An Early Start.

It was a little darker than this but the camera compensated & I couldn't be bothered to use manual settings.

I started my day nice and early this morning, if you can call 2.30 morning. I'd woken up (as usual) but there were so many thoughts spinning around in my head, not stress but things like the day's art activities and the best way to organise the final week of the term, that I knew I wouldn't get back to sleep. Running a class of 30 kids so that we can all have fun requires lots of preparation. That way minor problems are foreseen and planned for and bigger problems can be dealt with in a calm way.

By 3.30 I decided to get up and was even contemplating a night walk. I opted to aim for sunrise instead but although the official sunrise was 5.00, by 4.45 when I set out it was already light. It was completely overcast so I didn't miss anything spectacular anyway. As I was going to head up onto the road I changed my long fluffy dressing gown for an anorak in case anyone drove past and thought I was an utter fruit cake but maybe the grey zebra pyjama bottoms would have given the game away. My only other items of day wear were my Ugg boots, sans socks, and Peter's gig club beanie. Usually on a walk I can hear cars or farm machinery in the distance but today it was only the sounds of nature. Speedy started off walking with me but got a little scared when the ponies came rushing over to say good morning. Their noses were all wet from the morning dew. I'm very much a morning person so I was in my element at that early hour.
I was gazed at by a field of heifers but when I quietly said hello on the return journey they all stampeded across the field. I was out for nearly an hour which was a great way to start the day. Then it was back to the normal routine of school and our fun art activities. For most of the activities I let the children decide which ones they will do but I try and have one activity each day that everyone does. Sometimes children are reluctant to start out of a fear they will 'fail' (art has no concept of failure) but if encouraged/forced to give something a try they then find they enjoy it. Today I had everyone drawing on small whiteboards as I described a complicated picture of Poseidon's head which involved fishes, seaweed, eels, crab claws, octopus legs etc. They drew an amazing variety of pictures and later those that wanted to repeated the activity using fine pens on cartridge paper and coloured in some or all of their drawings with coloured pencils. I also photocopied all their whiteboard pictures and some children went over them with watercolours. We have done so much work from that one illustration. Our Poseidon sculpture is also based on that illustration and was finished today. It is currently lying flat as twice I suggested hanging it on the wall and twice the wool/ribbon/feather/spangled beard has slid right off. I gave it a good dollop of pva which should be firmly dry by Monday.

Medusa on the other hand is finished and looks pretty good/scary. Today the children worked with a mum to add extra details to their individual snakes (plaster bandage over wire and newspaper) and I put the whole thing together after school. The face mask is life sized and the snakes are hooked into a polystyrene plant box that I Incorporated into the top of the mask. I even remembered to include a strong wire loop into the structure so that it is secure but just in case something fails over the weekend I have placed 2 cushions on the table below and moved Poseidon out of the way.

Some excellent news. I rang the hospital after work to check that they had the right address for me and was told that I have an appointment next Thursday. What a shame, I'll have to have a day off work as I prefer to take the train rather than look for a non-existent space in the hospital car park. Might possibly have some time to do a little shopping in Exeter. Life is so hard!