Circling the Stars

Circling the Stars

Just in case you hadn't seen enough photography here lately, here is some more.
This time it's photos for the theme challenge on Delightful Aberrations; I used the theme outline and am totally late in posting!

The first photo doubles up as one of my 365 Project images.

Tracing the Path

All I did for these pictures was photograph the raindrops on the window this evening, using a cheap macro conversion kit on the front of my lens. As it was difficult to get a shot without reflection on the glass, I had to focus on the section of glass directly in front of the lens.

I have some other photos to share, including a round-up of my 365 Project images for January, but I'll leave those for another day!

Brighton Seafront Photography

As I mentioned the other day, I recently took a trip into Brighton to take some photos, mostly along the seafront between Palace Pier and the beach huts in Hove.
I uploaded one as part of my 365 Project, but here are some others from that day.

Though I am usually guilty of snapping away merrily without thought, I put more consideration into my photography this time.

A lot of my shots were pretty run-of-the-mill; I'm pretty sure everyone who has been to Brighton has taken photos of the skeletal remains of West Pier! Years ago, I took a similar photo to the one above, which entirely by accident ended up looking over-exposed to the point of being black and white. I tried to create a better version of it in the image above, with intentional overexposure and just a hint of colour.

Besides the typical shots, I tried to capture things I would normally pass with a second thought, such as the reflections in puddles on the promenade...

Tea by the Sea

Whilst on a photography-focused wander along Brighton seafront last week, I stopped off for refreshments at Brighton Fishing Museum Coffee Shop, which I'd failed to notice back when I went to the museum itself.
This turned out to be an error, because they sell tasty tiffin traybake!

Though the coffee shop doesn't have any indoor seating, it does have some little tables and chairs out the front, and some cushions on the wall between the coffee shop forecourt and the main walkway for the seafront.

The winter air was chilly, but the sun that day made it pleasant to sit out and enjoy the sea (and the sound of the guy running the coffee shop playing the ukelele!)
Next time I'm along the seafront and want tea and cake, I know where to go!


Eating at this coffee shop brings me another step closer to reaching my goal of eating at 30 places I'd never eaten before. Previous the new-to-me places can be found on my goal #36 tag.

Bigger on the Inside: Horsham Museum

Today I ended up at Horsham Museum and Art Gallery, which I'd stumbled upon one Sunday (when it was closed).
From the outside it looks pretty small, but once you get past the door, there is a lot to be seen, with many different permanent collections alongside their temporary exhibitions.

Compared to other local museums I've been to, this one turned out to be up there among the best!

The museum is a real aladdin's cave of rooms, each dedicated to one or two of the collections on display, with a couple of gallery rooms (which currently have temporary exhibitions by current artists).

A Human Dragon

I've been working on some more costume designs for goal #53, "Design 50 costumes/outfits".

Once again they're designed for characters in my Folk Tales of the Sea People stories, including that of a dragon in human form...

Maya (12/20)
From: The Clam Keeper and the Sailor

+ Floor-length strapless silver gown covered with silver scales (aluminium or satin)
+ Silver satin insert in back of skirt, flowing down into boned semicircular trail (to resemble tail fin)
+ Metal scale gauntlets
+ Red ribbon at neck

Etienne (13/50)
From: The Clam Keeper and the Sailor

+ White cotton hat with upturned brim
+ Worn-looking white shirt with sleeves rolled up, pearl buttons and peach-coloured shell emblem embroidered on breast pocket.
+ Blue and white fine-striped 'sailor pants' with navy buttons, rolled to above knee
+ Woven leather sandals

Frozen Since Last Week

Since the beginning of the year, I've been working on a 365 Project (a year-long photography project in which the aim is to take at least one photo a day).

I've been so sidetracked by it, and generally head-fogged and irritated at the internet (FB troubles!) that I didn't get around to posting this photo for the Delightful Abberations theme challenge until now!
This is for last week's challenge, but it was also one of my 365 Project photos, so Lilia snagged it and popped it on the D.A. blog for me (thanks Lilia!)
The theme was frozen... It's been icy here for a good week now, and honestly it's a nice change from all the dreary grey clouds and rain we were getting.

I've been neglecting this blog for a couple of weeks, but have new things to post (especially a lot of photographs!) So keep a look out for what's to come!

The Five Hour Two Hour Project

When reviewing my incomplete goals just before the new year, I found I'd been overlooking one that was perfectly seasonal to be getting on with:

052. Crochet a hat

Seriously, what better time to start than the middle of winter, when it is cold and damp and frankly, the exact sort of weather for piling on the layers?

Since I didn't have any yarn, or any clue how to start, I ended up going onto Amazon and searching 'crochet hat kit'.
Which led to my finding this:

A Mermaid at the Film Premiere

Garden Punk (01/50)

One of my goals on The List, which I've picked as one of my top ten this year, is this:

53. Design 50 outfits/costumes

This basically means any kind of outfit/costume, be it simple or outlandish, daywear or evening wear, streetwear or theatre costume.

I started this goal in 2014 with the 'Garden Punk' design above, which I drew when I was trying to figure out what to do with some fabric I'd picked up at a charity shop.
Then...I drew no more.

Come end of 2016, and I got started on more designs!
For the time being, I decided to design outfits for some of the characters in my Folk Tales of the Sea People stories.

So here are the first handful of designs, which I've come up with over the past few days.
(Click photos to see bigger versions)

 Cadogan Browne (02/50)
From: Folk Tales of the Sea People Introduction

+ Blue-grey tailcoat with grey collar and gold mermaid-design buttons.
+ Black hat with band to match tailcoat.
+ Dark grey trousers and gloves
+ Off-white shirt
+ Dark blue cravat
+ Black boots
+ Wooden cane
+ Worn brown leather satchel

Halwyn (Transformation) (03/50)
From: Halwyn, or A Pinch of Salt
(I drew this as a half-and-half of two versions - sea and land - but am counting it as a single design, for her transformation between Selkie and Human)

Sea:
+ Long-sleeved, floor-length brown faux suede dress with uneven neckline and seal tail-like quilted train, all embellished with black rhinestones

Land:
+ Long-sleeved brown faux suede minidress with uneven hem/neckline/cuffs and black rhinestones
+ Flesh-toned leggings (dancewear fabrics) with patches of faux suede, and black rhinestones

Both: Long cloak with hood and wooden fastening; gold charm on bracelet depicting a footprint on land. Sleeves are part faux suede, part flesh-toned dance fabric, to give the appearance that the suede 'pelt' is part of the skin.

Top Goals, Completed Goals & Recap of 2016

After I spent most of December being relatively lazy, the final days of 2016 were spent rushing to complete those last few goals before the year ended!

As is tradition with this blog, here's a recap of what I got up to in 2016, completed goals and a list of my top goals for 2017!

I started January by embarking on a year-long goal:

029. Listen to 2 new musical acts every week for 1 year

This seemed daunting at first, and I was looking everywhere for new-to-me acts to try out!

January was the month I completed my goal of trying 50 new chocolates (goal #64), though I didn't do anything much besides that.

By February I was into the flow of goal #29, went to an art exhibition (goal #10) with a friend, and found some cool natural forms when beachcombing (goal #05).

March was a fairly quiet month, though I did finally go swimming (goal #13)! I also discovered a new favourite band, and started to participate in the photography & art theme challenges over at Delightful Aberrations.

With April came more photography and more music, a trip to a zoo, and the discovery of a couple of nice cafes (goal #36). I also tried Japanese food for the first time, in a new place (goal #44 / goal #36), and painted a pottery skull (not a goal, but a birthday adventure with one of my sisters!)

If that wasn't enough, I also started walking several times a week (goal #28)

 

May was a quieter month. Asides from the photos and music, and the realisation that I'd not blogged about my watched films for a while (goal #61), the only thing I did was continue walking at least 3 times a week, and see some more art exhibitions (goal #10) with a friend.

In June, I went to the South of England Show, which is an annual trip in our family! This year I had a go on the rifle range, and crossed goal #85 (Fire a gun) off my list.

I also did the first of a series of car boot sales (goal #67) to reduce clutter and make a bit of cash!

Oh, and I walked, listening to more new-to-me music, and took photographs, too ;)

By the time July swung around, I was well into the habit of walking--and it was here that I completed my walking goal (goal #28), achieving my target of walking at least three times each week for three months, but also having strolled over 200 miles of beautiful British countryside!

I went to a photography exhibition (goal #10), and of course continued with the photography and the music. (I also went to an anime convention, but I didn't blog about that!)

August was the month I went to the most awesome restaurant ever (goal #36), took a tour of Brighton's sewers (goal #38), wandered around yet another art exhibition (goal #10), and if that wasn't enough, completed goal #44 (Try 10 foods/drinks that I've never tried before).

For September, I'd planned to explore a town with a friend for part of goal #39. It rained. A lot. But that didn't put us off, and we found a nice cafe in the process (goal #36).

In September, I also met a snake (not a goal, just unnerving), and finally got around to blogging about collecting found objects (goal #14)

Not content with challenging myself with the snake, in October I challenged myself even more with a charity zip-wire (goal #90) in aid of Blind Veterans UK.

Later in the month, I went to Stylist Live with one of my sisters, where we learnt how to make Macrame hanging planters. Not a goal, but a fun day out!

With the weather turning a little changeable, I also caught up on watching some more films (goal #61).

November was a much quieter month, as I was fully into Christmas Shopping Mode (which started in October, in the hope I could avoid the insane December crowds).

However, I did find time to try a new restaurant (goal #36), watch a bunch of TED talks relating to the arts, and whilst on a shopping trip, happened upon a photography exhibition (goal #10).

December ended up being a productive month, goal-wise! Not only did I complete my music goal (goal #29), but I also reached my target of watching 100 films (goal #61), made an assemblage (goal #15) using some of the found objects I'd collected for goal #14, and painted a picture on canvas (goal #06). I also inadvertently began a photography project (goal #12) and finally shared the short story I'd submitted for a writing competition (goal #24) back in 2014.

All in all, I was able to cross fourteen goals off The List:

05. Go beach combing

06. Paint a picture on canvas

13. Go swimming

14. Start a collection of Found Objects

15. Create an assemblage

28. Walk at least 3 times a week for 3 months

29. Listen to 2 new musical acts per week for 1 year

38. Go on the Brighton Sewer Tour

44. Try 10 foods/drinks I've never tried before

61. Watch 100 films

64. Eat 50 different chocolates

67. Sell unwanted things at a car boot fair

85. Fire a gun

90. Ride a zip line

The bolded goals are the ones that were on my top goals for 2016.

Alongside the completed goals, I made more progress with goal #10 (Visit 30 museums/art galleries/exhibitions) have nearly finished goal #36 (Eat/drink in 30 new places), and began on goal #33: Memorise every country in Africa--though I haven't blogged about it yet!

Now that the new year has begun, here are my
Top Goals for 2017!

01. Fill a sketchbook with artwork/studies of only one subject

Already in progress, but far from finished because I procrastinate.

10. Visit 30 museums/art galleries/exhibitions

This one will stay on my Top Goals list until I complete it, damn it!

12. Complete 3 photograph projects

Seriously this should be a doddle. The only thing stopping me is lack of motivation (and a pinch of anxiety).

18. Go llama trekking

I'll walk a llama one day. Hopefully one day this year.

20. Reach the top of a climbing wall/go rock climbing

Honestly, if I achieve this one I'll be really surprised, as rock climbing places are a pain in the butt to get to. But here it is, so let's see what the year brings.

33. Memorise every country in Africa

I've started, so I'll finish...

53. Design 50 outfits/costumes

This is another one that I've started (in 2014, oops), but haven't yet blogged about. Seven down, 43 to go...

65. Complete a 365 project

I'll post the photos here, but also on 365project.org (link goes to my page) and instagram @keidoesathing

76. Make 3 sculptures

What they'll look like is presently a complete mystery.

91. Make something with power tools

Another one carried over from last year. I don't know what that 'something' will be, but hopefully it will make power tools seem less daunting!

Here's to 2017 being a productive, goal-achieving year!