Very short blog today.... sorry!

Happy Monday everyone. As the title suggests, I won't be doing a long stream of consciousness blog today for 2 reasons. 

I. I had to sleep in the studio last night as the wind was too strong to get home. I had about 2 hours sleep and am absolutely shattered.

2, I have to prepare an artists talk for tomorrow and I have just got back to the studio after showering and brushing my teeth at the house (it's now 8.45pm). I just hope I don't get stranded tonight as well. The internet at the studio is brilliant but I don't have any at the house, which is why the preferred place to be stranded is the studio. Unfortunately I just need a good sleep in a bed, rather than lumpy sofa, so as soon as I have finished thinking about the artist talk, I am off to bed. 

BUT, to compensate for the lack of words, I will give you a little taste of what Madam Aurora threw at us last night.... Yes, again, I was treated to an even better light show than the previous night. It all started around 3.30am, hence the lack of sleep. And because of the wind, the aurora were dancing around really fast all over the place. 

This as well as some extraordinary light yesterday and some lovely ponies! I will be back to inane drivel tomorrow!

Enjoy the images. They're not good quality for the blog, but it gives you an idea.

Thank you for reading. Wish me a safe walk back to the house through the snow, ice and wind!!

Love,

Aly x

note to self: Liquid and electronics do not mix.

Today has been eventful. Firstly I spent 2 hours packing my case, sitting on it to close it, then weighing it by getting Steve to stand on the scales and then pick it up. My rubbish maths calculated that it was 32kg.... only 9 kilos over the limit. I couldn't however, lift it. Taking everything out again and trying to repack would come later.

 I had a fabulous catch up and lunch with my best friend where I was regaled with stories of dodgy food and 13 hour flights. This was followed by having a mini row with a PC world person who promised the laptop cover wasn't scratched - it was. 

Next I got home to find this perfect and hand made sketch/note book from my brilliant artist friend Linzi, all hand felted. Beautiful 

Decided to try the case again - took out one pair of shoes, baby wipes (always need those), waterproofing spray..., rucksack, books, pants, jeans, sweatshirts, hairspray(?), red electric tape(?), glue sticks x 4 and other bits of 'essential' stuff. Got it down to 25kg which is still over, but at least I can actually lift it.(The walking pole was removed, but it's trying to get back in...)

I then got on with the really important job of checking and rechecking hard drives, memory cards, sticks, readers and connectors. I put them all safely on my desk, all 25 of them and then spilled a whole cup of tea all over them.

Here they are. In a bag with silica gel sachets and rice. They are wet. And sticky. I cried. Now is the waiting game......

In the meantime, some of the sad items which didn't make the final 'suitcase' cut: (except Linzi's book which is coming with me - oh and my camera. Better get my act together.

Only 3 more sleeps

Ongoing preparations and the great SD card search

I remember taking this picture a couple of years ago near Baslow and was too scared to drive over that bit of snow....

So I might have a bit of difficulty with this then.......!!

Today I am searching through drawers and cupboards looking for SD and CF cards. I have found some very old ones that won't even hold a single image from the 36mp camera. It's amazing how things move so fast.

I have spent so much time looking for 'stuff' and working out what to wear etc, that I haven't really thought about what I'm going to do when I'm there! My proposal was a little woolly but I need to go back to it to consider what I'm exploring and how I'm going to make the month work for me in terms of artistic experience, finding out about a totally new environment, getting some great images for all of you wonderful people who have crowd funded me, and, for the sake of Steve and the kids, staying alive!!

Seven days to lift off. Expect musings, more preparation type blogs and out and out panic in the next week.

Aly

9 days to go.....

I thought you might like to see where I will be for the next month.

The residency is way up north away from the crowds(?) of Reykjavik, in a village of around 500 people - Skagastrond. 

There is a bar, restaurant, school, old people's home and a cowboy club..... I read somewhere that it's so windy that the school kids are taught to crawl home in case they get blown away. I will confirm whether this is an urban myth or is indeed, true once I'm there!

I do wonder if the buildings are single story because of the high winds... seems plausible.

I am desperately trying to learn a few Icelandic words and am getting nowhere. I just can't seem to remember them as they are totally non phonetic. Plus I am appalling with languages..... 

Today, I will attempt to get everything in one place so I can see the pile of stuff I'm anticipating taking with me. I expect this will be cut by at least half before next Monday.

Aly

And after...

So it might look the same, but there was lots of hair on the hairdressers floor...

Today I found out where I will be living and who with. I'm sharing a house in Skagastrond with two artists, one Chelsea Culpepper from NYC  (brilliant name), who works with installation and paint I think, and Megan Perra, another American who works in print. I have found published work by both artists and it looks brilliant. 

I only have 4 non working days left to get everything sorted out. I've got all the thermals I can carry but still have to go through all my camera stuff to try and work out what I can leave behind. 

Help!!!!

Iceland prep...

Today I am sorting out my hair so I don't need to think about it while I'm away...

This is the 'before'

Getting into practice...

Can't believe how tired I am today after a 15 mile walk in the Derbyshire hills. Beautiful day out and about 1* C.

Lists, lists and additional lists.

Interesting that the 2 most prominent words are 'tissues' and 'baby wipes'...

The list is growing and I just want to sit in this warm room and not move. So much to do and not much time. Two weeks and two days to go......

15/01/16 arrrrgggghhhhhh...

2 weeks to go and I'm nowhere near. I can't even decide which socks to take, never mind anything else. And who said taking a hard case was a good idea?? It's much more difficult to sit on and squash shut.

I'll be trying to write something every day once I'm there on the 1st of February, so watch this space!!

Aly X

Ps. wish I could take him with me...