Tuesday 30 July 2013

A Boat A Day no.365!!!!!

Oh yeah, that's right. I did it :)
It feels wonderful to be writing my very last Boat blog, I have enjoyed every step, but I am looking forward to exploring new avenues, (and a little time away from a daily challenge.)
For my final boat I gathered up some boys, and some junk and headed to the river. We fashioned boats from bottles and cans using elastic bands, tape and skewers. Each design was unique to it's creator, Justin went for the simple milk bottle style, cut in half length-ways and left pretty much untouched. Josh dissected two can's, initially he had the idea of using a candle to boil water and produce steam. It was a brilliant scheme, until it set fire on a trial run in the bath! Spook's approach was two bottles, one cut in half and attached to opposite sides of a bottle (giving it a bit of balance like mine.) and a plastic bag sail attached to a chopstick mast. Mine (pictured) was made from a small bottle, two clothes pegs and a skewer, oh and a toilet roll. So who won our race? You'll have to check out the video to find out! :)
Now that I've completed a year I am much more confident in my ability to complete tasks. I have watched my creative blossom and seen others around me get inspired. I have made a decision to pursue a career in teaching, to impart my skills and passion, my artwork I am keeping for myself. For a little while, I forgot how to love what I have created, the pressure of making things to sell dampened my confidence and my enjoyment. I plan on keeping my online store www.moonandmagic.weebly.com, where I will sell unique art pieces, and my facebook page Moonandmagic to share my creative endeavors with the public.

I will be back soon with another adventure, but until then pop over to OUR 365 ADVENTURE on Facebook and see what my friends are creating. :)

Monday 29 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.364)

It is my penultimate day! I can't believe it's been a year and I am now the proud creator of 364 creative boats (soon to be the full 365!) I've had a brilliant, slight spontaneous day out in the rain, hunting for boats...and doors :) A friend of mine was visiting last night, she has been a staunch supporter but has been adamant she wouldn't have time/be able to complete one herself. Well yesterday, while we were chatting she found Noah Scalin's book, flipped through the pages briefly and got sucked in. Moments later she had created Door no. 1 using the first prompt in the book. So today we went out on an adventure, her for her 2nd day and me for my 2nd to last day. It's been fantastic being involved in her first steps and I can't wait to see what she will make. In the meantime, I have created a collage of our adventure, and all the lovely boats in the harbour right now, with some close up's of the Matthew...and a couple of Gromits!

I am really looking forward to tomorrow, I still have almost no idea what I'm going to do to end my project, but I'm sure something will come to mind. I know, after having a little summer holiday, that I will be itching to do another 365. I am already playing with ideas, though I am having trouble choosing what to do. I have two ideas 1: TEA, INK & DYE or 2: HOME IS WHERE THE MESS IS MADE. I have lots of ideas for both, lots of pro's and con's but I still can't decide. I really like the idea of a medium, but will that restrict me with the big projects, and the adventures? I also really like the idea of the Home project, as there are hundreds of little things I've been putting off for years, and perhaps a 365 is just the thing to get it all done. But I don't know for sure, and I have time to decide, but perhaps you could give an opinion to help me. :)

Sunday 28 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.363)

Auralia

She was a beauty; a cool breeze filled her leather sails, pushing her through the waves. His men called her Niobe, though the name painted on her hull was Auralia. Niobe was his wife’s name, but it was the ship who commanded him, not the woman. He and Auralia had sailed together for over twenty years, through easy summers and mild swells, and some not so mild.
There was more salt than pepper in his wiry beard and not a few scars criss-crossing his weathered features. But Auralia, she was as pristine and beautiful as the day he bought her. This would be their last journey together, his legs were not as strong as they were, his stride was jilted and when the waves rocked Auralia he stumbled, where once he would have swayed with her. He could die on board his beloved, with a smile on his face, but Niobe had pleaded with him, clutching his hands with her arthritic ones. She needed him home, and so this was his final voyage.
The light was fading, and with it the calm of day, he watched as thick grey clouds gathered above them, whipping the ocean into action. Voices rose behind him, Sol, his son, loudest among them.  Tearing himself out of his reverie, he climbed onto weary feet and sniffed the air. How quick it could turn out here on the ocean. As the swells grew, he span into action, spitting orders and hauling the lines to stow the sails safely. There were men and ropes everywhere, but no panic. They’d been through hundreds of storms, and this wasn’t anything to fear. Nonetheless swift action got the sails in and the hatches down before the first raindrop hit the deck. He spared a moment’s thought for the unlucky few on watch,
“Sol,” He called, “Take the fella’s some rum, it will be cold as death out there once the sun goes.” He stayed with his men drinking and dicing, ate salt pork and biscuits with them and listened, as he always did to their banter, worries and gripes. A good Captain always breaks bread with his crew; this is how friendships are built and with friendship comes true loyalty. His father had taught him that. As night wore on the storm raged around them, lifting Auralia on tidal surges and carrying them all along. Rain pattered on his windows, lulling him to sleep. He didn’t fight it, sleep, and dreams had long abandoned him, left him staring into the dark when all but the watch and the ocean slept.

Morning light poured in through the glass panes. The sea was placid and serene, glittering azure in the dawn. Birds wheeled overhead and silver fish leapt through the waves. Gently he roused the watchmen and sent them to their bunk; he took the wheel and sent Gedric, the helmsman down for some breakfast and studied the endless blue. How far had the storm carried them? He checked his compass, an old family heirloom, the hand span flickering between South and West, but never stopping. “Damn thing.” He muttered giving it a little shake, but wherever North was it wasn't going to tell him. A shiver ran down his spine, the air smelt different and the ocean never had it seemed so blue to him.
“What bird is that?” Sol asked standing at his shoulder. Ajax looked up at a large shadow on the horizon
“An Albatross, perhaps.” He said, uncertainty welling up inside. Gedric bounced up on deck, bringing the Captain a hot brew. It seared his throat as he took a gulp, “What would you say that is Ged?” He pointed to the blot in the sky, still a long way off.
The man squinted into the distance and shrugged, “Just looks like a big bird to me, I’ll get the lad to have a look from up high.”

The lad was a scrawny girl of about 13; she scrambled up the shrouds lugging the ships brass telescope, almost as long as her. Ajax tried not to show his trepidation as he waited for her to set her sights. A hand on his arm made him jump; he looked down as Sol’s fingers dug deep.
“Captain!!”
From somewhere out to sea he heard a melody, dancing on the breeze toward him. He strained to hear, to follow the sweet cadence of voice and harp. Someone called his name, ‘Captain’ the word echoing in song, becoming part of that beautiful sound. Now he could hear individual voices, and the occasional word, they sang for him, and for Auralia, of her majesty and his mastery. Ged’s hands slid from the helm as the Captain took charge, he span it three times, pointing their bow towards the alluring music. He had to find the source; he had to hear it properly, even as he turned to face it the sound drifted, in and out of hearing. It was so faint he had to hold his breath to catch it, but it was still there. Quieter than before, but still they sang. 
“Captain!” 
His head snapped up, blinking against the light he tried to make out the crows-nest, a flash of copper-gold made his heart leap with relief. “What do you see?” He called up,
“Land ahead Captain, and…” The hull scraped on rocks hidden in the shallows, Auralia’s wooden planks screeched as the wind pushed them towards a coast reefed with shards of broken rock, wickedly sharp and littered with giant nests. There were orders he was supposed to call, movements and routines that they knew but none came to mind. His son’s hand still gripped his arm; Ged slouched, swaying back and forth with a glazed look in his eye. From above he heard a scream; it crawled under his skin and lifted the hairs on the nape of his neck. The wind swallowed it and when it returned it was changed, it was beautiful once more. He craned his neck, letting the sound wash over him, the helm jerked in his hands, he let it go, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

Listen, come as close as you dare and listen, fill your heart and soul with our song,
be content and go on your way, wise men won’t see us, never look upon or seek us.
 Death only we have to share, putrid, agonising despair, we weep and they come to die again and again. Turn your sails Captain, its time to feed, heed our warning and flee.
It meant nothing to him; words carried no meaning only the bittersweet melody, tears stung in his eyes as the voices built to a sorrowful crescendo.
‘heed our warning and flee.’ 
The ship shuddered as it collided with a jagged peak; he sprawled to the deck scraping skin from his hands and knees. The pain cleared his thoughts momentarily, sweeping away the cobwebs of enchantment. He looked around Auralia; others knelt on the floor like him, as if in supplication, Ged still swayed, enraptured and blissful. More of his crew had come up on deck; all of them stared dreamily at the shore. Eagerly awaiting a glimpse of the singers.

The girl ran between them, tugging at sleeves and hands, pushing and pulling the crew, but none responded to her. They were stupefied, even the Captain stared through her as his ship ran aground. She cried and begged, slapping her hands over her ears when the song became too much to ignore, all the while desperately trying to snatch the crew back from wherever they thought they were. She tried to spin the helm herself, to turn Aurelia back towards the open sea, but it was heavy and she was only small.
Instead she frantically hauled the sails in and dragged the leaden anchor overboard, with no wind to push and the anchor weighing her down, Aurelia floated, between two pinnacles of rock. The occasional swell threatened to dash them onto the rocks, but the gods must have been looking out for them. Finally the song seemed to vanish; the young girl took a shaky breath and tried once more to rouse her Captain. He smiled sleepily at her as he squinted up from his hands and knees, he looked peaceful and happy. A shadow fell over her, and his smile was gone, replaced with wide eyes and bone white cheeks.
She felt a strong breeze buffet her back, lifting her hair and her clothes. She dared not look, her breathe was shaky and when she inhaled she caught a stench of death. Sharp talons scraped her back, catching on her clothes and lifted her into the air; she tried to scream but no sound escaped her. She reached for her Captain, stared at him with tearful eyes, silently begging him to help her. As she was lifted higher into the sky, she saw other shapes land on the rigging, on the boons and deck of Auralia. Great birdlike creatures with the head and body of a woman, black feathers laced their back and arms, covering them in a scruffy down. Huge feathered wings sprouted from shoulder blades, black and raggedy. Spots danced in her eyelids as she watched them descend on the crew, the singing had ceased, replaced with blood-curdling screeches and cries of fear. She squirmed against her captor, thrashing wildly. Her flailing arms touched coarse feathers, she grasped a handful and pulled as her vision dipped and blurred. Screaming in defiance she grabbed another fistful of feathers and felt a huge wave of satisfaction as black feathers drifted down on the wind accompanied by her captor’s wail of agony. She grabbed again and then she was falling. Released from her prison and falling towards sea, rock and Auralia.

The Captain saw the girl fall, her copper-gold hair whirling in the breeze as she plummeted to earth. It was the shock he needed, he clapped his hands together loudly, making even himself jump with the sudden sound. In his loudest, most commanding voice he called orders.
“Company!” He roared, “Man your weapons, we are under attack!” He drew his sword and hacked at the nearest beast, feathers and globs of blood flew as he ran his blade through. He whirled and struck again, the hideous she-beast shrieked as she turned from her bloody work and lunged for him. He gave no ground, but hacked and slashed until she fell bodily to the deck. He saw Ged cradling a bloody arm, he was injured but alive. A claw grabbed the top of his hair, and blunt teeth sank into the meaty flesh of his cheek. In rage he drove his sword up, into the belly of his attacker, her blood rained down on his face, hot and putrid. Her weight dragged him down as she collapsed; he wrenched his sword free and spat. Looking around he saw only one remaining, she circled above their ship and screeched in rage and hunger, there was fear in her big black eyes, but anger too. She fixed her eyes on the Captain, flattened her wings to her body and dove at him. Bringing his sword up, he prepared himself for death,
“Gods have mercy,” He muttered as her stink engulfed him, she reached out with talons as long and sharp as any dagger, aiming for his eyes. He ducked and swung, but the expected impact never came. He heard a dull thud and through narrow eyes saw her prone body on the deck, a cross-bow bolt embedded in her neck. Blood seeped between the cracks in the planks, thick almost black and stinking. Pushing the hair from his face he scoured the deck of Auralia, ready for danger. Sol fished the young girl from the ocean, her hair was matted with blood but her skinny chest was moving faintly. With relief he sank to the deck and retched, blood dripped from the wounds on his face and slowly the pain came flooding back to him. He clutched his gut as another wave of agony bought bile to his throat.
“Father!” Sol yelled running to his side, “Ged, bring water and bandages.” He ordered, using his Captains voice, “And rum!” He called after the helmsman.
“Sol,” He clutched his son’s collar and fumbled in his pocket, withdrawing the ancient compass he put it into Sol’s hand, “get us home…” He felt pride as he heard his boy shout orders, he would make a good Captain, Auralia was already responding to his touch. He took a sip of rum, closed his eyes and fell asleep to the sound of the sails unfurling.
Of the sirens they said nothing, the crew scrubbed the deck, removing the stains and with it the stench.  Every now and then someone would whistle the Sirens Song, and chills would run the length of the ship, even Auralia seemed to shiver.



Saturday 27 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.362)

Good Afternoon, as I have only a few days left I decided to have a look through some of my old projects to see if there was anything I could retry and improve upon, what I found was my incomplete alphabet. So here is the whole thing. (today's boat's are letters N- Z)


Friday 26 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.361)

I've completed my game to a playable standard, though there are many kinks to iron out before it's fully functional. My friends had a go, (it turned out to be a fairly long go) and mostly it seemed fun, after a few rule changes. For today's boat I finally painted the wind-spinner, (an old twister spinner) which adds a pretty random, interesting element to the game. There were a few over-powered cards (and some underwhelming.) but the balance is something we could only figure out through playing.

Thursday 25 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.360)

5 days of my crazy boating project left, I'm finding it quite hard to believe that in less than a week I will no longer be thinking of Boats everyday and my daily creations can have a bit more variety. I'm so happy I chose to make a game for these last few days, it's given me some brilliant inspirations and day to day creativity, without me having to rack my brain for fresh ideas. I have one more day left before I am ready to Beta test and after today I can definitely see the end. Fingers crossed it all works.
For today I arranged the many different cards into a boat shape, I still have Booty cards and Doom cards to make up tomorrow, and to make the compass and to cover the board in plastic to protect it. Good job I don't have work tomorrow. :)

Wednesday 24 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.359)

There has been lots of progress today, despite a little setback this morning, when I got angry at the cards I had painted for my game. I had used acrylic and it had left an unpleasant tacky texture which when stacked just wanted to be close friends with the card next to it, so much it would pull the paint off. Not to mention the amount of effort to make extra cards. So instead I'm using recycled card, in various shades. To make them a little more interesting, and to underline the Boat aspect I created a lino printing block. This is now being slowly stamped onto the back of each card, I really like the slightly faded, very rustic look. It suit the piractical theme very well. With the stamp on one side and our little sketches on the other this game if finally coming to life. I have till Friday to get it into some sort of working order when my Beta team will be expecting to trial it.

Tuesday 23 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.358)

Good evening, I'm still working on my Game of Boats prototype, it's coming along very nicely and has had a number of scrutiny tests from my friends, all being gamers, logic thinkers and nit-pickers, I have found their input invaluable. Not to mention Taz who has been sketching random pirates and booty for me with gusto. I think a few more days to complete the cards and it will be ready for beta-testing. for today's boat I created 7 resin cast pieces for the players, I used a cone mould to get the shape of sails and a mast and a brightly coloured fake gem to identify each and be the shape of the deck. They have come out very nice, they are bright and shiny and look like sweeties, so I've been picking them up and playing with them constantly.

Monday 22 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.357)

Another day of game making, today it has been focused on the many sets of cards, there are five in total, Crew, Upgrades, Booty, Doom and the Captain cards. After painting a few coats (over the course of two films!) I started drawing the Captains, while Taz found some famous pirates to base the characters on and drew some of the Crew. Even Justin has had an input with some ghoulish characters and weaponry. The boat for today was spread over a few of the Upgrade cards. Tomorrow I will be trialing a few ideas for the playing pieces and painting the front sides of all the cards ready for writing and mounting the pictures on.


Sunday 21 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.356)

We used bits of paper to lay out our composition
So yesterday you got a little peek at my current project, which may take atleast a week to complete. Today I finished the game board, I have a few more things to add but this is the board in all its glory. What I haven't mentioned is the concept or any of the other elements.




This game is being designed for 6 Captain's, you each have a ship which you will need to crew and upgrade to sail into open water and locate Treasure Island. There are various points on the map where you can land and "TRADE" or "PLUNDER" for Booty, Crew or Upgrades. The base movement is 2 squares and 1 in the direction of the wind, determined by the Wind Spinner. There are way more rules, but this is the basic, the first person to navigate the map and reach Treasure Island wins. The cards you see in the background are the beginnings of the Booty and Crew cards there are some Doom cards in the making too...
This is it so far, it's been lots of fun and work doing this, I just wish I didn't have to go to work all the time and stop.

Saturday 20 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.355)

10 days left! It's pretty awesome to be this close to the end, also quite hard as I seem to be pretty busy as well. For today's boat I decided to create a board game, I had a long day of work so the idea developed over various lunch breaks and chats with my housemates. So instead of doing something simple, based on another game, I've gone for the epic side of gaming. Tonight I have a preview of the game board and the title 'Game of Boats' there are reams of notes floating around and brainstorms. Over the next few days I will develop this idea some more and hopefully have a working game to share with you and my friends.

Friday 19 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.354)

I drew this with my eyes blindfolded, it's not bad considering. 11 days left, and I'm having trouble finding time amidst work and wedding thoughts to develop and create ideas. I've enjoyed writing my little essay and I think thats the way to go for a while, to share with you some of the research I've done over the last year.

Thursday 18 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.353)

Homo erectus (our predecessors) moved out of Africa to the Indonesian archipelago, most of the way can be made by foot, crossing various islands along the way, yet they would have had to cross multiple stretches of water. It is suggested by historians and archaeologist that these early inhabitants were building bamboo rafts and crossing small seas as long as 800,000 years ago. When Homo sapiens swept across Europe they displaced Homo erectus with their ability to communicate with other humans, and therefore allowed for collaboration and the sharing of knowledge, art and culture.

The basic bamboo rafts were just the beginning; our ancestors improved on the design and came up with a few of their own. As well as the raft-like structures and hollowed out canoes, men were also making wicker-work frames covered with animal skins to navigate the waterways. As society spread and developed the need for boats grew and changed. Prehistoric boats were used to cross the borders of continents where walking failed, bringing civilisation to new lands. Once these nomadic tribes settled, the need changed. Now man had stopped they had a chance to grow. As the population increased so did the need for food and farming had not yet been introduced. Whale bones found in prehistoric settlements imply that our ancestors hunted the oceans 6000 years ago, petroglyphs (rock carvings) depict boats surrounding the giants which is further evidence to suggest our prehistoric friends were no stranger to the open sea and had ways to navigate it safely. As new evidence comes to light that date is getting pushed further back, to as far as 18,000 years ago when Neolithic hunters crossed the Atlantic on boats made of animal skins. DNA tests of Native Americas have produced not only Asian variants but also those found only in European people. This is strong evidence that Columbus and the Vikings were not the first to land on American soil.
So our Stone Age ancestors were capable of travelling vast distances, they hunted giant whales in turbulent oceans, they crossed expanses of water to find new homes throughout Asia, Europe and likely even the Americas.
The migration to Australia was about 20,000 years prior to this, sometime during the last Ice Age. Those ancient humans must have been remarkable to cross the open sea between Asia and Australia, their vessels must have been strong and sturdy. At this point in history the oceans water would have been locked in icecaps, and sea levels would have been much lower. The actual distance between Australia and Asia would have been largely reduced to about 50 miles. No easy feat, but certainly feasible.

All those links between the cultures, sciences, societies and arts of the ancient humans are not so big a mystery when we consider ocean-going as a possibility. Is it so hard to believe that there were networks of communication open between the continents? Anomalies appear in archaeology and scientific research, the appearance of cocaine in Egyptian mummification, (a substance native to the Americas) for example could be the result of a trade link. The discovery of sweet potato in the Polynesian islands (Easter Island and Hawaii) which has been carbon-dated to between 1000-700 AD and is native only to America. These are just two examples of trade evidence, there are thousands more, some less tangible things such as the names of Gods and heroes speak to the sharing of knowledge and culture. Similarities in architecture and art appear all over the world, throughout history. Are these just mysterious coincidences or are we refusing to see man’s true potential through our modern thinking? It’s easy to understand that without the need to migrate and with the introduction of agriculture the knowledge of boat building seemed less important. Many later civilisations such as the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans and those known as the Sea Peoples continued exploring the oceans to trade and wage war. Yet it appears that at some point in human history our development was stunted. We reached a point in civilisation where we thought we knew everything! Somehow, during this time, we forgot how to build ocean-going boats, and stopped believing it was possible to sail beyond the horizon until 1492 when Columbus returned from the New World with gifts and legends.


Wednesday 17 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.352)

Boats on the Ancient Sea...

We are all told of Christopher Columbus’ pioneering adventure to the New World, before 1942 the Americas were untouched by western civilisation. But how long has man been navigating the oceans? Was this really the first contact between our ancient ancestors? There is strong evidence to suggest otherwise. What about Leif Erikson, a Norse explorer who discovered Vinland, (suggested to be Newfoundland in North America.) His adventure was recorded in ancient Norse Sagas and can easily be dismissed as little more than legends. Yet archaeological evidence has been found to support the appearance of Norse settlements in North America 500 years before Columbus’ discovery.
From logs to dugouts and rafts to reed boats.
500 years isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that hard to believe someone could have sailed across the Atlantic at this point in history. But then the question is would it have been possible for man to conquer the ocean before this? What if it was more like 40,000 years ago when Australia was first inhabited by humans?
It’s not a great leap of the imagination to see ancient man travelling the waterways on pole-rafts and dugout canoes; archaeology has provided evidence of log boats as old as 10,000 years. The ancient Egyptians left relief carvings of Reed Boats ferrying crops and animals and even Pharaohs down the Nile. Recent fragments found in caves near the Red Sea provide evidence that the Ancient Egyptians were travelling vast distances across sea up to 4000 years ago, transporting precious cargo in wooden ships. An even more astonishing find in Kuwait is a 7000 year old sea-faring boat made of reeds and tar.

In 1969 an expedition was led by Thor Heyerdahl to replicate one of those ancient Egyptian reed boats and take it across the Atlantic Ocean from Morocco to Barbados. He gathered a team of helpers from all different background and used the reliefs and carvings in the Pyramids of Giza as a blueprint. They used traditional methods and ingenuity to create a vessel, which was transported (with much pomp and ceremony), to Morocco to starts its voyage. This was to be a first attempt, their reed boat Ra sailed across turbulent oceans and held its own against the elements, some things in the ‘blueprints’ had puzzled Thor and his team until they were at sea when it became clear to them that the Egyptians peculiar design was specific to the harsh conditions of ocean-going.
Ra I on her voyage across the Atlantic
Ra didn’t make it to its destination, after a good fight there were just too many errors and the boat began to sag and capsize. But the team regrouped, and in 1971 Ra II was launched with a few adjustments, they saw now that every detail was important, each rope which had seemed to lead nowhere supported the boats bulk and kept it in shape. Ra II sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Morocco to Barbados, carrying a crew on a bed of reeds. Its unique design blueprinted by Ancient Egypt in the pyramids and other sites, proof that it was possible for our ancestors to navigate between continents.


But the evidence of Ancient Mariners doesn’t start and end with Egypt...

(to be continued.)

Tuesday 16 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.351)

Today me and Taz took the kitty to the Vet, as it was quite a way we decided to use the opportunity to explore Brislington. There wasn't much exploring involved in the end, we sat in the park and read our books and sketched and went to Sainsburys for some breakfast. Which is where I found this pirate cutout, which would have been really awesome, except there he had no ship. So I've added one in.
.

Monday 15 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.350)

I actually put a lot of effort in today, after my weekend of poor 'boats' I felt I had to make it up to my project and do something more interesting. So I found a bit of wood and attempted to whittle a dug out canoe into it. It was good fun, except when I tried to whittle my finger which was less fun. 

Sunday 14 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.349)

Sunshine and a good book is apparently my Achilles heal, I have found making boats easier when I'm rushed off my feet organising and making things, but reading... I just loose time.
So once again my boat today is a little lacking in imagination and execution, I don't have to work as much tomorrow so hopefully I can read, work and boat satisfactorily. 

Saturday 13 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.348)

As far as boats go today has been a bit of a fail, I'm sorry for the utter lameness of tonights leaf boat. I will be doing more on my paper mache boat tomorrow, Justin demands more detail :)

Friday 12 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.347)

I've spent most of the day adding layers to yesterdays paper mache model and painting this, I had a day off from work and seen as I've pretty much finished all the wedding decorations I took a day off from that too and had a bit of a Sunday, watching films and...painting this.
There may be a final layer at some point, some finishing touches and all that, so lookout for another day of mache!

Thursday 11 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.346)

The cardboard base
Not long to go now for me, with just under 20 days left I'm trying to push my limits where I can, I'm definitely feeling the strain on my imagination, trying to find things I haven't done yet. It's pretty hard! Today's boat was a suggestion from Justin, I have been avoiding using paper maché, because as a rule, it takes about a week to dry and many hours to create. But I had nothing else to do except work this evening so a good few hours were spent getting glue all over the place. For now it's just the newspapered base, I will paint it for another day.

All covered in paper and glue. 

Wednesday 10 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.345)

Today I was inspired by shipwrecks, I used a couple of images taken over the course of this year and added some watery effects on GIMP.

Tuesday 9 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.344)

I've been playing with different napkin folds today to find something good for the wedding, as always I found a cute little boat with sails. I tried folding it in fabric, paper towel and cardboard, the design works pretty well in all mediums.

Monday 8 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.343)

It's been a late weekend, most of my
blogs haven't gone online until nearly midnight, but not today :) I tried a few different ideas today before I did something I actually liked. Taz had left some tracing paper lying around so I used it to go through my Shipwreck Detective book and trace some of my favourite images. I then used a the end of a sharpie to rub the pencil onto a postcard, overlaying the different elements as I liked. I like the faded, grainy result, and don't even want to go over it for definition (which was my original plan.)
Anyway, another scorcher here, hopefully wherever yo are too, so enjoy it, I'm off to work.

Sunday 7 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.342)

We've had a lovely day in the garden getting it looking nice for a little BBQ this afternoon. I'm full, a little tipsy and so hot, but it's been a lot of fun. During the sunny blur I did manage to build a boat out of Giant Pick-up-sticks, thanks to Lappo for giving me a good way of utilizing the coloured ends.

Saturday 6 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.341)

It's been a really long day of work for me, and incredibly hot, I'm very glad I got tomorrow off as it's said to be even hotter. After all that I'm so glad I did an extra boat yesterday while taking my nephew for a walk around the pond. I made a little raft out of stick and twigs and pushed it out on the lake. Luckily I got a picture before it sank.

Friday 5 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.340)

I've been playing foozball and other fun in the sun today so apologies for the late posting Anyway, glad I did my boat before I went out this afternoon. Here is a bit of paper art.

Thursday 4 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.339)

This morning me Tam and Taz headed down to Ujima Radio Bristol to talk with Paulette on her Outlook show about our Easton Arts Trail experience and our various projects. It was a really good chat, with some interesting points which I hadn't necessarily considered, the term 'obsessive' was applied to the 365 idea and we all eagerly agreed. But you can't spend everyday thinking about something without becoming a little obsessed. 'Disciplined' was also said and that was not normally a trait I possess, but I definitely feel like I have that now.
Lots of great points, if you want to check out you can listen to the catch-up on Ujima's website (you can find us at the end of the 12-1pm sesh and the beginning of the 1-2pm sesh.)

Anyway as you can see my boat today is a tiny blue-tac sculpture. Blue-tac is a very forgiving medium, it holds its shape pretty well and likes to stick which is very helpful.

Wednesday 3 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.338)

Good evening, today I toyed with a few different ideas before deciding to fill this blank postcard with a green biro'd doodle. Once again I used my sketches from the other day to shape my boat.
Me Taz and Tam are going on the radio to talk about Our 365 Adventures tomorrow. So listen out for us on Ujima Radio Bristol at 12.45 :)

Tuesday 2 July 2013

A Boat a Day (no.337)

For inspiration this morning I had Taz and josh select a page at random for the 365: Daily Creative Journal. I ended up on a page which suggested I 'create something that seems like it came from another era in history'. I had a little think and decided to play on the sea-myths and 3 masted galleys that bring to mind the 15th - 16th century of pirates and the discovery of the New World.  I drew it originally in pencil, I then put it into gimp to add some real colour and contrast, but I liked them both so the end product is a mish-mash of digital and original.

Monday 1 July 2013

A Boat A Day (no.336)

Today's boat is a silhouette of one of my sketches from yesterday, painted in acrylic on a wooden photo-frame board. I love white chalk marker pens, they work so well as highlights.