Gee How Quaint

Crazy season is upon us

Nervous twitching.  Steely looks.  Agressive behaviour by strangers all around.  Yes.  It's that time of year again.  The Christmas Shopping Season.  Let the mayhem, disgruntlement and looping Fenwick's window sing song begin.

Speaking of Fenwicks...walked by there today.  And yes, the anamatronic lunacy is in full display.  I am so sorry.  I know this has been a tradition for Newcastle for decades.  People wait in antici (pation) for the new line configuration of juttering robots to perform.  But honestly, how can you not be traumatised by the tiny fake people and their glazed over stares.  I avoid it.  I walk on the other side of the pedestrian area.

My Christmas line up has come together, with much gnashing of teeth and hair pulling.  My own.  This year I had the task of not only lining up my own Christmas venues, but also for the Newcastle Craft Mafia.  Pre-applications.  Applications.  Post application instructions.  Meanwhile filling current orders, making up stock I ran out of and then researching for my huge Heritage project.  I think I lost it there for awhile.  I ran myself just low enough for flu to take hold and now this is day 9 of feeling rubbish.  Thus the negative tone of this blog entry.

So yes.  Markets and all that.  The schedule goes a little like this:

National Glass Centre in Sunderland, November 15th 11am to 5pm

Frost Fair, outside the Sage, Gateshead, November 29th 10am to 3pm (outside)

Mushroom Works Perfect Presents, big opening bash on Friday, December 4th.  Items for display and sale following 2 weeks.

Old Eldon Square Christmas Market, Wed. December 9th and Sunday December 13th.

Cluny Market with the Craft Mafia.  We are having a HUGE raffle so come along and buy your ticket for a chance to win over £60 worth of handmade goodness.  December 20th, 12 to 4pm.

*Incidentally, I don't especially like markets.  It's so difficult to know how to act.  Do you talk to the people that walk by?  Plead with your eyes 'please buy my things...I'm freezing out here.'  They are a necessary evil in this line of work so I shall carry on with the drudgery.

Learning new tricks

I made this!  I am still amazed at what I have done with my newly acquired skills.  For years I have been thinking about taking a Photoshop class and I have finally just done it.  Hurrah for those that try and eventually succeed. 

As you can see, this is a poster for the Newcastle Craft Mafia.  Of which I am a don.  I think that means 'leader of a sort.'  We are quite harmless and knit in our spare time.  We also do community craft workshops, craft fairs and such like.  www.newcastlecraftmafia.com

The myths of working from home

Throughout my 12 months of working strictly from home, I have found so many myths of the wonders and fabulousness of said situation to be utterly and completely shattered.

Making your day, your time.  Sipping cups of tea, one right after the other, whilst looking our the window to contemplate your next task.  Starting your day when you like and ending it as early or as late as needs be.  Feeling in control of your environment and situation.  And feeling rather pleased with one's self for responding to the unimaginative question of What-Do-You-Do with 'well, I work from home.'

As cosy and as nice as all of that sounds, this just has not been the reality for me. I do remember those helcian (sarcastic) days of starting up my business whilst working full time at a job I disliked.  By day I was a mild mannered office worker, taking people's phone calls, filing, writing eviction notices and such like, but by night I was creating a new world of Gee How Quaint dreamyness, commiting my handiwork to treasured items.  We ate poorly during this period.  I felt gaunt and drawn and never went to bed before midnight.  It was such a hard slog, but eventually, I had to make the decision to work outside of the home part time if I wanted to have a proper go at the business.

A year ago I gave up outside work altogether and have focused on the business and creating artworks.

To which it is often responded to with 'oh, that must be nice.'

Well, it is, and it isn't.  I wake up just as early as my friends with office jobs.  6:30 and I'm bounding out of bed, peering through tired eyes to find my way to the coffee machine. My husband can attest to the fact that I am still working late into the evenings.  But the thing is, once you say you work from home, people suddenly stop respecting you.  And you, yes, you little home office drone, are suddenly the recipient of comments heard in passing that go a little like this:

'Oh, she has time to do extra such and such.  She works from home'

'Must be nice to have that luxury'

'Get her to do it.  She doesn't work.'

But the thing is, to make the decision to work from home means sacrificing a monthly pay cheque and all stability goes flying out the door.  Jobs that were never your jobs to begin with become your responsibility (since when is it my job to do all cooking, food shopping, all cleaning, laundry and every single dog walk of the week...just because I work from home?!) And it is shocking to me to find that at the end of the week, all of those necessary tasks that I should have been doing for myself, for my business, for MY income, have suddenly been taken over with everybody' else's work?

And it isn't that I am trying to have a nice little hobby earner, it is that this HAS TO WORK.  I do not have the luxury of an 'it would be nice if I got a little spending money' attitude. 

To work from home, it is necessary to develop the thick skin of a rhino.  To not let the petty comments get to you.  To have your time valued less than others. It isn't all cups of tea and lie ins.  That has never been my reality and I doubt it ever will be.

Newcastle with Cerise Sky - up for Auction at the Cluny

Framed and ready for the mini auction, the Sunday at the Cluny Market.  For those of you that don't know the rules, you simply write your bid and your contact details on a piece of paper and pop it into the box.  The highest bid wins.  So, be as cheeky as you like with a bid of 64p or write down what the work is worth to you.  If it's only £2.30 than perhaps I should reconsider my career options.

The Newcastle Craft Mafia Cluny Market, Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle.  12 to 4pm

I love Sockimals

These are Lorna's most terrific creations.  I love Sockimals...for so many reasons.  She will soon be joining the ranks of the Newcastle Craft Mafia and I just can't wait.

For more of her delightful, fabulously made items, you can find her here.

Dear Man Sitting Next to Me In Class, Please stop talking to me.

Dear Man Sitting Next to Me in Photoshop Class,

Please stop talking to me.  I don't mean to come across harsh or mean or like some sort of a snob, but your constant talking to me is a rather massive frustration.

I do realise that you must tell me you are also doing a PHD in astrophysics, or some such thing, no less than 3 times per class period.  I do realise that you are unable to keep up with the tutorials and teaching as you have busied yourself with telling me of your terrific accomplishments.  I also realise that you perhaps are not aware of my need to keep you out of my personal space, which is a rather large circle of ME ONLY zone.

Perhaps I should just tell you to your face 'Please, will you stop asking me questions about why you did not get the desired effect on your project' because quite honestly, I am falling behind in the course as I am frequently having to show you what to click, how to go back several steps, where to find your 'Paths' button. Etc.  Etc.  Etc.

I realise that my instructions are very harsh and that my telling you to 'slow down and stop randomly clicking on stuff' is a bit abrupt.  If you could here a cringe, the rest of the class would be very loud as I am sure everyone is cringing as I appear to them to be impolite.  It isn't that I'm impolite, it's just that this is the second time I have taken such a course...because I walked out on the first one.

And the reason for walking out was not due to impatience, rather, it was due to having erased an entire semester's of work because I deleted a background layer and could not retrieve it.  I was also having difficulties keeping up with the class as I had been in the hospital much of the time and had to eventually drop my Graphic Design minor and just stick to the Fine Arts major.  So really, this class is very important me to not only complete, but to finish it at a high standard.

So, for the love of God, will you please just let me be.  I shall be seating myself several computers away from you on Monday.

Yours sincerely,

....

If I were a brand, my motto would be...

If I were a brand, my motto would be...  Cassandra Harrison:  I get stuff done.  My husband thinks the more accurate motto would be...Cassandra Harrison:  F*ck it.  I'll do it.

I don't really sit on ideas for too long.  Ideas are very fragile and sometimes can easily disappear or slip away if you don't act, take control of them, make them into tangible events or objects.

My husband's motto is good in that it can also mean, gee, there are a lot of obstacles there, but you know what, I am going to ignore them and just do it anyway. 

So.  If you were a brand, what would your motto be?  Vicky and Duane...I'm expecting answers :)

The Journal Oct 6 - The one about Newcastle Craft Mafia

Well, well.  Haven't we been enjoying our brief moment in the spotlight.  The Newcastle Craft Mafia has a nice article and photo on today's Journal paper.  Click on me and laught and sing to see the full article and a smashing photo of Leeanne Lowe, my lovely co-founder.

Incidentally, my photo is nowhere to be seen.  A photographer did come to my home for the previous article relating to artwork being taken to auction house.  I posed with my salvaged artworks.  I did as he said.  Tipped my head to the side a bit, looked in to the middle distance.  I think he must have taken about ten photos.  But alas, none are to be seen.

Which makes me conclude this:  I might be ugly.

It's such a shame as today is the best I will look as I shall only get older, more weather beaten and haggard as I age.  Things will slide south, the dark rings under my eyes will become darker, and my teeth will yellow with too much tea and red wine drink.

It's such a shame really.  I thought I had nice eyes at the very least.

For the complete story and comment

The Photography Pages is a very informative blog regarding the Art Works Galleries fiasco.  Everything from the artists' email of 'come get your stuff, we've closed' from the gallery to testimonials of money owed...it's all there. 

My biggest complaint about this fiasco, is how terribly Matt Forster handled it.  I think things would have gone much better if he had had the decency to speak to us face to face.  And possibly paid the Star and Shadow's rent to the council instead of pocketing it.  Does his business angel even know about any of this?  Hm.  Enquiring minds want to know.

Rescued art work from Art Works Galleries sinking ship

These are 3 of the 8 artworks I rescued from the auctioneers on Friday.  I could have been Lot 95 selling to recover Matt Forster's debts.

Today I and my two wonderful friends, Adrienne and Brenda, rocked up to Mr Forster's stand at the Art Fair and handed him invoices.  He just sat there looking rather tired.  And I stood there feeling very haggered and tired and actually just wanting the weekend to end.

www.cassandraharrison.co.uk for more of the same.