Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Drum roll please


Well who feels like an idiot now? Me! Forgot to attach the photo didn't I? So, for all of you patient folks out there in internet land. Here it is. Good news is that I get to bring my finished works home this weekend. We are gathering for the MAANZ end of year BBQ on Saturday. Much fun to be had by all I expect. Will try to remember to provide a before and after shot. Of the sculpture, not me. By this stage it was after 6.00pm on the first day and the slightly glazed look on my face says it all. I was happy, but absolutely exhausted. Smiles.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Concrete Queen

I thought I would share my thoughts on “surviving” the adventure of attending a workshop at Caroline Moss’s. In a nutshell the concrete sculpture workshop was everything we hoped for and more. Caroline’s session at the MAANZ Symposium only gave a glimpse of what to expect, but certainly got us interested. There was no way in the world I were going to wait until February to get down and dirty!

From the moment you enter the property you know things are going to be wonderful. The drive, garden, pool area, patio and house are literally spilling over with sculpture. Everywhere you turn you see pieces to amaze and inspire...even in the vegie patch....the cherry tomatoes were so sweet and delicious!

I attended with a friend, Heddy. We were joined over the weekend by Tracy, another MAANZ supporter, who flew in from Melbourne for the adventure. Between us, we produced a lizard, a dog, a bird, an echidna, various fish and a Madonna and child. Whew! These pieces are now “curing” which leaves ample time for considering how and when mosaic embellishment will take place.

Caroline really is inspiring in her knowledge and prowess with her passion for her art, driving her (and us) at a manic pace. She is so sharing of her knowledge and she made everything look easy.....even beating a steel rod into submission! For both of us, her enthusiasm and drive was a highlight of our weekend. We worked solidly from 8.00am until 6.00pm both days, but were too excited to succumb to the exhaustion threatening to overtake us. As Tracy so aptly put it, “if they could market “Caroline” pills they would sell out”. Caroline was there at every point to mentor and support us....and she was still smiling at the end of the weekend. As were the rest of us – we really felt like we got in and gave it a go – and have the results to prove it.

Humour was a big part of the weekend. First there was the running commentary from Bob, Caroline’s husband. Yes, he is just like she described at the Symposium. Then there was the discussion relating to how the x-ray machines at the airport would cope with Tracy’s pieces. Imagine something very round (and echidna like), filled with nails and go from there – good thing it wasn’t an international flight as Customs would not have been amused. Then there was the “kill the March Fly” episode. Suffice to say, much fun was had by all.

So, to give you an idea of the fun and mayhem lets “count with Caroline”

1 – is for Caroline (she really is a delight)

2 – the projects completed (one steel/wire with cement the other polystyrene and cement)

3 – for the number of novice MAANZ members

4 – the number of tubs of mix per batch of concrete (1 cement and 3 sand)

5 – the number of books recommended (concrete sculpture techniques of course)

10 – the minutes “allowed” for lunch (can’t waste time eating J)

50 – the number of batches of concrete mixed and used (we are now all experts at handling a huge jackhammer style mixer and have concrete splattered legs to prove it)

90 – as in dollars, the cost of a roll of “bird wire” (we learnt lots of new terms)

150 – the number of times we got into trouble (for talking to Bob when we should have been working J)

2365 – the number of wire ties used (well it definitely seemed to be 1000’s!)

The photos tell the rest of the story.

All we can say is give it a go. It really was fantastic.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Birds are a twitter


There is a bird thing happening in my studio. More of the Quirky Birds are "coming soon" with new styles and new colours so if interested stay tuned. With every one unique and original these little guys are proving both popular and fun to create.


The kingfisher inspired me to keep on with the larger birds too, so a pelican has joined the flock! Let me know what you think.

MAANZ Community Project


One of the nice things about the MAANZ group is that they are always looking at ways of giving back to the community. This year, the conference community piece, is a bird creation workshop. Participants sign on to create a bird using a ply template and gorgeous mosaic materials to glam the birds up. These fine feathered creations will then be donated to a Brisbane based charity for their enjoyment, or fundraising activity. A group of the Brisbane based MAANZ members got together recently for a working bee, creating sample birds as inspiration starting points and cutting bulk supplies for use at the workshop. As for me, I loved the sample I produced so much I replicated another one for myself. Little did I realise that this little kingfisher was destined to fly on out of my studio. Thankfully he too is going to a good home. Phew!

MAANZ Mania

It's official - three more sleeps until the Brisbane based MAANZ Mosaic Conference for 2009 kicks off. All very exciting. Must be something in the air. Was delighted to be advised that the Green Sea Turtle that I submitted for exhibition in the official conference show was accepted for hanging, but even more exciting, the little guy has also sold. Big smiles from me - especially given he is going to a good home. I love that fact that someone saw something in him that made them think of something nice. I hope the owners have as much pleasure from him as I did creating him.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Only in Brisbane

With the Brisbane Festival done and dusted for another year I will have to add this to my list of highlights for the year. Where else in the world would you get a free Chris Isaak concert - with a crowd turn out in the 1000's - all in a place where the artist performed his last Brisbane concert less than 6 months ago. Goes to show how big the guys fan base is and with a concert of the quality presented you can understand why. Chris and the guys (got to love Kenny!) played for the entire advertised time - 8.30pm - 10.00pm and then capped it off with a 5 song encore! Wow. Have to say that the rendition of Return to me got me - will have to try and track down a copy of the Baja Sessions album based on the strength of the performance. Pure honey....as if I wasn't melting already. Have always had a soft spot for Chris and his work, but am well and truly ga ga now.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Mosaics and more

As you will have worked out by now, mosaics is a subject close to my heart. Which is probably why I keep coming back to it. Birds certainly are a recurrent theme too. Following on from the mosaic duck I have been working on a series of small birds which I have nicknamed "Quirky Birds" - I guess partly inspired by Martin and his "Cheeky Birds". Quirky birds are all unique little guys made using a combination of smalti, millifiore and glass beads. They have been flying out of the studio in droves. This of course is fine by me, as the more they are adopted by others, the more I have capacity to create extras of these little fellows. I have to say it has been exciting to see the reaction of people to these happy little fellows.

As far as bigger birds go I am now mid way through preparation of my sample piece to contribute to the Mosaic Association of Australia and NZ conference workshop. Working with the Brisbane members group (Barbara, David, Heddy, Wendy and Kym) we have been madly cutting and preparing materials for the bird creation workshop. To give our arms a rest we have now moved on to creating inspired samples for use as inspiration on the day for workshop participants. All very exciting really.

I am working on a little kingfisher styled bird in shades of brown and jade. Funny thing is that the two saucers I had adopted from Barbara's stash to utilise, the ones that inspired the colour palette, now turn out to be "collectable". I am in two minds whether to use them or not. There is a common theme happening here. That is what happens when mosaics and librarians mix. I had offered to research a china backstamp for Barbara and thought I might as well look at this makers mark also. Turns out it is a "hard to find" backstamp. Status now is that the saucers are nestled in bubble wrap, with some data on the Bavarian porcelain company and are put aside to take back to Barbara. In the interim the bird is sporting some Johnson Brothers vintage china, Italian glass tile and French ceramic tile, so I am sure he will still be a handsome lad - with or without the saucers. The challenge for me is that I am going to use a thin set/grout mix to adhere the tesserae so for me that will mean working fast and fluid rather than my usual tortoise plod (ie neat!) pace. Should be interesting. At the end of the day it will be exciting to see all of the birds winging their way to a local charity. (A little birdy told me it might be Ronald McDonald House.)

I missed the second working bee - attacked by a version of the bug going around Brisbane. Missed not only another fun session, but pizza for lunch! So I am now looking at catching up with everyone for the hanging of the 30:30 Vision exhibition at Brisbane Square Library. I am realising very quickly what an inspiring bunch of mosaic inspired people we have here in Brisbane. Barbara sent through photos of how the birds are progressing - inspiring and colourful - I am just waiting for these guys to start "tweeting". Tweet tweet.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Ostrich fever




Funny how change is omnipresent. Seems to me that you just survive one wave and come up spluttering and another is on its way. So, you can choose to do the old ostrich with its head in the sand thing or you can try to embrace it and make it work for you. Enough of that though, don't have an ostrich to share so thought I might share my latest piece of mosaic work. Still one of the feathered guys, but happily, not an ostrich. Hope you like him. Funny story behind it - actually it started out quite tragic but happily for all turned out well. A lady I know from the local off leash rocked up one morning demanding to know if I could "fix her duck?" "What duck?" I asked. Turns out she had a lovel y terracotta duck in the garden, which had been knocked over and broken. Needing to see it first I asked if she could bring it to me to look at. Sure enough a few days later a box passed hands - not containing the advertised dozen bottles of wine, but filled with various pieces (9 in all) of duck. So - much thought, much adhesive and much time later, this is the result. I used a combination of Wedgewood and Johnson Brothers china for the wing and tail detail, then used Italian glass tile in a range of white and off white for the remainder of the head and body. A splash of orange finishes this guy off. His little metal feet are original. Hope you enjoy him. He is now happily back at his original home, but well out of the reach of dogs!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Got to love libraries

I forget sometimes the thrill of the chase ie the challenge of supplying information for a client to answer their request. So I am happy to say that I had a happy reminder of why I love the research challenge this afternoon.

A colleague requested a copy of the tale of Rama and Sita, suitable for sharing with a young audience. Our copy was missing. So, on to Plan B. Various other items were requested from our collection, which each helped to build the tale, but not at a level easily absorbed by littlies.
This tale really is one of the key Indian folk tales. So, a search of the National Library's online catalogue provided a few clues ie full name of the tale is the Ramayana and the search continued. I have now tracked down a copy of a version for children held in the BCC collection - and a colleague who lives across town will collect a copy tomorrow and bring it in with him on Friday. All in time to educate us into the full beauty of the tale and by the Sunday deadline, as entertainment for a very important persons birthday party! You just have to love team work.




Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Celebrity spotting becomes the norm!

There must be something in the water in Brisbane this week. Celebrities are turning up everywhere I go!

Attending a performance of Imaginery Theatre's Tashi at the Powerhouse at New Farm I was lucky enough to meet Tim Sharp - the talented creator of Laser Beak Man. A super hero for the modern age Laser Beak Man is a voice for the sharp edged humour of his creator, all delivered with bright and bold graphics. With a number of the works in the exhibition sporting red dots one can only give a thumbs up to Tim and his support crew. Book two of the adventures of Laser Beak Man is under development so expect big things in the future for this young man. A copy of Tim's first book was proudly donated to State Library and will join the collections of the Australian Library of Art.

Tim's website can be viewed at http://www.laserbeakman.com/

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Snippet of mosaic


I can't help myself, but every now and then I have to sneak in a little bit of mosaic. I can blame this on the fact that I was following up on my new found access to the Flickr site - and have now not only loaded iamges but have also organised "sets". The librarian in me loves these little tools for organising and sorting!


So, 3 or 4 "sets" later I have a number of images online. The link for those who are interested is:




In the interim thought I would show you the work I completed while I was on leave recently - Green Sea Turtle.

I am hoping to have it accepted for exhibtion in the Australian and NZ Mosaic Association 2009 Conference - Crusty Oceania exhibition. There are so few opportunities to exhibit mosaic art that you can only be excited by the potential. The piece is finished, now to tackle the paperwork and entry form, supply of correct documentation etc. Fingers crossed I get it sorted correctly and that the judging panel select it for exhbition. If successfull, should be on show at the BCC Central Library Sept/Oct 2009 in Brisbane. Will keep you posted re how I go.

Spot the Celebrity

I am one of those people who never knows anyone famous, never sees anyone famous, and is unlikely ever to be famous....and that is fine by me. Suffice to say I was pretty stunned when this week I have had not one, but three brushes with fame. Read on. After being haunted by the face of the guy from the Vicks Vapour drop advertisement currently screening on tv, and starting to sneak a peek at fellow bus passengers in the misguided belief that the face must be familiar because I had seen him on the bus previously....I finally put it all together at a meeting with colleagues from QTC when I realised that the Vicks guy is actually the QTC project coordinator for a forthcoming tour of our co-production Maxine Mellor Mystery Project. Obvious really!

Famous moment two came about when we were discussing the Brisbane Powerhouse's current production of Tashi. Turns out Thom who is working with us, played Tashi's best friend in an earlier production. Wow.

Heading off to a meeting back of house in Heritage Collections I was stunned to come across Tom of Master Chef fame. Yes its true - libraries must e hip and happening places because my eyes did not deveive me. Tom has a background in the Arts, Indigenous issues and the law and is utilising these skills working on curatorial content for a forthcoming exhibition. And he bakes a perfect fish! Double wow!

So, who would have thought it - State Library is a hive of activity and the best place in Brisbane to "spot the celebrity". Happy looking!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Another Good Read

I know I am behind the times, but I have only just read John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. This deceptively simple story can be read on a range of levels, but whichever way you choose to look at it, it really is a beautiful little book. From all reports, aimed at the young adult audience, it really is a book that stands up equally well to adult viewing.

"Listening" to Bruno is just like talking to my 10 year old nephew. The pattern of language, the focus for discussions, the things in his life that are meaningful - his friends, his family, his annoying older sister the hopeless case. All of it steps forward into another century and is relevant in the life of little boys everywhere.

I can only assume that there will be detractors to this book - seems to be par for the course for anything relating to the Holocaust, but sometimes the most hearfelt stories are those that tell the tale simply. There is no need to spell out the atrocities that occurred. The reader knows that this tale will never have a happy ending, and yet Boyne holds your attention all the way through. I may not have had tears on my face, but my heart was heavy...and yes, I remembered.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Time flies when you are having fun!


http://www.goodreadingmagazine.com.au/index.cfm

Hard to believe it, but I am back from leave and in week two already. I am trying to work out where the last couple of weeks have gone. No rest for the wicked, so I must have been very bad in the last little while.
It's interesting, as you get into this Web 2 stuff more and more connections arise. An email from a colleague today invited me to sign on for a live tutorial to learn the "ins and outs" of the Good Reading magazine online. A fan of the hardcopy mag this got me thinking. Could I live without the hardcopy and learn to love the online version? Mmmm....and did I really need a tutorial to get me going? No and no - but lets give it a go anyway I decided. So, online I went. After getting side tracked checking out all of the best titles to read, yes, and going online to BCC Library site to place a hold on a couple - I returned to the task at hand. Yes, the site is easy to navigate and very intuitive. So simple in fact I am beginning to wonder what it is I missed. Perhaps I do need that online tutorial after all. That said, I still love a hardcopy. The look and feel are worth fighting for and you can bring it someones attention much more easily by shoving it under their nose than insisting that they walk over to your computer to "come have a look at this." As for the tutorial, perhaps if I can make the time - this is always the issue. Making the time should not be an episode in guilt management, but should be justifiable as professional development. Perhaps that is why the previous months issue of Good Reading is still sitting on my desk waiting to be read!


Friday, June 5, 2009

Love Tags!

Well it is official - the organisation/tidy freak in mean just loves tagging. For a person who previously had thousands of bokkmarks stored in her favourites folder (yes, many of them in folders and sorted) this is going to be a wonderful tool. One that will fulfil personal needs whilst being valuable in the work space too! Double bonus time.

I love it! I love it! I love it!

When people used to talk about "Delicious" I thought it was the gourmet food magazine online - doh! So, have opened an account - immediate response unlike my RSS Feed one which still awaits verification. What's more I went in and started adding URLS and tagging them. Not quite sure what happened when I tried to add buttons - got myself in a loop there with limited access to help late on a Friday afternoon. Liked the ease of lay out of Cleveland Public Library site and sorting by tagging - so all in all a good one for follow through in the future.

Almost forgot - learnt how to tag multi word tags from Cleveland too ie run them together!

Didn't realise but have also been adding labels to my blogs - these are really "tags" by another name! Bingo.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

RSS Feeds for dummies

Well, second go at accessing Bloglines and at least this time it opened. Now I am awaiting verification....and waiting....and waiting.

In the interim I am filling my time looking at potential RSS feed and blogs to subscribe to. Am a little unsure that all of the selections have RSS Feeds, however they come from the list of thos suggested to look at. So far, have given the ok to Courier Mail - Breaking News, BBC, Opal Training Blog and another dog site. Oh - and the IKC Network blog. Even sent them a comment. Hope they get as much of a buzz as having a comment as I did when my one and only comment came through. Challenge is that my verifaction is hung up in the ether somewhere so I am still currently not validated. Boy this could be depressing - no friends (on Twitter, not validated) - would not want to be paranoid about this.

Am going on leave and so am really trying to get this course finished off - don't even own a computer so to have a chance to "win" one is a great incentive. Fingers crossed.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

It's easy to get addicted

Well, I tried to open an account in Bloglines, however the page was temporarily down. Will try again later - pretty "down page" lots of coloured spots and dots.

In the interim, worked out that my blogs I had signed on to follow are able to be read in Google Viewer, another link mentioned in the online tutorial, so went into the account I have there and added the Cesar Milan blog. What else for a dog fan? Obvious choice really. Will await the return of bloglines with bated breath!

All starting to gel.

I think I am starting to get the hang of this - proof required I hear you say? Well, number one, I worked out how to add my profile image to my "follower" statement, so now the poor friends whose blogs I have signed on to, can see my smiling face when they open their blog.

Secondly, and even more importantly - at a meeting this afternoon (yes, a work one) I conversed generally about blogs and even came across as sounding like I knew what I was talking about. I was then able to send the blog site under discussion, to my own email account via the meeting visitors laptop.

Am even starting to identify applications within the work team where blogging might actually be of value. I was interested to hear the the IKC blog has now developed a following that includes members of the local press - not only that, but the journos use the happenings blogged to write for the paper. How about that for great marketing!

Is that an improvement or what! Proud techno dummy signing out.

Almost forgot - Flickr update.

Suprised myself this week - went into Flickr to check references for images for an idea I am working on for a mosaic piece. With a Brisbane exhibition coming up in October - in Brisbane! (unheard of I know) I decided to go looking for inspiration to support the design I was developing. Guess what - it really helped.

Final note though, the original design I have developed is based on an image from an SLQ book. Yup - one of those old paper things we find lying around from time to time....but boy is the reference material fantastic. As a bonus you know it has gone through a rigourous selection process enroute to being published.

Anything else I have found online, just adds to the image bank - the original image is by far the best. Work on the piece - a Green Sea Turtle - progresses slowly, so all going well, will post an image of the piece once it is finished. Smiles.

To Ning or not to Ning?

OK - where do you draw the line. Each one of these sites makes you "sign on" before you can check it out. Not wanting to spend all afternoon signing on I decided to do this the smart way. Checked out reviews for Ning and was happy to note that Ning is Chinese for "Peace" - which dialect I don't know but it gives you a warm glow. Seemed to get a good wrap - assuming they didn;t post their own good review online (stranger things have happened) - but again, do I want to be a "no friends Nellie" on 2 social networking sites? Not today, thanks anyway.

By the way - I have previously signed on to "Linked In" - and have 3 friends there. Is that a social networking site or a variation therein?

Mmmmm. To infinity and beyond is ringing a bell here. Thanks Buzz.

Social Butterfly

Well I am well and truly "social networking". So far have looked at Twitter only. I recall hearing about this at a "New Technologies" session ages ago and planting it away thinking - "that could be fun." Well, I have signed on - and instantaneously hooked up with 73 followers and 4 friends that I was following, including Horn Kitty. The mind boggles.

Tried to find some friends - have none. Well, given my gmail account is new I shouldn't be suprised. Did eventuall find one - the lovely Thom, so added myself as a follower. So out of 77 attachments you will be pleased to know that 1 was legitimate. And yes, I did shed a tear as I "deleted" Kevin Spacey. I know he too will be devastated. Couldn't even find Nathan on Twitter!

Work wise, it could be a quick and easy way to communicate the non important stuff. Beyond that I am not sure. Will keep looking. Perhaps the secret is in the fact that students are already familiar with this style of working - perhaps students could add/access data to an SLQ Children and Young Peoples (or even specific "events") page. Might be a way to build in reflection time for a group who now expect instant responses to anything and everything. Scope for developing pre and post visit activities, scope to add in to the Schools Progam......yikes!

The name Ning intrigued me so might try that next! Stay tuned. Major gas pipe busted on Corronation Drive so getting the bus home at this stage seems like a non option.

Will let you know what flavour the cupcakes Thom mentioned in his Twitter note were - I sent him a messge to find out! As for me - I made Raspberry and White Choclate muffins to feed my mosaics class last night. Yum Yum.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Hello to Penny

Well, I got all excited because I found I had a "follower" - then (no insult intended) discovered it was Mary. Nice photo Mary. Decided I then had to work out how I too could be a follower and stunned myself by successfully adding myself to a colleagues blog. Wow. Also sent them a comment....well a messge from Cinque to Penny so decided it was time to add an image of Cinque.

Speaking of images, can't work out why my follower "sign" on did not take my blog image with it...Nathan!!!!! Will have to wait to find out what I should have done - he has headed home. Bummer.


Second life - aka - Get a life.

This is the second "oh oh moment" - I attended another session this week whereby I again had to bottle the indignant librarian within me. A briefing on an EQ Virtual Worlds trial project we sat through the usual demo of a Second Life styled "Active World". Apparently uses the Virtual Worlds software, which is in competition with Second Life.

The good points were that student involvement in the project is strong - from the mentor group of students working to establish and support the trial, to those students who were encouraged to sign on as test scenario partners for the duration of the 4 week project. So, with a 2 week set up period, and the actual project period, 6 weeks to get immersed. Designing an alternate learning environment online is fun I guess and certainly provides scope for students to have a choice of options for engaging in the project. So, overall "brownie points" from this critic.

The cringe factor for me came when I questioned the presenter as to awareness of copyright issues - hers or the students - given the heavy reliance of Youtube footage and other web based images (people, places, artworks etc) While the web link to image source was annotated, the response from the coordinator that "as it was a trial project I didn't worry about copyright too much" made me think.

Monday, June 1, 2009

It's a scary world

Twice in the last week I have found myself thinking "I must add that to my blog!" Oh oh. Still can't quite believe it, but there it is.

So - "oh oh moment" number 1.

Attended a presentation last week by a UQ academic presenting outcomes of a survey on Queensland Youth and the Environment. Commissioned by a QLD Government department I was intrigued to see that on two key questions asked via the online survey - both relating to sources of and reliability of information - that neither question provided an option for participants to select "libraries". To state the obvious, options included such wide ranging selections as CEO's, the internet, family, government etc - but whilst newspapers were mentioned, libraries were not. Thinking I had dozed off for the relevant part of the discussion I waited with bated breath - but still no reference to libraries as a "source of information" nor as a "reliable source of information." To say I was astounded is an understatement. To add insult to injury, when I politely questioned whether witholding libraries was a concsious decision or not I received a 5 minute "waffle" response. This was followed by one of the data entry team noting that they might have been included under - "other".

Being quietly apopleptic by this stage it did not help that the researcher then suggested that the solution might lie in the fact that "information is all virtual now anyway isn't it?" You will be somewhat relieved to know that I countered this misconception in as polite and positive a way as I could.

The session ended with the MC for the event noting that "it was wonderful to know that Government was now in the position to determine policy based on authoritative research." Yikes.

"Oh oh moment" 2 to follow!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Wiki war

Me again - at least if I keep launching blogs I wont forget how to do it. Use it or lose it as they say.

Spent this afternoon looking at Wikis....mmmm...had really only used Wikipedia prior to this afternoons License to Test Drive session. Being a librarian I actually quite like it - using the links to other references and bibliographies which can be wonderful starting points for ongoing research. Yeah, yeah, I know that any Tom, Dick and Harry can get in and add data, but where on earth has common sense gone? Seems like teachers and other educators aren't supporters of Wikipedia, at least judging by the comments from student clients on AskNow. I live in hope that over time educators will be able to work with us to teach students to be more discerning, rather than putting a blanket ban on access.

As for the homework request - check out 3 sites. Well I did that and the results are in. Mint Museum - great data - but am still trying to work out whether I accessed their website or their wiki. If if wasn't their wiki I am still looking for it! Note to self though, go back and look at some of their educational programs. Wookieepedia - fun if you like big furry people. As for Book Lovers Wiki - I got all excited until I saw it was last updated in 2006. Lesson to be learnt there I think....bye for now!

Youth of today

Had to laugh today during a discussion with a Year 7 student. When asked what his favourite library item from discussions in the "Up Close and Personal" session was - he responded "Diaries and Journals....today we would SMS!" Needless to say it made for a very interesting discussion!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Trial by error!

Due to other commitments - client service to be precise - I missed our Lesson 3 hand holding session. You know what that means don't you. I will be undertaking the battle of the Wikis alone and unaided. Be afraid....be very afraid.

On another note, am going to add some details to my profile - and have just seen that "my blog photos have their own presence on Picasa. Note to self. Check it out another time. Over and out!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

A monster is created.

Well it's official - this non "flickr" user has been bitten by the bug. I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by the quality of the images availabe on the site, and being a librarian, love the ability to tag. When was the lesson on signing on to and using Flickr? Will look forward to that one....or maybe that's the whole idea??? We go in and sign on for ourselves. Mmm, will have a think about it. Might even dust off the camera and find the cable for it. Smiles.

Oops - she did it again.

Well, now that I know I was meant to "blog" about issues related to the Test Drive Project I will refocus and see how I go.

So, the bit about Nathan stands - it is always easier having a human talk you through issues, and with this in mind we are now having a support session weekly within our team to talk through issues and encourage us to complete tasks within the project.

So, how did I find opening a gmail account, selecting names and pass words - or should I say selecting names and pass words that were not already in use? Well, quite frankly, it was long, non intuitive and frustrating. That said, I can see that for some things producing and understanding blogs would be beneficial. So, for a techno dummy like me it is worth perservering. Lets face it I need all the help I can get. This is the girl whose home is still a technology free zone - except for the mobile phone - and no, I don't use all its features! The dog chewed up all of the remote control units, so you can probably work out the rest.

The suggested sideline elements to visit, and suggestions for search terms were great - and contrary to some comments I actually like some of the side line tracks you can take, and yes still find these useful learning tools, but agree that keeping an eye on time dedicated to the project is worthwhile. Serendipity can be a great thing.

As far as learning a new skill I need a few how to's or step by step directions to get going. Based on that I found downloading an image challenging. Have to say I find the instructions a little lacking - searched for ages for how to insert images. Nathan pointed to the icon needed in a nano second. Yep - I blinked and missed it. Anyway finally got my head around it - hence the beautiful mosaic cat image. No I didn't have any library shots to hand. I have lost the cable that connects my digital camera to the computer, so am limited to other options. I guess once you are comfortable downloading images the commonalities in process are evident. For me, I do these things so rarely that I tend to "forget" in between sessions. That is one of the good things about these project based sessions...means I will keep at it.

Anyway, from a girl who SMS's longhand this was never goingto be short - so thanks for hanging in there. Assuming someone out in the eather reads this.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Billy the Cat!


This is Billy - he now lives in New Zealand, but I thought he was a good example of where my mosaic work has been heading lately. The first work in the cat profile series was quite simple as it actually developed from a basic concept design proposed by my nephew Samson. Four cats later and the glass tesserae are being colour matched to produce a life like rendition of "real" cats, complete with copper wire whiskers. Earlier versions were more stylised and didn't have quite the same character....anyone for fish! Photo taken by my friends in IPU.

Biting the bullet!

Well, it's official. I have "signed on" for the License to Test Drive Project - thanks to the encouragement of Nathan who decided to hold our hands and get us up and running. Whew!

Whilst I am sure that I could talk under water, using the written word is another thing entirely. Time will tell - is it guff or is it good? Then again, maybe some people like guff. For me the visual image has always spoken louder than text so all going well, and following Lesson 2, I may inundate my blog with images. So, here goes with the new blog - stay tuned.