You may or may not know that I’m an Eye Health Promotion Officer and I work for for RNIB Cymru (that’s the Royal National Institute of Blind People in Wales). My job is to ensure that people go and have regular eye tests, especially children and young people. I go out to schools and demonstrate how to guide a blind or partially sighted person, and how we help people with sight problems. I’m always amazed at how few of the children have had a sight test. Sight tests for FREE for children of school age, totally free! They test for three things: Visual acuity, and if there is a need for glasses; that the eyes are developing properly; and they check for any underlying eye conditions. Half of all sight loss is preventable with early diagnosis. That’s right, half. Go and book yourself an eye test today. Tell them I sent you!
The theme this week is ‘eyes’.
Okay, from top left: Cute steampunk glasses necklace Fab eye test ring (it's called a Snellen chart, fact fans) Beautiful and weird glass eye pendant Art Deco-ish earrings (love this shop!) Awesome sexy eyes wall decal, so 80s! A gorgeous little stoneware owl, not strictly eye-related, but owls do have good eyesight! I desperately want one for my new garden, maybe as a Christmas present? (If any of my family or friends are reading this, that was a BIG HINT!)
A piece of soundart I have made to commemorate and celebrate the joining together of two fantastic organisations: RNIB Cymru (Royal National Institute of Blind People) and CIB (Cardiff Institute for the Blind). I have again used braille as the focus of the work, but this time I have used the bilingual strapline of both organisations: RNIB Cymru and CIB working together to support blind and partially sighted people / RNIB Cymru a CIB yn gweithio gyda'n gilydd i gefnogi pobl ddall ac â golwg rhannol. I allocated each dot of the Braille cell a different note of a version of the pentatonic scale, and used the above strapline as the base. I then transcribed it into Braille, and carefully placed each note according to itâs braille counterpart. So one letter in my transcribed version can be up to five notes played together. The percussion is made up entirely of sounds I sampled from a Perkins brailler. The kick drum is the sound of a Perkins being put down on a desk, and the snare and other percussion noises are made from the various keys and knobs being pressed and turned.
My Blodeuwedd soundart is now exhibiting in RNIB Cymru's Cardiff office foyer, and its twinkling, chirruping loveliness makes people smile as they come into the office. I'm very happy that I found a place to exhibit it this year, being Louis Braille's bicentenary and all.
RNIB Cymru have also asked me to write another piece of soundart based on their new strapline, as they have now joined forces with CIB (Cardiff Institute for the Blind) - a fantastic local society that helps blind and partially sighted people in Cardiff and the Vale. It will be exhibited during a VIP launch to promote the joining together of two brilliant organisations.
RNIB Cymru and CIB working together to support blind and partially sighted people. RNIB Cymru a CIB yn gweithio gyda'n gilydd i gefnogi pobl ddall ac â golwg rhannol.
I've made a start on it, and it's come out totally different from Blodeuwedd. I sampled a Perkins Brailler, and transcribed the notes as I did for Blodeuwedd - but it's ended up as this minimalist techno thing. Quite reminiscent of Matmos - which I'm rather happy with.
Already making plans for my next piece, but not sure where/how I can get it exhibited. Answers on a postcard please.
I had to get rid of my etsy shop when I got quite ill last year. But I'm tentatively trying out a new shop on the Folsky site. It's a British site, which means it's easier for me.
Not much in it at the moment - I'm busy knitting for an art exhibition (deadline February 14th, so I'm a bit pushed for time!) and super busy in work (they've just extended my contract again - I'm officially safe until the end of June. Hooray!) here's hoping I don't have another meltdown.
My new job (obviously). I love working for RNIB Cymru, and even though my opinion of it has changed a little since my colleague Ian left, I still love it here (and god knows it's better than working in fucking Blackhorse).
The new skills I've acquired this year: people, project and event management; audio recording and editing; podcasting; felting; delivering presentations to hundreds of people/youth groups; interviewing, recruiting and training over 300 people; getting better on my ukulele.
Falling in love again.
My ideas for THREADS 2009 - Blodeuben and how he was made.
I'm excited about next year - the funding for my job only lasts until 31st of March; now I've always been super apprehensive about taking on temporary jobs, but doing this one has made me realise how much freedom they allow, so I'm not scared of them any more. I'm also looking forward to James and Tarina's wedding in New Zealand (but hellish scared about the flight). Something else I'm looking forward to, is seeing where me and Patrick go from here: our first holiday together, our first camping trip together... soppy things like that.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Is rapidly approaching, and I'm feeling strangely optimistic. I was horrified to turn 30, and I thought I'd be the same this time but I'm not. My Mam always tells me that she loved her 30s, and I'm finding that to be the case too. I've got loads of projects that I'm working on: setting up my theatre company and applying for funding; releasing my free novella, and organising the event to launch it; trying to find new funding streams so I can carry on working at RNIB Cymru; launching the expansion of my Millennium Volunteers project in Carmarthenshire... lots of things to keep me going.
Birthdays do seem to mean less the older you get, and I'm treating this one as a chance to get loads of mates together, have a drink, then go out dancing. See? I've got my priorities right.
Please do not reproduce or sell my patterns, or items made from my patterns. Please contact me if you want to make things to sell for charity - and then I'll say yes!
