Lockdown Mooring 4

This outside is almost completely worn out! It is exhausted and so am I. She says it’s because of Lockdown. But we used to do that all the time (apart from when we did Lockup) and that was how they moved the outside up. I know because I used to sit in the window to see them raise it. I may be given 9 10 hours, but I’m starting to not be able to use all those hours. Please will someone come and move the outside for me! I’ve run out of friends!!

Time to start my illustrations for The Garden. Amy the director had filmed rehearsals, and has pin pointed certain moments that would be good for my pictures. This morning I started the process by working my way through the footage and taking snap shots to work from. The angle of the film isn’t that great and it being a physical theatre piece with all the actors wearing black it is hard to make out forms, but it’s a start.

It’s a long time since I did any life drawing, I get away with basic human beings in my costume designs. These are always standing figures, looking this way or that. What they are wearing is the main interest. But with the illustrations I need to be able to have people seated, dancing and look reasonably human, rather than disjointed. How to draw someone sitting cross legged?!

I had a hunt around on the internet for a program the other day that might help. I’d found a couple of programmes, but today I came up trumps.

JustSketchMe is an on line program where you can choose one of several figures. Male adult, Female adult, children, teens, dogs and cats (if you pay for it). Each figure is jointed, so you can manipulate their limbs in three directions to whatever position you like. It takes a little bit of getting used to, which arrow works which direction of movement, especially when you are at an odd angle. You can move around the figure to see it from different angles, this helps to make sure they are sitting comfortably.

As I worked on set ups, I started to add a second figure, a web grid helps you to ground them and then move them round to face each other. A form of perspective. I got quite into it all and worked my way through nine of the fifteen set ups before my shoulder was aching and I needed to go outside and have a game of stone with Tilly. A good start though.

Whilst checking on delivery slots this morning Mick had spotted another one. He jumped in and secured it with some wine. Marvelous, three deliveries around a week apart. Except the first one, next week had vanished! Try as we did there was no sign of it anywhere. Mick tried cancelling the last slot to see if it would come back. We got an email through saying that one had been cancelled, but we heard nothing about the first one. All we can think is that the website decided to amend our first order and move it. So we now need to think about shopping for next week again!

One thought is to try having a second account, so as to keep orders separate. When we can get another slot we’ll give that a go.

As I worked Mick spent much of the day accompanying Michael Palin around the world in far less than 80 days and Tilly came in for a long afternoon snooze. Out on the canal there seemed to be far more movement than we’ve had for days. Some familiar boats heading into Nantwich for shopping and water, others new to us, some heading up the Hurleston flight. Are the extra movements due to the lockdown being extended? People finding excuses to move?

Thank you for all your messages of support. It’s very lovely to hear from you. Life has it’s problems, twists and turns, we’ll get through ours, but sadly we’ll have to make changes. Anyhow, we’ve three months at least to think them through.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 lost slot, 1 new programme, 9 poses, 4 hours not 80 days, 1 bored cat, 7 boats, 1 stove, 1st none chicken meal for almost a week, 273 stones moved to the stern.