The librarian's tangents.

Wowsers. Don’t know where to start.

Well, the good, how about that?

I was made half redundant. So that’s mixed news. And it wasn’t a redundancy, per se, just a ‘readjustment’ of my working hours. So I’m now 2 days a week instead of 4.

Except I’m still in on 4 days because of my timetable: Mon for an hour, Tues for an hour and a half, Thurs all day, Friday morning.

So that’s the good news, in as much as I’m very excited to see what comes next. Scared, yes, but excited.

To balance, how about some less good news. Was VERY sad to see the WYAC, the youth arts centre I managed for 6 years, shut down by Surrey County Council as one of their series of closures of youth, disabled and elderly services. It’s a sad loss and I’ll do a longer post about that later.

Back to good! Last year, shortly around the time I stopped updating the blog, I was asked to host a space at the World Skills Festival on behalf of my college and the students, focusing on iPad and mobile artwork. It was a HUGE endeavour, the week before and the week of the show both clocking in at 100 hour plus working weeks and that’s before we even get to the finance, organising, logistics. Truth to tell I was utterly tired for a month after. But it was amazing and the students and I demoed digital artwork to over 10,000 people. More on that to follow too.

The week after? (Still good news) I was asked to do a similar something at the London International Technology Show.

And then Christmas is a bit of a blur, really. On the bad side just about everyone I knew was ill with colds or bugs or worse but we still managed to have our traditional two Christmas dinners over two days (long story) and a lot of fun on or around.

This week? I’m at BETT the huge Educational Trade Show at London Olympia for two days demoing digital artwork, next week meeting up with Mia Robinson of IAMDA,  Shaun Mullen and Valerie Beeby which’ll be lovely. Then it’s private viewing of the Hockney exhibition (VERY excited about that, loved the Paris show) and then prepping for a children’s workshop series in Feb. As well as all the normal teachey stuff like marking and UCAS and exams and all sorts. Oh, and a month long exhibition at the BAr Des Arts of 2nd years for a week, first years for a week and then teachers for a week. Also getting ready to be at the Learning Without Frontiers seminars too which is… next week or the one other, can’t remember.

Also: very excited to have some work exhibited at the Grove, San Francisco in the Art Rage exhibition. And a piece in the MacWorld/iWorld show in association with Nomad. But on the bad news side: I’d love to be at MacWorld but the time isn’t there at all (nor, really, the funds for an American jaunt, not just yet). There in spirit and I’ll be watching the show unfold from a distance.

Oh yeah! I also won Nomad Brushes inaugural digital art competition! That deserves a post later as well I think.

But as for now I need a coffee before the next class. Just thought I’d post to prove I’m still alive (at the moment0).

As if the start of an academic year wasn’t chaotic enough, with the normal enrolment, paperwork, risk assessments, welcome packs and so on to be done I’ve also got the World Skills Festival to concern myself with. It should be ace, and terrifyingly huge. Apparently they are geared up to have around 7,500 people coming in every half hour and the Digital Forest is one of the first things that will be seen by main entrance 2. And there’s only two entrances.

Terrifying.

What isn’t terrifying is the concept: lots of people draw trees and those trees are placed into a digital forest which is shown on HDMI screen for all to see. It’s a collaborative artwork sort of thing I’ve now done several times and I can’t wait to see how this one looks in situ, although tbh the reality in my mind is always constrained by the budget I have to work to. What’s mind blowing is the potential numbers which tbh scares the wotsits out of me.

But hey, a chance to show off iPad, DSi XL and desktop artwork off, and the work of my students, and all sorts of all sorts and it’ll be ace. In many ways I can’t wait, but… but… only three weeks away AARGH!

Best of all, potentially, are the possible desks that we’ll be working on. Which sounds silly I know, but the digital forest has the capacity to be printed and shown on some AWESOME platforms which I can’t wait to get my hands on and see. Ace ace ace stuff. But that piece of paper is yet to be signed and agreed so can’t mention it just yet. Hope all of this comes out of my mind onto the stage in similar fashion.

But, mainly, AARGH! Scary.

So, was off for a week last week over on the Isle of Wight. Very pleasant Sunny and easy and lovely views and countryside and beaches. Kids loved it too, which is a distinct bonus.

Rather than take a holiday book or anything I decided to work into a digital finger painting (I know, surprise, right?) I was determined to enter the Deviant Art competition as it was such a lovely idea (create a piece of art from one supplied ‘skribble’. Could be anything as long as the original lines showed through).

The original lines:

My variations:

You can enter as many pictures as you like, the rules seem to state, but these two are enough for me I think The deadline is tomorrow and tbh my eyes are tired enough. One added complication, which didn’t make things any easier in the drawing of the pictures was that my daughter slammed my arm in the car door on day one of the holiday (before we’d even boarded the ferry in fact). There was a large crack which we couldn’t tell was the arm, the door, the coffee cup I’d been passing in or what. As it was I spent three hours at the Isle of Wight A and E department which was fun. As it was the result was bruising, swelling and soft tissue damage which meant I had to grin and bear it rather than anything else.

And then my son shut the car boot on my head but I saw that one coming and managed to get away with a small bruise.

Apart from all that – a nice holiday. Pics to come

You can see Youtube vids of the images being made here too: Charley Blimey  |  Heston Blumenthal.

Bit of Pixelmatoring, just to spice things up a little.

At the moment it looks like this:

(although without the mute button, obviously. Didn’t realise they turned up on screenshots…) You can still see the old website here if you so wish…

Now, or at least for the moment, it looks like this:

Which is an improvement. Still not quite what I want but times a pressing as ever and the Carbonmade chasis that I’m using is smooth and wonderfully easy to use. It is more of a focused thing though as it concentrates on the iPad artwork which is where I can see myself going in the near future (work being as it is, I shan’t bore you with the current ums and ahs).

Anyhow if you want a look-see you can now see it at www.kercal.co.uk

Also added the little dots below which will be at the base of all of my posts from now on in. I wasn’t overly happy with the break at the end of a post so this will do for now as a break between musings (it also provides links to the new folio as well as the youtube, twitter and flickr pages… ) I may make a couple of small changes but have a couple of small freelancey bits and bobs that I really should be getting onto, like about an hour ago…

Love TWIT (the netcast from people I’m told to trust ) and was happily doodling on my iPod touch while listening to this weeks podcast (which was ace by the way, you would listen in, you really should. Occasionally it’s even informative I always put it down as CPD time anyhow, keep the teacher tax officers, sorry, iFl happy).

Anyway that’s by way or explanation of my latest flight of fancy: Ninja Hippo. Owen J J Stone’s idea mashed up with some happy pixels thrown around by me. Hope you like.

Video file of the drawing of here: Youtube!

Click for larger image.

I do a lot of sketching, in pads, by choice a lovely Peanuts adorned Moleskine sketchpad. So this is the 18th anniv card with the original sketches (first idea on the right and final on the left with the iPod Touch version on top). The original sketch is on the right because, generally I start pads at the back and work to the front… (at least until I make my mind up about what I want them to be).

Click image for the larger version.

Video file of the image here: Youtube!

Update: also – delighted to be tweeted by Cancom to say that it came first in their digital talent tweet competition Hurrah… Most pleased indeedy.

Went on a photo walk on Saturday. Was a lovely time

Started at the Churchill Arms in Notting Hill, walked to Earl’s Court for the Great British Beer Festival, marred mainly by the fact that, as it was the last day, a LOT of beer had run out (which was more than a good deal of the audience could do – ba doom tish). Then it was away to the Gosh comics opening (sadly missing the Dave McKean signing but always lovely to see some of his artwork on show and finally off to Chin Chin Labs, one of my favouritist places on the planet. Liquid Nitrogen ice cream? Yes please. I always have the special (which on Saturday was Basil Choc Chip. Yum, honestly).

Anyhow: couple of sample pics and more here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/56759148@N00/sets/72157627254828691/

A title which made sense in my head, in some manner. Sometimes these things just fall on the screen in some way.

Click for larger version.

Actually, come to think of it, it came about as a tweet to someone who’d just come back from holiday and asked if they’d missed anything. Something along the lines of the title was my reply. Not that I’ve got anything against the Eiffel tower, or Paris, despite it being the fashionable comic book acceptable target for mass destruction of the moment.

(Image made from two photographs, digitally smurged about using Pixelmator and a couple of the in built filters, one of which Photoshop hasn’t got and is dead useful but one of which doesn’t work as well as it should – cough: looking at you, non off screen affecting Kaleidoscope filter cough- Macbook Pro).

Because painting this was way better than marking. That said: finished the marking today, phew…