The Faraway Tree

I’m having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week so far, and it’s only Tuesday. Students, an unannounced painter invasion, continual disruptions, last minute room changes, exams, marking, reporting… grump. I’ve cried about school for the first time this year. Twice in two days. I don’t think I cried about school in 2008. I was very in control and organised. I was wondering why I was struggling this year, until I realised that *this* year I have less time to do more things, like writing Year 12 units and all assessment, etc. And I’m visiting friends, reading more christian books and doing Illustration Friday, in an attempt to have a life outside of school. It’s brilliant, except the part where admin tells me It’s Not Good Enough Not To Meet Deadline And You Were Too Abrupt On The Phone, or I discover my classroom and staffroom is now fenced off and reeking of paint and dust and industrial noise, or I get kicked out of the new classroom they said was free, or every single student in year 8 decides today is the day to experiment with the games of Whinge Artist, I’m A Little Stirrer, Make Me, or Ganging Up On Teacher (which they’re not supposed to know until Year 10!), and I stay back at school for *two hours* writing referrals on them, and I cry at school.

On the up side, I have started listening to an unabridged audiobook of Pride and Prejudice, and the scene where Lizzy and Darcy first go head-to-head, making out each others’ characters, *finally* makes sense. It never did, you see, until I heard the whole discussion about Bingley’s character preceding it. *That’s* why Darcy says her fault is to willfully misunderstand people! Anyway, the bit where Darcy decides he’s far too attracted to her and must now ignore her was very amusing.

Subtract The Knight, originally uploaded by Princess Crazyhair.

A princess in charge for a change, subtracting one knight to solve the problem of an expected marriage.

Drawn for Illustration Friday. I went a bit sideways, but the theme is ’subtract’.

My sister told me tonight that she has exceedingly strange dreams whenever she eats curry. She related to me an exchange between her and a classmate:

K: I had a curry dream last night.

Friend: No! Don’t tell me! How can you dream about stuff like that! And about ME! For your information *I* dreamed you were kissing both Edward *and* Jasper!

K: Well… that’s very nice of you…

Fairy Sketches, originally uploaded by Princess Crazyhair.

Early sketches for the work-in-progress posted a while ago. This pic turned into a short story I’ve just submitted to the Aurealis magazine. Actually, it turned into two, one of which I submitted but the other I might keep if I ever want to turn this story into a ya novel.

In later versions of this picture, I decided to go with the Blue fairy, but that meant she lost the leg hooked back and rode formally side-saddle instead. Blue would be much too cultured to ride like this…

“The Blue Fairy rode through town every Sunday as if to say the rest of us were no better than we should be. Perfectly poised in the saddle, crop in her hand, she clattered over our humble High Street cobbles on her silver-flanked mare, all the way to her sister’s house in Harbour Street. While her sister Green was red and freckled and rode her chestnut without a saddle, the Blue Fairy was almost paler than the spray of lace at her chin. Under her hat her silver-blonde hair was perfectly placed. She wore a mysterious smile and never spoke. You never saw her eyes. Instead, the ice-blue irises of her nameless white cat watched passers-by with an intensity that could make the noblest of them blush.
…
But even the Green Fairy, beloved of farmers and sailors, was not one of us: her cupcakes smelled of moss and mint, and when the Spring moon was full she rode the hunt through town with her hair unbound; barefoot, bare-legged and laughing in the wind.
- One Hundred Years (Non-submitted draft: Aurora’s Story), by me!

Lady of the Lake, originally uploaded by Princess Crazyhair.

I may do a colour version later, but I really love working in HB pencil! This was done for the Illustration Friday theme, ‘legendary’.

Intricate Heart, originally uploaded by Princess Crazyhair.

This week’s Illustration Friday theme is ‘Intricate’. Because it’s such a good topic, I will try to do more than one picture this week…

Erin, originally uploaded by Princess Crazyhair.

A sketch of a colleague of mine.

Breezy, originally uploaded by Princess Crazyhair.

[EDIT: http://www.flickr.com/photos/princesscrazyhair/3341199088/ is the link to the new version on flickr!]

I finished a second (and better executed) picture for this week’s Illustration Friday, but I think it’s too late to upload… The topic was ‘breezy’ and I just love drawing breezy hair. Also, this is the second piece of art I’ve done in… well, ages. Apart from messing about with paints and a collage on the holidays, it might have been six or twelve months since I produced anything, especially in coloured pencil. I’ve missed building up colour like this… And drawing pretty hair. All this must be due to me finally getting my scanner to Dad to be fixed… so thanks, Dad!

Afterword: After posting this I went back and fixed up the annoying lack of a shadow at her temple. Just in case it was annoying you too. It is very late, so if you want to see the updated version, you may have to ask nicely.

Breezy, originally uploaded by Princess Crazyhair.

My first Illustration Friday picture!

In other news, I have discovered Facebook. Which probably explains my lengthy absence here. I also read 19 books on the holidays and am flat strap at school. Which explains this procrastination, really…