iTunes *@!?*^!

My plan to play some WoW last night was fiendishly foiled ... well, I couldn't remember my password and the Blizzard site was down for maintenance so I couldn't request a new one. Instead I watched the last 2/3rds of The Day After Tomorrow, which was better than I was expecting.

So this morning I got myself ready for Week 1, Day 2 of C25K. Got my kit on, went to sort my playlist out and discovered my entire library was absent without leave from iTunes. Thankfully it was all still there on the hard drive. God only knows what foible iTunes was exhibiting, but there it was, 1 Frank Turner album and NOTHING ELSE. But I did an on the go playlist on my 'phone and headed out into the not-quite-drizzling morning. This time wasn't as horrendous as I was expecting, thankfully. My plan was to get back, shower, play a little WoW now my account was accessible again and then head out the the Three Horseshoes to be interviewed by Laurence Tilley for the Rugby Artists' Group newsletter! It was at that point I discovered that, not only had my music gone astray but ALL MY APPS AS WELL!! Needless to stay no foul, undead deviants were slain. Instead I frantically tried to put my 'phone back into it's well-loved state. Of course, all my Angry Birds scores have disappeared ... AGAIN!

However, such frustrations were mollified by a splendid lunchtime spent sipping beer, munching pub grub and being interviewed by Laurence. Had anyone told me a couple of years ago I would be interviewed for an artists' group newsletter I would probably have said something unrepeatable in an incredulous manner. But there I was. And a better lunchtime I haven't spent in a good long while. Excellent company. And yet again I am being persuaded to consider whether I really need to learn to draw if the art that inspires and fuels me is spontaneous, energetic and passionate. Hmmm, it's a good point. I suspect my drive is that I hate being told I can't do something. For some inexplicable reason I want to prove my art teachers of 25 years ago, wrong. What is that about?

You win some ...

So today has been a mixture of success and failure.

I did do my first day of the C25K programme. I thought I was going to be sick, but I did do it. Plus I've found a couple of other Facebook friends who have both started today by some happenstance, so there's an incentive to keep going.

I did watch the first few parts of the Learn to Draw Portraits YouTube feed. But when I clicked on the link to download the exercises, it no longer works. Now I'm kicking myself because when I had first come across these wonderful tutorials several months ago, the website was up and running. Grrrr. A clear lesson in not putting off until tomorrow ...

But hey. On the plus side I went to a very interesting Rugby Artists' Group talk given by Katharine Barker. She started her career as a textiles restorer in the V&A after going to art college, but in recent years has moved to painting as well as studying for a BSc through the OU. Fascinating work exploring decay and change in textiles and pigments.

And most exciting of all, Bridget Aldridge was there and had brought with her my 40th birthday present from my parents! My first proper piece of original art - a ceramic torso sculpture. Stunning :-)

So, I need a Plan B for the drawing course. I'm sure there's plenty of other stuff on youtube, but Eclectic Art Asylum had a particularly interesting and engaging approach to drawing that I thought would work well for me. Tomorrow? I must do the academic work needed for my teacher training course, which is a series of observations and analyses on my placement week. It's not going to write itself ...