How to... Make Felt

Things You Will Need :- Towel (preferably old)
                                        Skooshy water bottle (Like Lucozade, sports bottles)
                                        Wooden sushi mat
                                        2 pieces of voile (a type of fabric)
                                        Felt fibres
                                        Soap
                                        Soap flakes
                                        Warm water

1. Fill water bottle with warm water and soap flakes.
2. Place down towel and put mat on top of it, then put on the voile.
3. Add the felt fibres into your desired design into a cross hatch pattern (so the fibres can bond).
4. When the design is 2/3 layers thick place voile on top and soak with the warm water.
5. After a few strokes of the bar of soap roll up towel and mat and felt and roll 100 times.
6. Peel off voile and make sure felt isn't sticking to the other piece, then roll 100 times the other direction.
7. You can then add more layers and repeat.

To Create Felt Bowl :- Everything listed above and a plastic circle (cut from milk bottle, has to be bendy)

1. Place plastic circle in centre
2. Layer felt on top of plastic circle with a 10mm excess round the edges and fold over
3. Copy the above directions.

Student Struggles..

Ok. I like to rant...

There are lots of ways people like to get at students thinking they are pretty low on the food chain, like we are all lazy, alcoholics, wasting resources and stuff.. (least thats some of the theories I've heard..) Well I was just wanting to explain some of our side of the story, cause seriously? People need to get off my back! But, anyway, here's my explanations to students.

Resources
Students, nowadays, are told that we need to pay for a lot of our own supplies and thats for all courses ever invented ever, not just art. But art supplies, are some of the most expensive. So, see when you are moaning at me to buy bags of material, bottles upon bottles of paint, multiple sketchbooks, remember that I am not made of money, I do not have a money tree, no matter how much I wish such a thing would just exist.. *SIGH*
For places to work with bigger artworks we are completely limited, we can't exactly live in college to have some form of space to work at any hour we are struck by inspiration. My home was not made to give me copious amounts of space in which to work, so don't yell at me when all my work is like A3 or smaller. And also, in a house with other human beings there are many things you can not try, like sculpture, printing, certain types of painting... Even in college we can't do some things do to lack of supplies there even! Lets not expect me to do it at home ok?

Stress
Stress is very common among students, we are put under tremendous amounts of pressure and it generally causes us to snap one way or another. I mean, students, even high school students, end up with sleeping disorders, eating disorders, depression, etc. All because they are put under so much pressure from schools, colleges, unis, money, parents, teachers, friends, family. Furthermore, with like a third of all students going through depression at one point or another through education do not think for a second they haven't got hundreds of things going through their mind every second so when they tell you that, do NOT every think it isn't a serious thing, do not see it as an excuse.

Money/Jobs
Like I said, I don't have a money tree, so doing anything money related (which is basically everything these days, lets not lie) most students can't - or shouldn't - take part in. I, specifically, do not get the loan or the bursary from SAAS or the college itself. So to travel as far as I do for college comes out of my parents pocket, all because they wanted me to stay out of debt when I left.. Speaking of travel, yeah, that course is something I wanted and was one of the few places that actually accepted me but seriously understand that you are very far away and if I want to be there early I have to be up 3 hours before it starts cause I have 2 hours travel... Do not yell at me for being a few mins late. Ok, back on topic. They pay for my supplies and everything I need to do with college. Which is completely outstanding of them, I could not cope without this from them, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart, but they are not the only one paying for my life unfortunately. My friends, because I am the poorest of them all, have taken it upon themselves to buy my way when it comes to socialising. They pay for meals, they pay for nights out, drinks, entry fees.. I just hope they know how much I wish I could pay them back every cent tenfold! But I can't so I just cling to their coat tails like a mad pest. KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU ALL AND THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART EVERY TIME YOU DO ANYTHING FOR ME!!
And I know I know, why don't you get a part time job? You could pay people back, pay for your own stuff, blah blah blah.. DON'T YOU THINK I HAVE TRIED STRANGER!? Part time jobs are incredibly hard to get, for me especially apparently. I know many people who have tried for years, applied to hundreds of jobs over and over again and still gotten nowhere, and guess what I am one of them. So the next time someone moans at me to get one, I might cut you.. Like seriously, run. Run far.

Time/Social Life
Ah, time... How I miss having some spare... Trying to fit in socialising (the free kind) into a life with a full time college course seems impossible to most students. Either you stay in forever and pass the course well, or you go out at the weekends and be a drunken virus and basically fail. The happy medium is what I wish I could achieve but for now I guess I will stick with the indoors. Lazing around in joggies while I think and draw and eat... Fat, nae makeup days = happy(ish) days.

Exposure
Ok, this may be more relevant for Art students or courses that go along with it, but most want to sell their work, gain exposure and earn some money off of their talent, but its soooooo difficult. Its so hard to find someone who isn't a dear old relative who is trying to be a wee sweetheart and buy all yer work. No, you want loads of folk to see your work and instantly know, thats yours! HOW DO WE GET THAT?! I would love to find out about galleries and stuff about here who take in students work to be sold or even just to show... Sadly, I know of none, and we are told of none, and any I ask say naw. Seriously, anyone knows any, HOOK A SISTA UP!... I can't pull that off, I'm sorry.

Even though I rant about everything and worry about everything, I love my course, I love the people, I love the place. There are just a few things that people have said to me over the last few years that have really gotten to me, and well now I have a blog, and blogs are an accepted place for thoughts, feelings and opinions.

I know it wasn't very art related but my blog is the "Blog Of An Art STUDENT" so... You get what you come for.

Well, this is going to be a boring wordy one...

This is our random week off and since we handed in all of our work a week or more ago, we don't have much homework to do. Although, I did celebrate passing my first modules.. GO ME! Aaaannnyway... Other than some personal sketchbook work that was just for funsies I haven't done much.

Although, saying that, I did do some Pathways sketchbook work, basically laying out my original notebook scribblings of gibberish into a real and somewhat intellectual format. I finally narrowed down the brief I wanted to do - celebrating the ballpoint pen, joyous and thrilling... - and also what I want to 'create' under each of the pathways, Visual Communication, Applied Design Craft and Contemporary Art. I say 'create' because it is a fake brief... we don't actually make anything this is just to get us into the swing of it even though we are half way through the year and have done this sort of thing before. Make sense? I didn't think so either. However, I like this brief, it's entertaining, not really sure why though.. Maybe just because of its ludicrous idea, to celebrate a pen, it just sounds... fun! When the class read them we had many ideas, most of them branching off into their field of expertise whereas I was there thinking I have no clue what I should do, like to do, what to do, so I wrote everything.

You see, my ideas are somewhat things I haven't tried and thought would be amazing to do or fake do. So, my ideas are, for vis com, I plan to do typography. I have never used typography to create art before so I thought why not! I will be creating a negative or positive space image of a ballpoint pen and what is written around or in the pen will either be different languages that people (pen users) use or ideals that different people can have and probably have written about - maybe using their trusty ballpoint ;) - such as maybe religion, government, social ideals, etc.
Then, for applied design craft, I have decided to do body adornment. It makes sense for me because I love tattoos and jewellery and accessories so I am going to try and create those through the ballpoint pen! Like, the tattoos will either be based upon the pen literally, or it will be celebrated through the fact I plan to draw any tattoo designs onto someone's skin WITH the ballpoint itself! Cause, I mean, who hasn't got bored and doodled up their arm in byro? For the jewellery and accessories, its definitely a more literal approach. I plan to design the items so as they are MADE out of the ballpoints. Like a bag would be made out of all ballpoint pen casings glued or melted together! It sounded awesome in my head...
And finally, for contemporary I plan to draw/paint with ballpoints! Create a selection of life-drawings and/or sceneries made with only ballpoints, using different styles and different colours.

Well, really this week has very little to say and no real pictures to post, at least not of my actual art work so I think that's all I have to share! Goodbye!