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| tuesday |
| 04.26.05 (12:04 pm) [edit] |
|
Good to be back inGermany, speaking a language I understand and that's cool. Until then, be excellent to each other! |
| Gone gone gone.... |
| 04.23.05 (7:29 am) [edit] |
|
Chillewack ( sp) song running through my head.... yes ladies and Lords and all you other techie tyypes out there we are gone for a week...once more driving up to the Northern parts of the world to hang out in our old home of Aventiure..... Maybe I can get online and maybe not so........ if not see you all ina week If i can then you might get more babble... MOM - HAPPY BIRTHDAY a few days early I know just in case I can't call you Mud Same thing tho..... we shoudl be home by the 1st. Kate 3rd time now... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ( belated but I never know if you get the emails or not!) got a lot to do this morning so I say ciao for now hugs |
| Don't do it!!!!! |
| 04.22.05 (9:21 pm) [edit] |
|
BIG RED BUTTON.......don't do it......you'll be sorry.......
|
| Canada vs the US |
| 04.22.05 (6:59 am) [edit] |
|
man sometimes it is like living next to the school yard bully.... Newt Gingrich sorry for comments about Canada http://www.cbc.ca/story/world... Devil's lake - where the US plans to drain water from this lake into Canada with or without Canada's permission even thoughthe lake is supposed to be polluted and full of added species of fish. Nothing like dumping in your neighbour's yard. Why are more people not upset about this? So far the best source of information... http://www.gov.mb.ca/waterste... http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national /1999/10/25/redriver99102 5.html" title="http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national /1999/10/25/redriver99102 5.html" target="_blank"http://www.cbc.ca/story/scien... Colin Powell is a bit more cautious: http://savethesheyenne.org/po... The Current had interviews and information yesterday. you can listen to the story here... http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/... I am a bit stunned that one country would think that it is okay to just dump it's waste in another country....I know this happens all the time but you know quite frankly it's awful. And before someone leaps down my throat I am also quite sure canada does stuff that is not so on the up and up either. No one in this world today is squeaky clean. But polluting another country's water is down right bad. as my friend Ele likes to say....'Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies'... ------------------------- ------------------------ And....Under the heading of more scarey things to ponder....Oil running out faster than we are being lead to believe??? http://www.guardian.co.uk/lif...,13026,1464050,00.html The truth is out there....(somewhere...maybe) but jeeze ya got to do a lot of digging to get to it.... |
| The Grey Monk |
| 04.21.05 (3:35 pm) [edit] |
|
The Grey Monk Poem lyrics of The Grey Monk by William Blake. "I die, I die!" the Mother said, "My children die for lack of bread. What more has the merciless Tyrant said?" The Monk sat down on the stony bed. The blood red ran from the Grey Monk's side, His hands and feet were wounded wide, His body bent, his arms and knees Like to the roots of ancient trees. His eye was dry; no tear could flow: A hollow groan first spoke his woe. He trembled and shudder'd upon the bed; At length with a feeble cry he said: "When God commanded this hand to write In the studious hours of deep midnight, He told me the writing I wrote should prove The bane of all that on Earth I lov'd. My Brother starv'd between two walls, His Children's cry my soul appalls; I mock'd at the rack and griding chain, My bent body mocks their torturing pain. Thy father drew his sword in the North, With his thousands strong he marched forth; Thy Brother has arm'd himself in steel To avenge the wrongs thy Children feel. But vain the Sword and vain the Bow, They never can work War's overthrow. The Hermit's prayer and the Widow's tear Alone can free the World from fear. For a Tear is an intellectual thing, And a Sigh is the sword of an Angel King, And the bitter groan of the Martyr's woe Is an arrow from the Almighty's bow. The hand of Vengeance found the bed To which the Purple Tyrant fled; The iron hand crush'd the Tyrant's head And became a Tyrant in his stead." |
| crowes words |
| 04.19.05 (4:22 pm) [edit] |
|
okay so I heard the first single today on the radio , by the way, take that Sting!!!! you can buy it on itunes http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/20 05/04/15/Arts/doylecrowe0 50415.html?ref=rss" title="http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/20 05/04/15/Arts/doylecrowe0 50415.html?ref=rss" target="_blank"http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/... is the article on cbc. how did an australian actor and a newfoundland musician hook up to create pure magic. read up , find out. Very exciting Great Big Sea is bringing out a new cd soon. It feels like home to me. yup... |
| early start |
| 04.19.05 (7:23 am) [edit] |
|
5:30 am is early. marcus off to Germany for three days, me at home not feeling so good, lots of last minute scrolls to deal with, giving me somthing to do, other than house work. nice day but will rain later on, maybe, so far nothing much else to talk about. so till later until then, be excellent to each other! |
| Fire fighters |
| 04.18.05 (8:54 am) [edit] |
|
This morning I woke to a smell that brought back awful childhood memories of houses and buildings going up in flames. Acrid nasty smoke billowing into the bedroom at first we thought it was us, then we thought is was the old folks home that has an incinerator. Turns out it was the house right across from us and seems it might have been something with their furnace. The fire brigade came, about 15 minutes after we saw the smoke we heard the sirens and it took them about 10 minutes or so to get here, no water just a BIG fan to clear the smoke. Scarey way to start your day. My sister is a volunteer firefighter in Canada and she's awesome. I watched these guys this morning and thought of her. So everyhing sorted out, Marcus off to work and I am at home starting the ritual of housework and ironing , since shirts need to be ironed and the husband is going off on a business trip, needing to look good. floors need to be done, laudry needs to be done... here's hoping that the washing mashine doesn't get bolshie again. but the rain has stopped, the sun came out. The sky is that deep deep blue that goes on forever, the fresh snow up on the hills and mountains is gleaming. Hopefully it will start to get warmer. until then be excellent to each other.... |
| When did we lose our grace? |
| 04.16.05 (2:49 pm) [edit] |
|
Today while trying out a new to us shop in Lugano we also discovered a new height of rude. I was shoved into the shelves by some woman who wanted to get by ( like there was not enough space and excuse me is not a word in any language to be used... and then her husband decided that he just had to get something that was exactly where we were standing and looking actively ( i might add at stuff and he just shoved marcus asode without so much as a scuzi, entschuldigung or excuse me or even a pardone moi....and that we watched with a mixture of stunned surprise and bemused sadness. People in general it seems do not see anything around them any more. When did the human race become a ME instead of a WE thing? Is extreme rudeness now the norm? Is this what kids are being taught... look hon somenoe is in your way, oh well shove by them it's okay. sad. ------------------------- ----------- we bought more herbs, we bought groceries and then we bough a very pricey couch and chair to match. didn't intend to, although we have been shopping for couch and chair since we moved here and NOTHING has fit us or the house, but today it seems our couch found us, in a quiet spacious modern furniture shop with a very good sales man, an older gentleman who spoke EXQUISITE german and whose name was the Italian verson of marcus ( with a c) . I always get weirded out spending that much money, although we have it specifically for the couch thing but now it is done I am happy. Finally we will have the living room complete. It sort of made up for the groceryshop experience. ( by the way the shovey people were older than I am, they were like mid fifties....so it ain't just the kiddies who are mannerless) We should have bought potting soil and lots of pots as well but we were too shopped out by that point and the weater this weekend is torrential to say the least so we just came home and made tea and sat on the rocking chairs which currently are our livingroom furniture and need to be refinished, and gloated just a little. Finally a nice livingroom set ( and it is beige linen, NO SNICKERING LADIES!!!!) I know L. is rolling her eyes I am so not a beige lady, but you know we have this terracotta tile floor and so any other colour makes no sense... cool thing is the couch coverings are removable and you can get extras made. :) If we move to a house with different floor colour we can get a new couch cover. and a comfy chair, oh boy oh boy, my last comfy chair was the one I had in Canada and I miss it it was indeed a comfy chair. well, that's it my life is dull, I despair for the planet and it's selfish inhabitants and I yet am part of the consuming selfish hordes.... Think I will stick to doing medieval style art and gardening. It's safer. You never know when you will be run over by a shopping tolley because someone wants to jump the cash queue. What ever hapened to manners? When did we lose our grace..... I asked this today as we sat eating lunch and Marcus asked me back, did we ever have it to begin with.... did we? big questions with no answers.... going back to the mint and the thyme and the chives and the lavender now.. until then , be excellent to each other. |
| ink and earth |
| 04.15.05 (3:26 pm) [edit] |
|
there is dirt under my nails and ink all over my fingers. Planting geraniums and cutting quills. Since it seems to be virtually impossible toget a 3/4 metal nib here I cut my own, have a ton of goose feathers kicking around so I might as well practice. :S The geraniums like their new home. I have mints too English mint ( that is pepper mint) Green mint ( aren't they all ) that is the milder mint orange mint - go figure But I like the mint family of plants they grow like the weeds they are and they are GREEN GREEN GREEN. so nice. I have given up on calligraphy today after havingtried to write the same buggeryrats thankyou letter to the same person 5 times now, i have seen the error of my ways and heard the snickers of the gods.... 'give it up..' okay okay, today is not an ink day. priced drum skins but alas shipping is a bitch and inspite of the inexpensive costs of the skins them-selves the shipping will double the price easily.... then there is that customs thing, could buy them from the UK but at 30 pounds a skin... I don't think so. so working on a work around. I suck as a scribe this week anyway. It's been a bad scribe week in this house. in fact it's been a sort of swiftly vanishing, totally fucked up, what the heck was that all about week. I blame it on that time of the month and gremlins. We have lots and lots of gremlins. I have been workingon this medieval garden thing, I have some books on what plants were around and so far it's kinda cool! Shepard's purse, speedwell, monks hood, clover, poppy roses mint rosemary, chives and so on.... no plans on a maze tho... oh yeah and a bay laurel tree. No kidding am so excited about it lavender pinks and a huge variety of wild / field flowers they are just showing their heads now... Have a big biscuit tin full of oak galls somewhere too... though I have enough inks right now to drown in. :) tick tock, it's weekend yay! well, guess that's all the mindless ramblings you're gonna get from me right now. and it just started raining :) ciao |
| On the Turning away... |
| 04.15.05 (7:44 am) [edit] |
|
There are some days when getting out of bed was a mistake and yesterday was one of those days. It seems not only did i get out of the wrong side of the bed but I stayed there all day. No particular reason either, a collection of things that just car piled up one after the other leaving me feeling disjointed and at odds with the universe. A friend of mine who I don't hear from, all that often but some how maintain a thread of connection with wrote a couple of days ago to her mass email list that her daughter was very ill and in hospital for a battery of tests ( we are talking little kid here). My heart breaks for her having to go through all this, the worry, the sleepless nights, the crying in the dark. Biopsies , diagnosis and so on. Still no outcome yet and I worry for her. Hoping for the best but some wee slimey dark side also fears the worst because it seems to me in this unequal universe that it is good people who seem to suffer the most. But I push that thought away, let it hide in the dark corners of some place long left alone and forgotten.... Maybe we just care more when it's people we know. But somehow that doesn't ring true, when the Tsunami hit I seem to remember being unable to watch the news casts because I would sit there crying and aching inside with this loss and pain for all the suffering and sadness. We sent money but somehow it just didn't feel like enough, what is enough? I don't know. I do know that lately, amidst the warm Ticino spring sun and the buying garden plants I sense a deep and profound sadness. Nothing new for me there, L. you know that probably better than anyone. But it nags. I sat yesterday in front of this computer and did nothing productive at all. I got and tried believe me sat at my drafting table held pen in hand, sat in front of this screen opened up word and tried to write or fix up old stories, dangling threads that seem to be forever loose. But nothing happened, instead I wandered the internet reading news stories and watching movie trailers on apple.com. We went shopping last night and I saw nothing that I either wanted or needed, a distinct sense of dissatisfaction with the ever growing need to buy everything in sight. I do not need for anything. I do not want anything. I am not hungry in any sense of the word. Marcus bought a dvd , Queen in concert and after a while I just couldn't watch it any more, when he asked me why I said it made me sad, he's dead, the singer and it seemed at that point so strange to be watching it, knowing this man's future would be short. Depressing. Weird. So, I sit here with my coffee, having just sent my husband off to work, watching the rainy clouds skitter and slither around the hills and mountains and as i came back up the stairs it occured to me am I suffering bored housewife syndrome? Or is it the start of some middle age crisis? That late 30 something oh my god what have i done with my life? while I can't answer that, I can tell you that this sense of profound sadness and something else I have no words for has been with me for as long as I can remember. And I have been asking these questions in one form or another since before I was ten. Is it possible that we feel a collective unconcious sadness? that somehow we can tune into the current vibe of the world, are there people out there like me who are sensitive to these waves of what ever it is and we don't know where to channel it? I remember when the attack on new York happened, that whole school semester people were unfocused and incredibly stressed, when one of my teachers mentioned this i told him, all that fear and stress, all that collective breath holding it's energy and it's got to go somewhere so it goes everywhere and everyone feels it but no one really knows what it is or how to cope so it comes out as stress and angst ( in the german sense of that word) but it is an energy and it has to go some where. What could we accomplish if we could do this with good thoughts and positive energy? Earlier in this blog I linked up to a page of world conciousness, and I really think this is true. If many people think something all at the same time, it can somehow change the way things happen. So turn your thoughts just for while to a little girl who is very sick and could use some positive thinking her way. There is a belief in Physics ( Heisenberg's Uncertainty principle I think) that the very act of observation changes what ever it is you are observing. If that is true then we have an awful lot to answer for, don't you think? And when you think about this, things start to get very complicated and more than justa little strange, in fact if you think about stuff like this long enough you might just go a little mad. So on a more positive note, today i will plant geraniums, and mint. Let warm earth get my hands dirty and smell the richness of soil and roots and rain and living things. Watch the ants scurry around the terrace and the still winter sleepy bees stumble their way to the early blooms. I will observe the seedling shoving their way upward out of the soil towards the sunlight, and change them just a little by watching their valliant struggle to live. I will look at the raindrops on the blades of grass and marvel at the colours refracted in them as teh sun peeks out from behind the amazingly beautiful clouds which, by the way, really do move like little cats. We are shrouded in a low cloud veil today, making the world seem quiet and far away. But it isn't and I know that because there are people who read this and comment and there by change it and me, the very act of observation draws us in and creates a bond. Telling me I am not alone no matter how much it sometimes feels that way. Everything is connected, every single thing. so.... until then, be excellent to each other. |
| The Environment |
| 04.14.05 (8:44 am) [edit] |
|
Some questions, why don't we spend more money and time and effort on recycling? Why are we still so fixated on oil products especially for transportation. If we can send men to the moon, why can't we spend the same effort and smarts on finding alternative, cheap and non invasive fuel sources? Wind? Sun? Is profit worth killing the planet? Or does this generation simply care more about money than how it's children will have to deal with the mess we are leaving behind? I don't understand the way we are thinking and heading. just some thoughts :( |
| WTF? |
| 04.13.05 (9:11 am) [edit] |
|
Okay, I have to ask..... Who the Fuck cares what George W. Bush listens to on his bloody ipod? That something of this nature is even in the news makes me sick. news worthy stuff: state of the environment. Why we have wars over oil and religion?, why are we cutting down the rain forests? Why are cigarettes not illegal yet even though we know they kill? Why we are fishing our oceans dry....Come on people!!!! what some old dude listens to while he's jogging is news??? We need some serious help when crap like that is deemed important enough to news cast. I suppose next it will be what brand of toilet paper is in the white-house loos. ( a sure fire bet it isn't recycled) Beam me up Scotty, cuz there is _NO_ intelligent life down here! |
| on the other hand ...way cool |
| 04.13.05 (7:22 am) [edit] |
|
What you think can effect everything! http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=1266 49#121" title="http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=1266 49#121" target="_blank"http://www.rednova.com/news/d... |
| scarey, just downright scarey |
| 04.13.05 (6:56 am) [edit] |
| http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/11/12571 7/705" title="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/11/12571 7/705" target="_blank"http://www.dailykos.com/story... |
| getting out |
| 04.12.05 (10:14 am) [edit] |
|
Today I wake up with a headache. This is not unusual for this time of teh month but it is annoying. Headaches are hard to shake and you just can't escape them. I did something I rarely do these days and need to do more often, I got out of the hosue and went for a good long walk. There are serious hills here ( think St. John's) so it's quite the work out and while i have not put on weight or gotten fat, still get into clothes from 5 years ago, I am out of shape. huff puff up the hill. It will be excellent if i can do this every day, it's a lovely walk up and aroundthe hill behind the house, there is forest and farmland, fields and wild stuff every where, I startle lots of little lizzards while on my way. It feels good to walk, i used to walk all over the place when I lived in canada, it was pleasurable to wander about, peopel said hullo and smiled and the air was fresh and full of salty sea tang. Ahrensburg was not so pleasant, people were mostly unhappy and miserable, staring at you like you had 4 heads rather than smile or god forbid say good day. Much to my shock people here say good day and smile and are friendly as you walk past. It has taken me almost three months to get out of the North German misery guts mode and back into newfoundland friendly again. So I get back to the house after an hour, feeling decidedly beter after having üpushed my poor ol' heart into actually doing something for a change, and re learning what the heck my legs and lungs are for. make a pot of ginger tea ( that is grated ginger in hot water) and sit back down at my computer and write this, teh headache is fading slightly and CBC radio plays on the computer, a touch of home. Just finishing up the last bit of getting ready a package to return to Amazon. had a bit of an issue with one of the books they sent me, was supposed to be new and definately wasn't, I have to tell you their attention to this issue was super fast and super efficient. I got a replacement book within 10 days and kind polite replies to my emails. It is a unpleasant surprise in these days of NO service. I like amazon anyway. I like the choices I get and the options you get. and.... more to the point i felt they went above my expectations ( something very few companies do) so it's cool and I am happy. The garden is starting to show signs of growing that is there are seedlings sprouting up. I am excited about this since they are sort of mystery flowers. Mixed seed batches and so you just never know what is going to come up. Nice to have a garden. Nice to watch the sky kiss the tops of the hills and mountains, nice have sweet fresh air that has still a touch of snow in it. so I guess that's it for now. until then, be excellent to each other! |
| getting out |
| 04.12.05 (10:14 am) [edit] |
|
Today I wake up with a headache. This is not unusual for this time of teh month but it is annoying. Headaches are hard to shake and you just can't escape them. I did something I rarely do these days and need to do more often, I got out of the hosue and went for a good long walk. There are serious hills here ( think St. John's) so it's quite the work out and while i have not put on weight or gotten fat, still get into clothes from 5 years ago, I am out of shape. huff puff up the hill. It will be excellent if i can do this every day, it's a lovely walk up and aroundthe hill behind the house, there is forest and farmland, fields and wild stuff every where, I startle lots of little lizzards while on my way. It feels good to walk, i used to walk all over the place when I lived in canada, it was pleasurable to wander about, peopel said hullo and smiled and the air was fresh and full of salty sea tang. Ahrensburg was not so pleasant, people were mostly unhappy and miserable, staring at you like you had 4 heads rather than smile or god forbid say good day. Much to my shock people here say good day and smile and are friendly as you walk past. It has taken me almost three months to get out of the North German misery guts mode and back into newfoundland friendly again. So I get back to the house after an hour, feeling decidedly beter after having üpushed my poor ol' heart into actually doing something for a change, and re learning what the heck my legs and lungs are for. make a pot of ginger tea ( that is grated ginger in hot water) and sit back down at my computer and write this, teh headache is fading slightly and CBC radio plays on the computer, a touch of home. Just finishing up the last bit of getting ready a package to return to Amazon. had a bit of an issue with one of the books they sent me, was supposed to be new and definately wasn't, I have to tell you their attention to this issue was super fast and super efficient. I got a replacement book within 10 days and kind polite replies to my emails. It is a unpleasant surprise in these days of NO service. I like amazon anyway. I like the choices I get and the options you get. and.... more to the point i felt they went above my expectations ( something very few companies do) so it's cool and I am happy. The garden is starting to show signs of growing that is there are seedlings sprouting up. I am excited about this since they are sort of mystery flowers. Mixed seed batches and so you just never know what is going to come up. Nice to have a garden. Nice to watch the sky kiss the tops of the hills and mountains, nice have sweet fresh air that has still a touch of snow in it. so I guess that's it for now. until then, be excellent to each other! |
| getting out |
| 04.12.05 (10:13 am) [edit] |
|
Today I wake up with a headache. This is not unusual for this time of teh month but it is annoying. Headaches are hard to shake and you just can't escape them. I did something I rarely do these days and need to do more often, I got out of the hosue and went for a good long walk. There are serious hills here ( think St. John's) so it's quite the work out and while i have not put on weight or gotten fat, still get into clothes from 5 years ago, I am out of shape. huff puff up the hill. It will be excellent if i can do this every day, it's a lovely walk up and aroundthe hill behind the house, there is forest and farmland, fields and wild stuff every where, I startle lots of little lizzards while on my way. It feels good to walk, i used to walk all over the place when I lived in canada, it was pleasurable to wander about, peopel said hullo and smiled and the air was fresh and full of salty sea tang. Ahrensburg was not so pleasant, people were mostly unhappy and miserable, staring at you like you had 4 heads rather than smile or god forbid say good day. Much to my shock people here say good day and smile and are friendly as you walk past. It has taken me almost three months to get out of the North German misery guts mode and back into newfoundland friendly again. So I get back to the house after an hour, feeling decidedly beter after having üpushed my poor ol' heart into actually doing something for a change, and re learning what the heck my legs and lungs are for. make a pot of ginger tea ( that is grated ginger in hot water) and sit back down at my computer and write this, teh headache is fading slightly and CBC radio plays on the computer, a touch of home. Just finishing up the last bit of getting ready a package to return to Amazon. had a bit of an issue with one of the books they sent me, was supposed to be new and definately wasn't, I have to tell you their attention to this issue was super fast and super efficient. I got a replacement book within 10 days and kind polite replies to my emails. It is a unpleasant surprise in these days of NO service. I like amazon anyway. I like the choices I get and the options you get. and.... more to the point i felt they went above my expectations ( something very few companies do) so it's cool and I am happy. The garden is starting to show signs of growing that is teher are seedlings sprouting up. I am excited about this since they are sort of mystery flowers. Mixed seed batches and so you just never know what is going to come up. Nice to have a garden. Nice to watch the sky kiss the tops of the hills and mountains, nice have sweet fresh air that has still a touch of snow in it. so I guess that's it for now. until then, be excellent to each other! |
| days of wine and roses |
| 04.11.05 (9:05 am) [edit] |
|
uh huh I just like the title. So it's monday. I have a long list of stuff to do, we had a down weekend, thatis we did nothing much of anything in particular. After house guests and a non party party ( 4 guests is NOT a party) we took two days off and did NOTHING. Of course the föhn didn't help i get really tired when it gets really windy, for some reason the föhn seems to not only dry the air out but it sucks the energy right out of me. Yesterday I zonked out on the couch and that was that. Today will be poodles and poodles..... me noodling around doing that dog thing ( that is running around like a dog chasing it's tail) laundry, dusting and scrolls. maybe ack! it's a grey and flat sort of day heer today. the wild wind has died down and the moisture has come back, good for the garden. May is gonna be nuts. The health insurance blood sucking vampires have ticked us off so now we are looking for another company. Can't be legal to diagnose someone with a 'syndrome' with out first having seen the patient or having any diagnostic tools done based on the words of a brand new doc who saw me for all of 1/2 an hour and examined nothing that would say anything about the particula ailment I supposively have. and all this from a third doctor who enever even saw me at all.... so how can they in good concience diagnose me with a syndrome I have never even heard of up until some quack in teh pay of the BSV decided it would get the insurance company out of insuring me from the neck up. Blood sucking vampires. Gotta love the fucked up system in this weird little country. naja, back to work until then be excellent to each other! |
| oh no not again |
| 04.11.05 (6:31 am) [edit] |
|
No use trying to fight it, you're an eight-sided die, a d8. A fine example of simple elegance, the d8 is one of the least appreciated types of dice, and is often neglected. You are known to be quiet and shy, outward traits that conceal viscous sarcasm and mean wit. You are very smart, yet wise enough to hide your intelligence the quicker they found out how smart you are, the sooner they'll put you to work, which is something you can do without. People call you dark and pessimistic, or moody and cynical. You find little point in arguing. |
| All that glitters |
| 04.10.05 (8:39 am) [edit] |
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I finally got gesso sottile to work, how fucking cool is that????????????????????? ????????????????????????? I bought 'period' gesso powder ( has titanium white not lead in it) from Iconofile some years ago because I can't be arsed to spend 2-5 weeks slaking plaster ( yeah I know alabaster powder works as well) but up until this week have not tried it out for fear of more of the same doesn't work stuff. As per instructions i did what they said even waited the required two hours ( it has to gel / set) and poof , the gold DIDN'T stick, so rethink think think what is missing...... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm sticky stuff. So after consoltation of books and more books and online sources I added honey and lo and behold ( after a second batch and some serious testing) it works and how. I love my gum arabic gesso, cheap easy beautiful burnish on the gold, but this gesso.... is like silk. So, ladies and lords and all you other folk out there not sitting on a cushion, the wayward apprentice has stepped up the pace and discovered that the monks were right after all. gee fancy that. :S Also took a try at garlic gilding. all I can say is PHEEEEEEEEEEEE-EWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWW! talk about stinking up the house all for a measly few ml os garlic juice, but if it gets me a nice flat gild then it was worth it. This scribal stuff is a bit of a jungle. Lately, partly due to being signet clerk , and partly because I suppose I am one of teh more experienced (read avaliable)scribes around ( at least in central and that's kinda scarey I am getting lots of newbie's questions. Mainly they how do I do this scribe stuff and tell me how good my poetry ( har har) scroll is. It occurred to me the other day, that this is the hardest part of the job, not the tracking down waywards cribes and scrolls, way ward scrolls and owners or any of that stuff. Nor the frantic get the scrolls to the event on time race....What is hard is the teaching and the critquing aspect. How do you tell a new scribe that their works is dodgey? Truth is you don't at least not like that, God if someone had told me the cold hard truth about my first works I'd have probably flung my pens and inks out the window and been done with it for good. How to be constructive? All this what if and how about angst comes up because some time ago I gave some 'helpful advice' to someone who is very talented and very good about some small things that needed to be said ( ie soft pencil writing on the back of scrolls rubs off on the scroll underneath it when you mail them bunched together, why not put a protective sheet of paper between them? and gee you might want to consider erasing your pencil lines, while I know it's fairly period to see the lines often scroll recipients complain about it looking sloppy. ( yup has happened)Just wee things that make the over all picture look better but since that email i have not heard a peep out of said person and I wonder did I piss them off? Is this person mad because I told them maybe they should think about erasing their pencil lines? So do people really want constructive critiques or do they really just want to hear 'Oh my god that's wonderful, you are so talented la la la' I don't want to be the bad guy, but sheesh if you don't want to hear what i think, don't ask. I don't pander to the masses, if youwant my opinion you get it. And whiel I am not mean about it, at least I don't think so, I won't sugar coat either, you don't get better or improve if someone lies about what you are doing or how you are doing. I like constructive critiques ( guess that's the NSCAD way) and I miss it. Some times you get so caught up in your own work you can't see the mistakes or the flaws or the whatever you want to call it. I really like the looks really great but it would look even better if..... But egos are fragile. And emerging new artists are even more fragile. I think that any one who attempts this art form is in some way a miracle worker. I mean come on, you spend hours crooked over a desk doing calligraphy ( no mean feat) then try to recreat the masterful works of some monk who had nothing better to do anyway? Pretty amazing to me. Not gonna tell anyone they suck, because I know where I came from and I sucked when I started, but I got better because I had good critiques and great encouragement. The other problem I have is how to distinguish where to draw the line? At some point it becomes an artist's style rather than then 'not doing it right' and what is not doing it right anyway? While there are guide lines and we know how some stuff was done, there is not 100% right way to do it. *sigh* But it gets to be tiring. I am not sure how I feel about always being the one who gets asked. I don't feel like I know that much to begin with. In the end I remember how I felt when Master harold first ever gave me a little lesson on the side when I asked. He was gracious and kind and very honest. I try to remember that because it was my first impression of a laurel ( that I remember) and I strive to be like that with anyone who asks for my help. Does it work? Dunno. hard tho. what you say to someone can mark them forever and I have seen it happen. One laurel here told a new scribe that their work was terrible and ever since then this person hasn't touched a calligraphy pen. How sad is that? Of course, I wasn't there and don't know exactly what was said or how, and I don't know how the person on the recieving end takes criticism, so there are a lot of gaps, I just know since person A told person B they were not good at callligraphy, person B has gone off trying and I find that very sad. Every one has to start some where and we were all beginners once, I am quite sure at some point in our lives our first attempt at something still laughs at us in the face. But to tell someone they are really bad at something in such a way that they don't want to do it any more and look absolutly heart broken when they talk about it is really awful. I don't know the exact words used but I see the results. On the other hand, while under the guide of another FEL someone lese told me while the teaching methods are really rough and this person is really unpleasant, they learn alot so they ignore the bad bits and soak up th einfo. It takes all kinds. I just don't think you have to be a whip and bitch person to get results. I figure even if they really do suck on the first few tries, with practice and care and fostering, one gets better and better. What is that line from C.J. Koch's 'the year of living dangerously' " This is a spirit like a wavering flame, and only needs care to burn high". Encouragment and care will get you better results than bitchy brute you suck stuff. Tough love is so passe. I think about this all the time. I learned much from Master Harold, but how to apply it is the tricksy part. In the mean time I have gold to gild, scrolls to do, people to help, critiques and suggestions to make and house work to consider. You know, I really like the teaching and helping part, just wish there was some more support kicking around. maybe that will change in a while, who knows. Sometimes ( okay a lot) I second guess myself. Be nice to have back up. Then of course there are the students you don't worry about, they are off an running and doing their own things and teaching others before you can even say jack robinson. Sometimes it's a good thing to point someone in the right direction and say you can do this, I know you can, have fun! ( but if you need some help or a cup of tea, you know where my door is) until then be excellent to each other |
| Back again |
| 04.06.05 (8:10 am) [edit] |
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So .... well it's been wonderfully busy here, that is the house was full of people as we had our first real stay over house guests, wonderful. A couple from Germany came to hang out in teh A3 Quality cube for two days and three nights and boy what a packed filled time it was. We climbed up loads of stairs to hangout in a couple of castles, took a seriously hair raising ride in a gondola that hung from some wire thing to go to the top of a mountain, where we watched an eagle battle it out with a hawk of some sort. Tons of little lizards sunning themselves and nice walk about the top of a fresh and sunny mountian. We visited Bellinzona where the castles are and Lorcano where the cable car thing is. Amazing. And it was fun, we bbq'd and enjoyed the sunlight even thoug it's not overly warm here yet, still in the sun out of the wind it's fabulous. It was a great time mixed english and german and fun fun fun. We get along great as a rule and it's just so easy going and comfortable. Now that we have more space and more bathrooms it's even easier to have guests , friends stay with us. anyway so that's why I have not written for a while, we spentt he weekend cleaning a nd getting ready for th visit and then till today where there was a teary goodbye, we have been go go go. The middle castle in bellinzona will make a great place to have an SCA photo shoot and we are thinking about this, it could be fun. Now it is back to earth with a bump, back to sca scrolls and house work, laundry and real life, but for a while there is was just way cool to have friends come and hang out. so until then be excellent to each other! |
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moon phases |