Category Archives: Experiential learning

What research can reveal

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I have been working on a ‘memoir’ in pictures based on my younger years and have been wrestling with just how I wished to present this. You may have seen my last post, which shows some progress with the sketches, and although I think I know what I wish to portray, I am still looking for how I shall achieve this. Naturally I have been thinking back to early memories, and particular things which have been salient throughout my life, and helped shaped my adult self. Books certainly. So, yesterday I looked up the names of books which I remember loving in my Primary school years. Five stood out.

‘What Katy Did’ series, by Susan Coolidge (American), Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner (Australian), My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durell (British), The Silver Sword by Ian Serrailier, (British) and The Story of My Life, by Helen Keller (American).

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Cruising along and visiting windmills

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Amsterdam to Basel

After joining the ship, we spent the first afternoon settling in to our cabins (named staterooms on board), and prepared to meet staff and other passengers whose company we’d be among as we made our way from Amsterdam towards Basel, the culmination of our river cruise. As we imagined, the food and wine was of a high standard and helped us enjoy the eight days on board very well. Added to this was a crew member, who doubled as a great pianist and singer, whom we listened to throughout the evenings pre and post dinner. There was a rundown by the Programme Director on the following days’ events each day, with guided walks included in overall cost of cruise, and other excursions which cost more. But, if you have trouble sleeping, I suggest you do such a cruise as I, an erratic sleeper, cannot recall such a sound sleep as we moved through the night, and docked without my hearing a thing.

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A bit of this and that, or a memoir in pictures

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Possible wrap around cover featuring ME!

This week I started in on some pencil roughs intended for the future graphic novel. Everything is guesswork on my part, completely experiential, as it’s the first time I’ve embarked upon this genre. Over the months I have picked up and examined many graphic novels, by women, mostly. This has been such an interesting exercise, as they are so different from each other and all brilliant.

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Things that fall

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Final image

I’ve spoken often about how I love to go walking in my neighbourhood, and I didn’t let the previous night’s storm put me off. It was still blowing furiously yesterday when I took off, cap on under my red jacket hood. Sunglasses too, to keep the wind and salt air out. The debris on the footpath had me stop at the end of the block, and there I stooped to uplift a fine collection of fallen goods. I picked up a large leaf, (from a magnolia I guessed), two small pōhutukawa leaves sporting radiant autumn colours, a seed of some sort and a small feijoa. Feijoas are loved and disliked in equal number here. I love them. To eat, one should slice them in half and scoop out the middle with a teaspoon, But this fallen delicacy was way too small to eat.

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The things we do

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It’s been a very busy time with family staying (there were many spread over the weeks), and me working on promotional material for my novel throughout to meet the publicist’s deadlines. But there were nice moments, like drinking Prosecco on the patio with family. It was a brother-in-law who spotted the clay forms clumped on the outside table, and said “what are these?” “You may well ask? I replied. “I made them years ago, as part of my teaching degree.” I was a late starter regarding my education, and began this, my first degree, at fifty. And although I had been tutoring art to adult students for years before this, I decided to give academia a go.

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No final painting but there is this

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La Femme au Bain by René-Xavier Prinet, around 1888

The final class was cut short, as we were to be given a talk about the painting by Charles Goldie, which is where the classes began. To recap, we were handed a copy of the painting and were asked to copy it. But what I never realised until this talk was, that Goldie had copied his La Femme au Bain, from an original, for on the bottom of the painting it reads ‘after’ René-Xavier Prinet. Both artists studied at the Académie Julian in Paris around the same time. So, I had made a copy of a copy. I didn’t know what to think. I guess seeing both men could certainly paint, I must have learned something through close observation.

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The last stages

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I worked a little on the painting yesterday, and this is the image here. I left it to dry overnight and returned to it today.

I will work on it a little tomorrow and hopefully it will be done.

I should have waited until the paint had dried to take the photo as every brush stroke is laid bare (unintentional pun).

I have decided to trim the image and focus on the model and not include the barely discernible chair at the periphery of the scene in the original. I think this format works better in my view.

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The work in progress: week two

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Last week’s underpainting

Following last week’s effort, I thought a good deal about how I would approach the second class, realising there was a chance of not been offered any specific way in how to apply oil paints. I decided to progress my painting by instinct; it wasn’t as if I haven’t drawn from life, and although my painting history has revolved around fiddling with watercolour, I have used acrylics before. And, I do know a reasonable amount about colour, albeit using pencils rather than paint. During this session we were encouraged to go and view the original painting again. It was difficult to see the actual paint strokes as it was behind glass but we did agree the painting was lighter in tone and showed the colour more effectively than the photocopies we were working from.

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The Road Trip

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A taste of Melbourne traffic

The first day, did not start well, when we realised the rental firm where our vehicle was located was a long way from where we were staying. Family were busy, so an Uber was called, and we set off through the morning traffic. We will certainly study the map more throughly next time before booking. Nice driver, but hates Melbourne traffic. It was to be our first taste of this phenomenon, as we had never driven in Melbourne before and we would soon be amid the crush. Navigation set up, and co-navigator (me), whose job it was to read screen and report to driver. Anyway, we made it out of the city, (phew) and onto the much lauded Great Ocean Road! Ye ha!

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I believe in challenges, or I used to

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There is a new baby arriving any day soon, a great-grandson no less! With the baby being Australian, I immediately thought, ah ha! I’ll knit him a toy from my Australian knitted toys pattern book. It’s true, I do have such a book, and I found the perfect animal to knit. As an experienced knitter, and having made other toys from this book, I assumed it would come easy to me. However…

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