Virgin Media Box Visit 1

Since receiving the email letting me know that my design for the Virgin Media communication boxes has been selected I have been in contact (via email and text message) with a lady called Ruth who is part of Ash Road Area Residents Association (ARARA). She has been keeping me updated about when paints have arrived, when they are expecting brushes to be delivered, etc, and I finally went today to meet her to organise when I could get started. 

I went to her house and met her, her husband and another member of ARARA who have all been involved in this project so far. I also met another artist who will be painting a box who happens to be studying at LCA too. Ruth is a really interesting lady and she pointed out a few arty things I should be keeping my eye out for in Leeds and Headingley. 

We discussed the communication boxes project as a whole and she told me everything I needed to know including things like not painting right to the bottom of the box, leaving the hinges and locks clear of paint and reminding me to write 'wet paint' in chalk on the floor when I leave. 

I then went to see my box (which had already been undercoated in white) to map out my design. I was using the stencils I had cut previously so I just needed to masking tape them to the box and trace through the gaps I had cut. My previous issues with my images printing at different sizes was not a problem anymore because the design fit comfortably within the doors of the box which meant I wouldn't have to be painting over the gaps around the doors. The side panel was actually a little big so I traced the pots and then freehanded the rest to make sure the whole design fit in. Unfortunately I got caught in a rain shower which made my paper curl and generally made it harder to be accurate but this didn't matter too much. After I had made all my marks, I removed the stencils and completed the outlines to match my original image. 

All in all, today has been really productive, my mind is at rest knowing that the people I'm working with are really lovely and helpful and I am glad to have made a start on the practical side of this. I just hope my sharpie holds up in the rain until Sunday when I'm planning to start painting.