Its the age old dilemma- ask anyone who has been to Venice, for example. They will tell you that it was great, but there were so many damn tourists and it was so crowded that the trip was ruined. But then, if you think about it, the person who has just said this was a tourist, adding to the mass of people wandering around sight-seeing and buying tacky plastic gondola ornaments that lets be honest, would look far better in the bin than on the mantlepiece.
And so the dilemma begins.
If you have read my previous blog entry, you will know that I recently went to Thorpe Park, and was really hyped up about riding The Swarm, their new rollercoaster.
See? How epic does that look? It takes you up, flips you upside down and then drops you for what looks like a very long time.
So being as excited as I was, I got up really early, and managed to be there by half past 9 (it opened at 9 am). So as soon as I got there, I checked the waiting time board thinking it would probably say 30 minutes-ish. You wanna know what it said??
99+ minutes
...
So over an hour and a half waiting time when the park had only been open for half an hour? Whoa.
And try to buy a fastpass to spend an extortionate amount of money to save time? The queue for the fastpass booth was an hour long... thats not exactly 'fast'.
Seriously, almost everything had a waiting time of over an hour, so what did we go on I hear you ask?
The flying fish!! Ahhh, who doesnt love the flying fish.... when they're four years old. And ironically, the flying fish is right next to the Swarm, adding a hint of irony I believe.
And so you see, I hate tourists.... they come along and buy loads of crap they dont need or actually want, stubbornly stand in queues for hours and just get in the way of EVERTHING.
Yet, I am a tourist too- we all are. Does this mean I hate myself?!
As our Merlin passes are running out in a few weeks, which, by the way, have been AWESOME, we have recently been cramming in all the theme parks. Last week we went to Chessington World of Adventures, and I went on the vampire for the first time! See, a few years ago, I was petrified of rides, so I never went on any. Then, I went to America with my equally-as-scared friend Laura, and suddenly we went on everything! :)
When I got home, I truly believe that I was enlightened. And so began my love for rides <3
Mum bought all of us Merlin passes this time last year, and we've been going to so many attractions, like:
Alton Towers
London Eye
Madame Taussauds
Thorpe Park
London Aquarium
Legoland
Warwick Castle
and generally awesome stuff :)
This is a picture i took just at the right moment of my annoying, overweight little sister on one of those bungee things at Alton Towers. If I've had a bad day, like a REALLY bad day, I just need one glance at this picture to make me feel happy again :) Does that make me a bad sister?!
Tomorrow will probably be my last visit to Thorpe Park or any other theme park for a while... am I sad? Definitely.
BUT
There is a new ride! Its called the swarm, and its what all those propaganda leaflets were advertising at Thorpe Park late last season. And you know how I just know its going to be epic? You me at six have done the soundtrack.
...
BOOM.
A Soundtrack.
A. Sound. Track. For a ride! How cool is that?!?! Seriously, if I were the PR guy for any other theme park, I think I would have to kick myself pretty damn hard.
I wonder how they use the song though? In the queue lines, over and over to brainwash you into buying it? On the ride itself, as you fly through the apocalypse as a swarm?
You know what? I dont actually care. I just know its going to be awesome. And a bit scary....
wish me luck!
So it's Easter Sunday tomorrow! For those of you needing ideas for your own Easter Egg Hunt, you have come to the right place!
I thought i'd put my plan for the trail that i'm arranging for my younger brother and sister up on my blog, just so you can get some ideas on rhyming etc.
The best advice I can offer is to make it fun, and understandable for the kids age... dont use really long and complicated words if a five year old is going to be reading the clues!
So here it is- Seb and Ashlyn are my younger siblings BTW
Easter egg trail
You will need:
Ashlyn
and Seb
Two
baskets/ pouches to put clues and mini eggs in
Mini
eggs
Plastic
egg cases to put mini eggs in
2 hint
cards
Hints
for each clue in envelopes
3
boxes (1 red, 1 blue, 1 yellow)
2
Easter eggs (final prizes)
Each ‘explorer’ will have a basket or pouch with one
hint card in to help them out if they have difficulty in answering a question;
they will also keep their Easter eggs in this place while on the trail.
If an explorer wishes to use their ‘hint card’, they
will receive an envelope, and inside, there will be a cartoon drawing of where
the next clue will be.
Start – corner of conservatory
Welcome to the Easter egg
trail,
You each have a hint in case
you fail
But use them wisely, you
only have one,
They will help you answer
questions and let you have fun.
In the garden, your first
clue can be seen.
It’s very tall and has
leaves of green.
Birds like to sit and nest
in me,
What am I? I am the…
Clue 1 – on the tree
Stay outside for clue number
2
It is hidden, with some mini
eggs too!
At the bottom of the garden
I lie
Made from rocks and plants
am i.
Clue 2 – in the rockery
Why don’t we all go for a
spin?
The next clue is in the
kitchen.
Watery clothes go round and
round
There are lots of nice
things to be found.
Clue 3 – in the washing machine
Rubber duckies make you
laugh,
Eww, your filthy – go take
a…
Clue 4 – in the bath
Cartoons, films and comedy
You sit on the sofa, when
you watch me
Clue 5 – TV
For the next clue, get on
your knees
Go into the dining room and
see beneath.
Clue 6 – under dining room table
When Ashlyn and Seb, have
had their play
This is where toys are
stored away.
This one may be tricky, its
at a great height!
Go through the front door
and turn to your right.
Clue 7 – by the side shed door (front)
On the patio, you’ll find
your next clue,
Look underneath me, be sure
you do!
Run as quickly as you are
able,
To the big, wooden, outside…
Clue 8 – underneath the outside table (the clue is
tapped underneath the table, but when they find this we will bring out three
small boxes and place them on the table, the left is blue, the middle red and
the right one is yellow)
So here it is – the final
test
The challenge that will end
the rest.
Inside one of these boxes
three,
Is your ticket, the winning
key!
It is not in the box the
colour of sky,
Or the box that lays closely
by.
Now young Ashlyn and Seb my
good fellow!
The box that your looking
for is…
When they open the yellow box, they will find 2
tokens (a prize each) they must give these to Granddad Peter in exchange for
Easter eggs.
So I'm planning on making an official website soon, just to get a load of art stuff on the internet. But until i manage to do that (its going to take blood, sweat and tears being the technophobe i am) here's a few pieces from my portfolio and current representations of women fine art project
enjoy :)
From my AS exam project for textiles, where I explored the theme of war- it's layered consequences and our rememberance of the events. I also looked into my ancestors who died in the war, their images are included in this piece.
Life drawings- Barry and John :) I really like my chalk and charcoal study of Barry, I think I really captured his likeness and his romanesque nose which was SO difficult to draw! The second photo is a mini canvas, which i did in about 5 minutes. Both of these are currently in my portfolio.
Using Sarah Beetson's illustrative style and combining it with my own style of blending watercolours to make a face more three dimensional. The theme for this piece was the sexualisation with women, but through a mocking, satirical filter (hence the colourful bubbles and comical style).
These are my responses to the work of Cecily Brown, using my fingers to apply the acrylic, creating raw, energetic marks. The first photo is of a piece which I then image transferred onto fabric, and stitched over (the second photo), leaving the threads hanging loose, Ghada Amer style. I feel the hanging threads are also reminiscient of Gunver Nervold Antonsen's embroidery pieces. I then stitched around each section of colour with that colour, creating a colourful mess of tangles and paint.
My favourite sketchbook page of this current project, although it is temporarily devoid of annotation. Using Allison Torneros' style of trapping areas of tone, I was able to create quirky pieces that remind me of painting by numbers paintings.
The first photograph is a symmetrical arrangements of my photoshop line drawings, inspired by Amer's compositions and Beetson's linear style. The second photo is of a free-machine embroidery of these photoshop drawings, combining three different representations of women into one piece.
This was the first monoprint I have ever made, and I was shocked by how neat && clean it came out! This piece (yes, it is of me) uses the theme of wealth and women, and the idea that wealth is typically bestowed on women by men (inheritance, gifts of jewellery etc.). Today I began to embroider layered images onto a household apron and I embroidered this image- all the individual beads took ages! However, it looks fantastic so I am happy :)
So thats a sneak peat at some of my artwork... stay tuned for more posts like this in future, or maybe even my own website! :O
Okay, so everyone says that their room is a tip. Its a fact of life- at some point, even people with OCD neatness will confess that their room is a pig sty.
HOWEVER
Many of these declarations are lies... just like a skinny girl will complain that she's fat just to get attention. So I thought I should let you all see what my room looks like.
(Please note that A. this is my room, for real. I have not added to this mess in any way especially for these photos. Yes, i live like this and i realise its terrible, please don't think of me any differently now? B. I have only lived here for about 6 months. This is not an accumulation of crap from over the years, this is just SIX MONTHS worth of crap. I'll give you another update on the cleanliness of my room in a few months time, just to let you know whether the air is still breathable or not.)
BOOM. So, uh, there it is. You may want to take a seat, or grab a bin for the vomit which is inevitably crawling up your throat.
Some believe you can tell what a person is like from the contents of their bag, or their car. If you look at my room, I think you can get a pretty clear idea of who i am as a person. I think you can tell that I dont spend alot of time in here from all the clothes thrown about and lack of walkways- i basically just sleep, blog and get changed in here on the odd occassion that I come home.
ARTICLE ONE- MY IMMENCELY COOL LAVA LAMP
I think this shows my lack of understanding for even slightly technical things. Having had a lava lamp die on me before (by 'die', I mean that the goopy bit went all solid), I try to keep it on as much as possible so that its all supple. I mean, if humans do yoga and pilates and stuff that keeps us supple, surely excercise will help lava lamps? I know the instruction manual tells me its fine to be left off for up to a month at a time, but i never do trust those damn instruction manuals..... its' eyes are set too close together.....
ARTICLE TWO- KEVIN'S FURRY MONSTER SLIPPERS HE GOT FOR XMAS
So this piece of evidence reveals my stealing side. Well, not exactly stealing, i'd say more magpie like. If i see something I like around the house, and it disappears, chances are it will surface a few months later in my room with things growing on it.
By the way, thats a joke... however cluttered my room is, i have an almost-phobia of mouldy stuff, so I spray pretty much everything with anti-bac.
ARTICLE THREE- MUM'S VASE WITH THE WILTING STALK OF THE ROSE THAT ROB GOT ME FOR VALENTINE'S DAY, ON TOP OF A PILE OF BOOKS WHICH ARE PRESSING THE HEAD OF THE ROSE
The rose was SO beautiful, I didn't have the heart to throw it out. So i decided to press the head. I put the books on, and the vase which was meant to be temporary, but to be fair, the vase does add weight to help press the flower more. Everytime I look at that little headless flower, its so sad.... its so headless and wilty..... :'(
The two books below it are some of the most awesome books I own- especially 'ANIMAL'. I got it for xmas one year, and it was so heavy, i accidentally dropped it on my toe that it went blue for weeks and weeks afterwards. The book is essentially a dictionary of pretty much all of the animals, insects and sea creatures in the world- a must for any kid that likes animals.
Unfortunately, life's a bitch and destroyed my young, innocent dream of becoming a vet by making me allergic to fur.
So yeah, I titled this post 'part 1' as I will probably add more installments to the epic tale of the minefield that is my bedroom- be afraid, be very afraid.
So I havent posted for a few days, but to be fair, these past few days have been pretty busy!
First things first- The Apprentice. As to be expected, a bunch of ignorant, big-headed, overpaid idiots are chosen to fumble their way through pretty simple tasks. I thought the girls should have one that task because a. their design was much better and b. they seemed to put alot more effort in. And seriously, the boys were charging £15 for a small teddybear with a union jack tee shirt!
So then came the boardroom... although the team leader was obviously first to be blamed, she definitely didnt deserve to go home (also, i think Sir ... sorry, Lord Alan is trying to kick the habit of firing the first project managers). So that left Katie and Bilyana. Although Bilyana was a loudmouth and really annoying, he was going to fire Katie for doing next to nothing at all. So as he was about to (clearly) tell Katie that she was fired, Bilyana pipes up, interuppting him and begging for another chance, so Lord-Sir-Mister Alan then decides to change course and fire her.... lol!
I know that The Apprentice is getting repetitive, but I will keep watching it each year as I genuinely love it. And I may even consider auditioning for the Junior Apprentice :)
Yesterday, I went to London with the art department from college. Although I had to be on the train at about 10am, I got dropped in town at 9am ish, so I had a hot chocolate in McDonalds and got a few chapters of Wuthering Heights read. (Although I didn't really find Wuthering Heights interesting, I'm now completely absorbed into it... and I'm beginning to find that I'm also listening to Kate Bush's ridiculous song more and more too- seriously, I cannot get to 9 seconds before I laugh at her voice and dance moves in the video)
But yes.... as I was drinking my hot chocolate in McDonalds, or rather waiting for it to cool down for half an hour, then quickly drinking it before it gets cold, this couple came and sat down in the booth next to me. When 'Don't Lie' by the Black Eyed Peas came on, the sang along to it, the guy rapping and the girl doing the girl parts.... honestly, it was the cutest thing I have ever seen whilst waiting for a stupidly hot drink to cool down.
I then got on the train, didnt get lost, met up with my friends and was slightly late meeting the other art people under the clock at waterloo (it was only like 4 minutes late though, which wasnt too bad at all).We visited the Saatchi gallery, which had so many cool, contemporary pieces in. There was a gallery with huge pieces with probably at least £1000 worth of paint just splodged onto each of them by Andre Butzer , who refers to his work as 'Science-Fiction Expressionism'- I JUST WANTED TO TOUCH IT ARGHHHH. Here is one of his pieces...
There were so many things around the gallery- sculptures, paintings, installations that were just there, without barriers around and they were just so... touchable. It truly drove me crazy.
Unfortunately, I had to leave early for a waitressing job, but I spent the last half an hour I had in London doing 'street photography'- taking pictures of random people who are unaware that I am taking photographs of them. Loads of people around the art and photography department do this, and its so much fun! I swear it was like pringles- once you start you just cant stop!
........so yeah, I filled up Rob's memory card with pictures of randomers walking along..... oops....
Last night, I saw Hayley again (yay!) and we did a waitressing job in Petersfield, serving the annual national trust dinner. It was very posh, so we had to look smart (minimal, clean makeup, hair tied back, black shirt and apron etc). We did many things, but the one task I dreaded was collecting plates back from the tables. The others kind of left me to this, so I basically collected 175 dirty plates whilst constantly hoping that I wouldnt dump a half eaten roast dinner or greek salad on an expensive suit or dress. I actually did pretty well, I mean, I dropped a pretty much clean knife onto a lady's lap but she just laughed about it. I think the worst thing that happened was when I was collecting the mayor's plate, and the stack of dirty plates in my hand wobbled really badly, and there was nothing anyone could do but watch. Luckily, it didnt fall, but I swear that I nearly had a heart attack!
So I got paid £40 and bought home some delicious leftovers of roast potatoes, beef and turkey (unfortunately, I dropped more than half of the potatoes in the nice lady's car who was giving me a lift home- but tbh i'm more disappointed that i lost loads of the potatoes more than i felt sorry for the car - I did get them all out of the car though! ). I also bought home 6 bottles of sweet, expensive wine that I actually like as its so sweet :) So yes, I think I got paid pretty well :D
Today, i hope to see my dad and get some art work done... i'm thinking of making a triptych with lots of overlayering and embroidery for my next development piece for art.
Tomorrow, I have Linda's (Rob's mum's ) birthday party at Sam's. It's going to be really nice to see all of his lovely family again and perhaps play poker.... and I'm looking forward to seeing Macy again, his cute little neice who is obssessed with pepper pig and toy story.
TTFN
Sammie :)
xoxo
