Dear All
The finished version of 30 Shades of Days will be on show at Wolverhampton Art Gallery from Saturday 8th February to Saturday 8th March 2014.
Feel free to pop in and view the work, read the diary and leave your comments. It'll be good to see you there!
There will be other pieces of artwork on show from 5 other West Midlands based artists. All of us are involved in the Junction Contemporary Art Festival and have called the exhibition the 'Junction 5'.
If you do pop in - let me know what you think to the project.
Image of the finished piece below for you:
Welcome to the last day of the project - I can't believe it has finished already! It's been an interesting time, very challenging, difficult with ups and downs.
Today came and went with nothing of note. I went to work, applied for another job, came home. Hubby was going to be out most of the night too so it was just me and Jess. Thanks for keeping me company Jess. xx. Today is an uneventful nude colour.
When I started this project, I had no idea how it would turn out, whether it would be of value or interest to anyone else. I have had lots of followers and I thank you all. I hope you try the same thing yourselves as it's interesting to see the differences in the days of the month when you look back. We all go through the motions each day without thinking about the impact on ourselves. I hope I can promote this project for self-evaluation and for it to be used as a way of coping through tricky times in life. I have already had some feedback in how it can be put into practice, so I am thrilled about that.
I have all my colours now. Looking back it's odd to see how the colours have changed. They started off quite bright and breezy then throughout the month got darker, more sombre through to pale and nondescript. When I started the project I had no idea that September 2013 would be one of the most challenging months in my life recently. I have been able to remove myself from the immediate impact of each day by reflecting and challenging myself to allocate a colour to the overall feel of each day. That process has helped me to cope no-end.
I will be starting on the final, larger piece of artwork, inspired by the 30 days of colours soon and I will update you all on the progress through this blog. I hope you will come to see the project through to its completion - it will be on show at Wolverhampton Art Gallery between 8th February and 8th March 2014, all going to plan.
So, until then, take care and try your own Shades of Days in your diaries. Let me know how you get on. You can email your colours to me at clairestarmer@sky.com and I will upload them onto my blog.
See you all soon, Claire x
P.S. I reached over 1000 page views on my blog - thanks to each and every one of you. C x
Sunday. I didn't sleep last night. What with Robyn having left for Uni (and feeling like I've lost my best friend), loosing my job and now things going wrong at home between me and hubby, I have a lot on my mind. I just want hubby to see that the stress he is under at work makes him temperamental at home and (being female) I will react to that. There's such a lot to talk about yet we can't communicate. I will keep trying though. He is worth it.
I was in my own all day today. Jess and Joe spent all day together (a lot of it sleeping) and they are very happy. I had a lot of thinking time by myself. I haven't come to any conclusions but I hope I make myself a better person nonetheless.
It was a beautifully warm day today. Blue skies and vibrant colours. It didn't rub off on me though. Shame. Robyn is still feeling poorly. It was lovely to speak to her. I spent a long time on the phone to Mum. Thanks for your 'ear' Mum. x All helps.
Today is a lonely blue day. I really, really hope things pick up tomorrow.
Saturday. It should be a day of rest but I was pre-occupied. Did some gardening with Jess and Joe and I cleaned out the bunny's cage before walking to the local shops with J&J to get some fresh buns for lunch. We had a really nice time together. There's a new cafe opened at our local shops so we will try it out sometime.
6pm. Took Jess and Joe to a house party. A friend of Jess's - 15 year old boy- has the house to himself and his parents told him he could have some friends round to play Grand Theft Auto 5. Jess has boys as friends and was invited too. Poor parents! I dropped them off then went round to watch Strictly Come Dancing with my parents.
10.30pm. I picked up J&J from the party. It seemed not to have been too bad. At least the house was still standing. Went home and I decided to keep out of hubby's way as it seemed best to give him space. I hope he's better in the morning. I am still feeling very under the weather.
Today is a browny-grey day. Things must start to pick up tomorrow.
I was feeling very rough today. I struggled on at work as I didn't want to leave and let people down. I had to tell quite a few artists about my position at work and I had some very nice comments about what I had achieved.
3pm. I began to feel sick and faint so I called the doctor's surgery and got an appointment for 4.50pm. I hung on at work until it was time to leave. What a struggle.
5pm. Waiting to see the doctor. I managed to get to see a very nice one so I was not anxious. 5.40pm - got to see him! He told me I had a virus so there's nothing he can do to help. Fair enough. I asked about building up my immunity so I can shake the virus off and he came up blank. Great.
6.30pm. Got home. It was lovely seeing hubby and Jess. She had gone to school and felt good today. Unfortunately, hubby and I didn't quite see the evening through. In fact we had an awful night and I ended up sleeping on the sofa. He can be Jekyl and Hyde and I never know which one will turn up when. He is so under stress though. I do understand.
Today is a rotten feeling grey day.
Today was marginally better. Definitely helped by Sudofed too! It was the only way I could get up and about. It kept me going throughout the day. I found a few interesting looking jobs online but my confidence always stops me thinking I can do it. Something else I need to address.
The highlight of my day was at around 2pm when hubby dropped off a hot chocolate to me at work on his way to a meeting. That was really sweet of him. I really hope he manages to get through the next 6 months at work without going mad. It is so hard on him.
I have had to tell a few people at work about the redundancy and it's been a real surprise to read some of the emails I have had in return. The support for what I do is fantastic and that makes me feel that I've achieved something in my role.
5.20pm. Home and Robyn was on Skype. Jess and I chatted to her for about 10 minutes. Great to actually see her in her room talking to us. She has enjoyed Freshers' week at Uni.
Jess didn't go into school today as we needed to ensure her lurgy was on the way out. She's ready to go back tomorrow. I have an early start at work so it's early to bed for me- 9pm!
Today is a more confident green day, given that I am coping.
Sometimes only a cow print onesy will do! My bed called to me for most of the day and I know that it's because of my throat and lurgy.
Work was pretty much the same as yesterday - spending a lot of the time job hunting. I was on my own today and the place felt different. Probably because my relationship with the centre has changed. I am standing back from actively promoting it as I won't be there to carry out developments and I have no idea how it will run next year, not that it's my concern anymore.
5pm. Jess was off school again today but fancied a MacD when I got home - obviously feeling better - phew! We went to the drive-through then home to rest. All I want is my bed. My throat is so sore, I can feel it all the time. I have to open up at the centre tomorrow and Friday so I am not sure when I can get to the docs. I don't want to let anyone down either but I know I have to look after myself, especially with my low immunity.
The weather was warm again today - very nice. It raised my spirits but couldn't stop me feeling rough. So today is a beige day.
