all the splendour of the job centre

Made a new claim at the job centre this morning, and things have changed. Took into a room with 5 other people and given a presentation on what 'signing on' entails, what's expected of me, and what i should expect of them. I am of course, expected to look for work, and record my lookings, attend the job centre every two weeks, attend another crappy place called 'future skills' every two weeks, and not take part in any fraudulent activities... like not declaring work, or volunteering.. or getting an education.

I, in turn, can expect them to make me feel like giblet in a chicken factory; pressure me to apply for work that should be behind me, or is completely alien to me, or work which i'd rather live in sedgley woods than do. Today, for instance, they have hooked me up with the following 'opportunities' - working in a warehouse, demonstrating kitchen implements, and a delivery driving job. I, of course, will follow them all up, because a) they'll stop my money if i don't, and b) almost any bloody job is better than signing on (except teaching, which sucks).

I will be carrying on looking for work which i am actually suited to, like illustration, design, murals, painting, drawing, art, or anything else like that, but you don't go to the job centre with 'lofty' ideas like these. In fact the job centre tries to steer you away from any job which could be considered fulfilling or enjoyable, it wants you start at the bottom, that way you have more chance of finding work (making tea and sweeping) and can sign off quicker.

There is something about the job centre which sucks the life and hope out of you.

first day of bookmaking!

Just spent the last 4 hours attempting to edit a picture book together in indesign (for both print and web), it's getting there.. veeeery slowly. This is pretty good at making you understand the basics of indesign (and all their other programs) - http://tv.adobe.com/ - but it's still pretty tough going.

Hopefully will make more progress tomorrow. My main focus is the order and choice of the drawings i'm using. I want people to read through it effortlessly, not to have one image completely undermine the one before it in style, i want it to have it's own complete and watertight world.

And although i don't intend it to be understandable as a story, i do want there to be little hints and whispers that an ambiguous little tale is being told.

abstract movements

http://www.wastelandnumberseven.com/?page_id=496

A series of abstract drawings and paintings completed in the summer of 2008 ... all about moving, and stuff..

poem from a train for the night

The empty room,

the empty bed,

the unkind words we left unsaid.
So dark yet warm,
when anger falls,
when anger blinds with frequent calls.
I left my forest,
i exchanged my home,
the abandoned past where now i roam.
My snow-clogged boots,
my weathered hands,
have all succumbed to wasted lands.

Dog's love

I was looking through my old sketchbooks when i came across this drawing, i've redone it as the original was all crinkled and creased.. although maybe that would have been nice too?

Just found this in my sketchbooks

"I suppose the most interesting thing about my work is that it's collaged together from many different sources. It's part observed, part dreamed, part remembered, part photograph, part written."

Cinematecii Romane

Back in England, and i brought back with me a programme of films from the Romanian Cinematech, here follows a list of films to be shown in just one week there!

Vivre Sa Vie
Manhattan Murder Mystery
Bande a part
Les Carabiniers
Ciuleandra
Ministry of Fear
Siegfried
M
Fury
Topkaki
Western Union
Citizen Kane
Little Big Man
Despre Alta Mama
Escapada
The Ox-Bow Incident
Love Finds Andy Hardy


The prints are usually in a bad condition, i went to see a copy of Shanghai Express while i was there, and there were frequent dips in sound and odd jumps. But, that is a wonderful list of films, for any cinema, and most cities in England only have one cinema showing old films, and that's usually only once or twice a week, and they usually don't have very many people attending unless it's a classic like It's a Wonderful Life. In Bucharest the cinema was pretty full.