Busyness

So I have had a busy couple of days this week. I have not had time to work on either my paper or my newest picture. :( Hopefully I will get a chance to work on the paper this afternoon after I clean the house.

Last blog, I mention that I had posted some pictures on elfwood.com. I have been waiting for some comments from people on the site and last week I got some, although not of the type I was hoping for. One fellow took it upon himself to critique most of my pictures. I do my best to take criticism calmly and improve my art accordingly. I can usually manage this after the sting has gone out of the comments. I could not seem to find the merit in this person's comments. I went to his page to see his art so that I could put his comments in context. He can't seem to get his art past the moderators (they are picky about the rules). His page has thousands of people thanking him for his comments. I went to a random selection of other people whose art he has commented on and I can't really find the value in those comments either. They mostly consist of "Your art needs more work." I have never met an artist who does not think that their work could be improved. They always seem to say "its not quite what I had in my head" or "I could have done this better." So anyway, it has been the trial of the week to not respond to this guy in a negative way. I just don't want to enter in the bitchy spirit that seems to inhabit so many online boards and chatrooms. I must refrain.

I have been putting together a curriculum for the biology student at Sylvan this last week and will be again next week. The number has grown from one student to 3, all from the same class. Tough teacher. I am a little more apprehensive about trying to motivate three problem students instead of one.

On Friday, I recieved my two weeks notice at Chase farms. The end of the season is coming up :( Fortunately I interviewed for a job as a naturalist at a local Bird Sanctuary on that same afternoon. The hour requirements are perfect, I get to talk about nature stuff and I would be working with preschoolers. How fun!I keep thinking that the fact that I had the interview on the same day as I recieved notice at the farm and that the new job would start the monday after the last friday at the old job is an indication that I am meant to get this job. However, I am realistic knowing that while I am very qualified on the "nature" front, I am not very qualified on the small children front. I have not worked with kids in many years. I hope that I get the job, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Friday night I went to a Spa party at a friend's house. It was a demo by the Body Shop. I was surprised to learn how globally friendly they were and animal friendly. If any of you ladies are looking for some kind of party to host, a Body shop party would definitely be a good category. The hostess of course gets fabulous gifts and discounts. I won't say how much money I spent >:)

Saturday I went to northern Massachusetts to a meeting for the New England Color Pencil Society. These meetings are usually all day affairs as everyone has to drive a couple hours and the meeting usually includes some kind of demo. Yesterday a woman was showing us how to work ..l board, which is like hard board. The draw for this kind of board is that after your varnish it, you do not need to put glass over it. This saves on framing costs and possibly shipping costs. We were drawing green peppers, which is something that I wound never have drawn on my own. I have always wondered why anyone would want to draw anything as boring as a pepper. Well, it turned out to be alot more interesting than I thought it would be. I am quite pleased with it. Of course now I am trying to figure out where to put a pepper imp on the picture as there is not much room. I am also trying to remember what a pepper imp looks like. I have been trying to decide if I should try some still life pictures....hmmmm.

This weekend I am off to Madison for my grama's 90th birthday party, even though she doesn't turn 90 until October. I am looking forward to see my grama, cousins and brothers. My brothers want me to go partying with them on Saturday night. Yikes!
Until next time...