Scolawi News 2-9-14

Its less than three weeks till I travel back out to Malawi to exhibit the show, and I'm getting really really excited, but also really really panicked by all the work that still has to be done. Still, what would be the point if projects didn't come down to the wire!

 

Since the middle of July I've managed to create one picture a week. I'm really pleased with how they look  and here's a sneak peek of them before the exhibition opens.

 

 

 

I hope you like them. I still have two more to create before I go, and maybe another two (if I can manage) before the Scottish exhibition.

 

These pictures are A4 and don't seem much for a summer's worth of work, but they take me a long time to design and etch because etching takes longer than drawing, and I'm still pretty new to drawing. I started going to art classes about nine years ago, not having drawn since I was 17. I'm now getting more and more ambitious with my designs, and my latest picture (ceilidh dancers - middle right) called for me to draw people in 3D looking like they were dancing AND having faces! - I've been putting this picture off all summer...

 

It took me a few goes to get the figures looking in proportion (the family thought my first attempts were hilarious), and it took me even longer to get the faces and hands looking acceptable, but I got there, and I'm so proud of the result. It may not be perfect, but compared to how it would have looked 6 months ago I think it looks amazing, and huge thanks go to my art teacher Lorraine for helping me so much. Without her classes I would never have started etching in the first place, and this project would never have happened.

 

Last week I taught workshops to the scouts and the cubs, which went really well. The explorers filmed the scout one for the film they are producing. I'm teaching one last workshop this week to the guides, and then  I choose my 20 favourite Scottish pictures to enlarge. This was a really hard task with the Malawian pictures, but I came up with a technique which I'll use again. It's really exciting to see everyone's work laid out on my kitchen table when I'm choosing, and remembering the workshops, and all the people I've met. I'm looking forward to doing it all again.

 

Fundraising

 

This Friday (Sept 5th) My friend Bettie has organised a Bingo Tea to raise funds for I Love Scolawi. It will be held in Dunshalt Village Hall and starts at 7pm for 7:30. It should be a good night, with lots of great prizes up for grabs. If you're not really into bingo you can always come along for the cakes - Bettie always puts on a really good spread at her Bingo Teas!
If you're local then please come along, have a great night out, and help support I Love Scolawi.

 

Thank you to everyone who's pledged to my crowdfunding campaign. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/553280159/i-love-scolawi

 

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to spend the time advised to promote the page (2-3 hours a day!) and it's not going to reach it's target. The pledges are only taken from your bank accounts if the target is reached, so none of your money will be transfered. This funding route was always going to be hard to pull off because I've  fundraised so much previously, and I'm not surprised it hasn't raised it's target. But I'm really please to have tried it, and I used it to get I Love Scolawi mentioned in the papers again which is great. In fact, I was talking to my hairdresser about the project the day after there was a piece in The Courier, when the lady next to me asked if I was the 'etching' lady that she'd read about the previous day, and how interesting she had thought the project was. I was so proud!

 

Without the crowdfunding source I've had to scale back the exhibition slightly, but I hope it won't be noticeable. I will no longer be making a book of the project for the participating groups, There will be less A0 posters, and some of the frames/hangers for the Malawian exhibition will be reused for the Scottish one.

 

So far I have raised nearly £5,000 which is completely overwhelming amount, and I'd like to thank everyone who has donated towards the project (some people multiple times, so you get multiple thank yous!). A huge special thank you goes to Violet, Bettie, Laura and Claude, and Amanda who have wanted to see this project succeed so much, that they have planned events, or raised money in other ways for the project. Thank you, I couldn't have managed without you.

 

If you haven't already donated but really want to, please use the PayPal donate button on the top right hand side of my blog.