey's picture, I picked guinea pigs and fangirls from her interest list:

Even guinea pigs fangirl!

This meme amused me more then it should have... simple minds! ; D

Home Alone

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 19:31:34 GMT

Welcome to my Friday night people! FFG, LJ, a bag of Rolo cookies and Franz blasting from the stereo- who needs to go out with a line-up like that? ; )

My parents went away this morning for a long weekend in Wales while my brother is visiting his girlfriend down in Brighton. So here I am all on my lonesome, getting freaked out by every little noise I hear. But I won't be alone for long as my dear Nicki is coming over tomorrow for our regular franz/tasty cakes session!

LJ Comment meme

1. Comment here and I'll pick two or three of your LJ interests and draw a picture using the mighty MS Paint.

2. You have no say in what I draw for you, or in how much it will suck!

3. Put this in your journal along with the pictures people drew for you.

I'm bored and I've wanted to do this meme ever since I saw someone post their ms paint pictures on dot org. So please humour me and do it! ; D

Our hopes and expectations... Black holes and revelations

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 14:10:31 GMT

In the next month or so, I need to apply to the teacher training course for next year. Although teaching is something I would like to do, I am still in two minds wherever it is the right choice for me.

Earlier this year, I was talking to my art tutor about what I was planning to do after finishing my degree. I told him about the teaching course and how I thought I wouldn't have the confidence to make it as an artist- to be able to go out there on your own and sell your work to galleries, etc. He's reply was that there is plenty of time to teach when your older, after you have experienced being an artist. He also said that I had the talent and that it would be a waste not to put into practice what I had learnt over the last few years.

I have never seriously considered being an artist before, even though I have spent the last three years studying art at college/university. On one hand, I want to give being an artist a go as art has always been something I have been passionate about. But on the other hand, I want to work somewhere where I know where my next paycheck is coming from.

Saying all this though, I am still 99% sure that I will go for the teaching course. I can always teach part time and do art on the side and see how it goes. At least this way I will have something to fall back on if it all goes wrong!

In less life changing news, I am now going to see Muse in November. That means I would have seen my top four favourite bands play this year! : D

So much for saving money!

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 21:04:01 GMT

My Reading Festival report and some oh so craptacular photos!

I had a fantastic time at the Reading Festival. I wish I could do it all over again. I would make one slight change though. I would put on some sun cream. I got burnt to a crisp there thus ruining my 'pale and interesting' look! ; )

The first band I watched were The Long Blondes. The tent was absolutely packed for them but I managed to get about 10 people back from the front. If you ever get the chance to go see them live, do it. Great songs, great look and if that wasn't enough, the lead singer, Kate, has great taste in men (she has admitted she has a mini crush on Nick). ; D

After having something to eat, our merry group decided to go and watch Panic! At The Disco on the main stage. I thought they were very good live despite what some other people have said online. I felt a bit bad when the lead singer got pelted by a bottle, resulting in him being knocked out for a few seconds. But I was also impressed that someone could throw a bottle that far. They should be on the England cricket team!

After P!ATD had finish (and after much confusion), we managed to meet up with the lovely Helen...

From left to right- Helen, Me, Gemma and friend posing outside the glamorous ladies toilets. Cat took the picture.

We decided to stick around the main stage for the rest of the day, but as we weren't too bothered about the next few bands, we just sat to the side and enjoyed the sunshine. I'm glad we did now as Pete whathisname from Fall Out Boy decided it would be a good idea to get everyone to throw bits of rubbish at each other. Oh, just hilarious boys.

Once FOB had finished their set, we split up into two groups and joined the crowd to watch Belle & Sebastian. In one word they were fantastic. Their music made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It was also so nice not to get pushed around everywhere, just to be able to have a little dance while watching them.

Helen and I were going to stay for the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs set but the crowd went absolutely crazy when they came on we decided to get out of there fast! We ended up watching from the sidelines while I had my second burger of the day... bad me!

Once the YYYs came off, I headed off back into the crowd alone as Helen didn't fancy being crushed again. Just before the Kaisers came on stage (and right on cue) it started to rain. I didn't really care though as the Kaisers were great, real showmen. They certainly know how to get a crowd worked up! What with all the pushing and jumping around, I managed to get about 3 people back from the front, right in front of Nick. Not bad considering!

Franz were amazing as usual. It felt like I had only been watching them for 10 minutes when they started playing This Fire. I felt a bit sad afterwards, realising that it would be the last time I would see them live for a long time. But I am also pleased that they can now take some time off to relax and be inspired for the next album. : D
One slight complaint though (and not at all Franz's fault). I did feel that the crowd wasn't as into them as they should have been. But considering how great the crowd was at the Kentish Town Forum gig, they had alot to live up to. Also, someone had the cheek to slag off Nick's dancing and ask which one of them was gay! I gave them both dirty looks, hehe!

So there you have it! Roll on next year!

Hurricanes and Butterflies

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 22:39:13 GMT

I have been in such a spazzy mood today. I can't get this whole Franz documentary thing out of my head. I told my mum about it earlier and she didn't seem fazed by it at all. In fact, I think she is actually encouraging me to go for it. She was like that when I mentioned that Alex and Nick were appearing at the Edinburgh festival. She kept on saying I could get a cheap flight up there to see them. In the end I decided against going to Edinburgh as the Kentish Town Forum gig came up. I think she realizes how happy Franz make me. I don't give her enough credit, but my mum is pretty cool in that way.

So now I have the fun task of making a video to send to the production company that is making this documentary. I feel bad that I'm putting more thought into this whole thing rather then my work for uni, but I know once I return to uni I will put my art first. I'm just having a bit of fun before the workload overwhelms me!

Tomorrow evening I'm meeting up with Nicki in London to hopefully watch a free screening of Dirty Dancing. I say hopefully as its predicted to rain tomorrow so it may or may not be cancelled. Apparently there is going to be lots of free cocktails (non-alcoholic ones I was disappointed to discover!), chocolate puddings and popcorn as well. It all sounds fantastic to me, especially since both of us have hardly any money at the moment!

Oh how I burn for you...

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 19:56:30 GMT

At this exact time, a week from today, I will be standing in Kentish Town Forum waiting for Franz to come on stage. I keep on getting butterflies in my stomach whenever I think about seeing them again. Its ridiculous how happy this band makes me. The last time I saw them live I wasn't a fangirl at all so I will now have the added pleasure of staring at Nick's bum, playing spot the inhaler, being eye raped by Alex and so on.

I'm just about to apply to appear in this Franz documentary thing. I haven't mentioned it to my parents yet because:
1. I'm old enough to make my own decisions now.
2. I know what they (well, my dad at least) would say if I told them; "Why do you want to do that? Do you really want everyone seeing how crazy you are?" etc. I'll show them!

Well, that was easy. I dunno why I didn't get a LJ sooner!