Hello and welcome to Inso's World again... and this post is going to be a little longer than usual because of Salute 52 and a bunch of other stuff that has been going on since the last one.
So... here goes...
First up, this:
Hello and welcome to Inso's World again... and this post is going to be a little longer than usual because of Salute 52 and a bunch of other stuff that has been going on since the last one.
So... here goes...
First up, this:
Hello and welcome to Inso's World again.
It's been a couple of months but during that time, a lot has happened so I'll get straight to it.
Life-wise, I'm still volunteering with the Air Ambulance shop occasionally and I'm still working at the care-centre but in addition to caring for the clients, I have also been given the task of cooking their dinners and a bit of cleaning so things have ramped up, somewhat.
After nearly 2 years, I have made the decision to stop creating/delivering the bi-weekly quiz at my local pub. I've just run out of ideas and enthusiasm so I'm stepping aside for someone else to give it a go. This will have the effects of reducing my stress levels and giving me more time to do some stuff for me... which will be nice. You never know, I may even get some sleep occasionally!
Our goldfish passed away after 10 years of happy swimming...
... and that's about it for normal stuff so it's on to hobby related things now.
So far this year, I have finished the Jungle Fighter project and have sent the sculpts off to Chris at Macrocosm Miniatures:
Hello and welcome to Inso's World again... admittedly, after quite a break... but welcome, nonetheless!
Tomorrow is the last day of 2024 and as a lot of people do, I decided to have a look back over the year and see what has happened in my life.
To start on a miserable note, I have come to the conclusion that the long COVID I had for over a year has permanently affected my breathing. Plans to run marathons have been permanently put on hiatus until I decide to go and get things checked out by the professionals. Apart from that, another cracked rib and a few aches and pains (related to my age and past activities), I'm feeling pretty chipper.
This coming January, marks the second year of not being in therapy so I'd say that my mental health is pretty good and I'm in a good place with regards to that side of things. I am finding that NOT watching the news every day and ignoring the things that I can't change has really helped me to chill out and I am a lot less stressed/frustrated with life... which is nice...
I've been working in an elderly care facility for almost six months and I am really enjoying it. It's a day centre for people to visit, be looked after and entertained and then go home at the end of the day. It is great fun and I am getting on well with the clients and my work mates. For me, it's a bit like getting paid to go and have fun at a social club (with a bit of care-work thrown in) so I can see myself staying there for the foreseeable future.
I have started a college course to do with "behaviour that challenges" and plan to do more care related courses when I finish it and when they become available.
I still volunteer at the local Cornwall Air Ambulance charity shop on some weekends... something I really wanted to keep up with, after getting my care job.
The two-weekly quiz that I run at my local pub is ticking along nicely still... it's been over a year now and I have a group of regulars who pop along... as well as the occasional newbies.
Family is good. Cats are good. Norrel (our gold fish) is weird but still going strong.
I have been out on my motorcycle less than five times this year... that needs to change.
I (we) haven't had a holiday away, since we moved to Cornwall (8 years ago)... that needs to change.
All in all, I'm ticking along nicely but need to get a few ducks in a row in order to start getting more back from life.
The hobby... is it though? Is it a hobby? Over this year, I haven't been as active with my hobby as the previous year. I haven't painted anything... and I've sculpted 8 miniatures for myself. Everything else has been for other parties. This coming year, my main goal is to finish my "commission" list and not accept any more until I have had the chance to do some hobby, rather than "work" at my hobby. I need to learn to be a bit selfish and work on finishing my Squat army. I do a lot and don't have time for finishing my own projects... and that sucks.
So... what have I managed to finish this year? This:
Hello again and welcome to Inso's World.
I have a bit of an announcement... after about two-and-a-half years away from paid work, I am finally employed again. I have a job at a local day-centre for elderly people and I've been there for just over a month. I am working part-time and can still volunteer at my local Air Ambulance shop so it's a win-win all round.
As a result of the rather abrupt change in my circumstances, I have not been as pro-active with my sculpting as I could have been... due to training, extra workload and trying to get into the rhythm of fitting work around other "life stuff"... but I'm starting to get back into the routine and expect to be sculpting more, very soon.
So... YAY! GO ME!
From a sculpting perspective, I have finished the mourning soldier diorama:
Hello and welcome to Inso's world.
I know it's been a short while but the world continued to turn so it's all good.
What news? Well... after just over two years of volunteering at my local Cornwall Air Ambulance shop, I am having to think about getting paid work again. I was hoping to get an opportunity to try for the shop manager's job but circumstances have stopped the job coming up so, after giving it six months to appear and with no clear picture of when the job might turn up... I am having to think about looking elsewhere for paid work.
The question has been asked... "why not sculpt for a living?". There's a simple answer to that; it's my hobby and if I turned it into a job then I'd not have a hobby. The other reason is that I don't sculpt well with too many restrictions and deadlines kill my sculpting mojo... so it's not an option.
I am thinking that a return to care-work may be on the cards.
That aside, I'm happy with my lot... although a few issues with sleeping and other little illnesses have really slowed down my hobby work but things are picking up and I currently have eight finished sculpts on the table, with seven more WIP ones.
Here's what's finished (I posted a couple in the last post that are still on the table so I won't repost them):
First, I have the adventurer I mentioned was nearly finished... it's now finished:
Hello and welcome to Inso's World again. It's Easter and the last post was around three months ago but frankly, it's been a bit "meh" since Christmas so I've not had much I wanted to post.
I was hoping to be a shop manager by now but that was on the table for eight days before "situations beyond our control" happened so it was deferred for at least 6 months. That means I have had to wait but I can't wait for ever... and I haven't got any idea what I'd like to do instead... so "meh"!
I had plans for sculpting a few more bits for the army but my sculpting mojo disappeared... so "meh"!
I had a long run of insomnia so I wasn't safe to go out on my bike... so "meh"!
I had a "health issue" that was linked to drinking grown up drinks... so I've practically been teetotal since the end of November... so "meh"!
... and then...
The Frothers Unite / Bunny Badger gamers for Salute, threw out a request and that started a bit of motivation which led to quite a lot of sculpting... and I'm still sculpting things as a result so it seems that things are looking up.
At least I have cats, eh?!
So... the sculpting. My friend Ben from Bunny Badger games put a request out for some Teletubbies (including Noo-noo) and I thought they would be a good thing to get my mojo back so I offered my help. There were a few specific requests (one needed to be holding a rabbit and one needed to be eating one) so I used a bit of poetic license and came up with these:
Hello and welcome to Inso's World for the last post of the year.
This year has been a mixed bag... good health, bad health, achievements and procrastination... but over all, it's been a much more positive year than 2022 so it's not been so bad.
I'm still working at the Cornwall Air Ambulance shop as a volunteer and am still enjoying it. My wife is still happy with her job. My children are both happy and doing well. The cats are great, the fish is still swimming and the house is slowly getting better (with an almost finished, new kitchen). My motorbike is still running but hasn't been out much... and the hobby has been getting done (most of the time) so pretty positive stuff.
On the health side, I have realised that I have to accept that the long covid (2021-2022) has affected my lungs so when the cold weather turns up, I have to slow down a bit. Not a major thing but it's something I have to come to terms with. My plans to train for a marathon have fallen by the wayside but I still plan to complete a marathon in 2024... just a bit later in the year!
The hobby has mostly been successful but over the last couple of months I have stalled a bit... however, I think I've accomplished quite a lot so here's a list of what I've managed...
P = Paint
S = Sculpt
C = Converted
S - Squat Air Advisor
S - Diver
C - Leeloo (for the Frothers table @ Salute)
P - Squat First Platoon (CMD, HW and 2 Infantry Squads - 31 troops in total)
P - Diver
C + P - Squat "Santa" Beer Seer
C + P - Squat "Elf" Wine Witch
P - Squat "Thor"
P - Squat Air Advisor
P - Squat Artillery Advisor
P - Squat Second Platoon (CMD, HW and 2 Infantry Squads - 31 troops in total)
S - Kier Starmer (Commission)
I don't think that's too bad but there isn't as much sculpting as there could have been on the list... maybe 2024 will be better but after a good few years of sculpting pretty solidly, maybe it's time to keep things slow... who knows?
At the moment, I have a few things on the corks... namely five miniatures for the Frothers Salute table for 2024... one of them being this:
Click the Pic!
I also have a sculpt of the Ukranian president on the go (commission) and a few other bits and bobs but nothing firm apart from that.
I still need to sculpt some Servitors and an Astropath for the Squat Project but after that... "white noise"...
... in other news, I have been thinking a lot about Squat Bikes and Transports/Armour and a few "special" sculpts for the Squat Project that I started but need to rework. I'd also like to sculpt some plate-armoured Squats (Stormtroopers) but I am not set on designs so that will definitely be a bit "wait and see".
All that remains is to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year. I hope you have a safe journey from now and into the new year and find your own way to enjoy the end of the year and the start of the new one... whether it's your thing or not.