Simon Rae
LightNews LightNews
banner
simonrae.bsky.social
Simon Rae
@simonrae.bsky.social
130 followers 210 following 160 posts
retired Lecturer in Professional Development at the Open University now doing drawings for pleasure… holder of a #LTHEchat Golden Tweeter Award
Posts Replies Media Videos
simonrae.bsky.social
If you haven’t already

please VOTE.

(This only applies to the UK which is currently in the grip of Council Elections.)

(I’m not advocating that you vote for any specific party, that’s up to you, but I’m just keen on there being as large a turnout as possible.)
Poster with the word VOTE in different colours arranged down the poster.
May 1, 2025 at 6:00 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
Magic pink underpainting of those clouds…

#Art #Sunset
Photo taken through the window of the sunset… the gold, the pink, the trees… beautiful!
February 27, 2025 at 5:45 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
#inmotion

The coach has left the Coach House where it sleeps and is currently bowling down the High Street to the pub…

#PrintPromptMonday - OK, I know it’s Tuesday but I overslept!
Black and white Lino print of the Coach House, a small residence with a central front door at ground level with a hay entrance above and a wide entrance for the coach on the right. A weathervane sits on the peak of the roof and trees boarder both sides of the house. Underneath the house is a legend that reads COACH HOUSE.
February 25, 2025 at 8:04 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
Indoors.

Jug on a table.

#printpromptmonday
Black and white Lino-cut print of a large jug standing on a patterned tablecloth in front of a white painted brick wall.
February 17, 2025 at 9:05 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
Two naive black and white prints…
#PrintPromptMonday #IntotheWild

The Gate leading out, and Big Trees.
A black and white wood panel print showing a five-bar farm gate between two gate posts flanked by hedgerows. A black and white Lino print showing three big tree shapes growing from a verdant undergrowth.
February 10, 2025 at 9:15 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
Perhaps a bit more needed…

WI-FI is a must these days and Power/Energy to run everything - which inevitably drags in Infrastructure and Contracts etc

Mind you, if we could all achieve Digital Wellbeing it would help!

(@lthechat.bsky.social Helen Beetham)
A modified Maslow’s Triangle. Starting from the top: Digital Wellbeing; Self Actualization; Self Esteem; L❤️ve; Safety; Phisiological …?*!!!; WIFI; POWER Infrastructure, Contracts, Green, Ecological, Profit; GAIA. This was done very quickly on an iPad in response to a question during a weekly #LTHEchat session on the need for Digital Wellbeing in HE.
February 2, 2025 at 9:40 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
Visited a small museum in Valadon’s birthplace near #Limoges some years back…

en.visitlimousin.com/stay/leisure...

#WomensArt
Photo taken in Musée Espace Valadon (https://en.visitlimousin.com/stay/leisure-activities-and-facilities/cultural-activities-in-limousin/musee-espace-valadon-bessines-sur-gartempe-en-4130865/) in 2019 showing a view of a studio space in homage to Suzanne Valadon in her birthplace near Limoges. At the top left is a painted canvas of a female nude sitting on a white cushion. On the right is a canvas on a fabulous curly easel showing a portrait head of a woman. At the bottom is a wooden print rack with some prints and sheets of drawings stacked in it. The floor is tiled in plain pottery tiles. The walls are white. A bedspread is pinned to the wall behind a red stuffed settee. Several blank canvases and an easel are propped up against the wall.
January 29, 2025 at 5:40 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
This weekend I came across Hannah Ryggen (1894-1970), a truly astonishing textile #artist from Norway.

nkim.no/en/hannah-ry...

Her work was considered so offensive in 1937 that it was #censored.

#WomensArt

See also:

theconversation.com/reading-pica...

@theconversation.com
Hannah Ryggen, "Drømmedød" (1935). Foto: Anders S, Solberg Drømmedød / Death of Dreams (1936) The tapestry is an eerie narrative over the death of hope, as well as the Nazi imprisonment and torture of innocents. Here we see a representation of the pacifist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Carl von Ossietzky, who was sentenced to death for treason. He holds a caduceus, in which the top is shaped like a heart. The heart symbolizes hope and tolerance, but may also symbolize mourning. Above description copied from the Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum website. The image is of a tapestry mostly brown in colour. The top third shows prisoner’s faces behind bars. In the centre is a full figure hanging down held by several blood-stained captors. The bottom two thirds is plain brown with a central vertical panel of a repeated squared logo design. The overall image is almost that of a large bed with heads at the top lying on pillows and a patterned bedspread pulled up from the foot of the bed.
January 27, 2025 at 1:04 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
A6 #LTHEchat

“Integrating Generative AI (GenAI) for student feedback offers personalized learning opportunities but raises concerns about accuracy and over-reliance. Studies highlight both benefits and challenges.”

Is what ChatGPT said…

And offered these resources:
Screen shot of output from Chat GPT in response to a question on #LTHEchat
January 15, 2025 at 8:57 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
We’ve just watched Episode 6 of #Patience on @channel4.bsky.social but can’t find out the full cast…

Anyone know who played the bad female Superintendent who had tried to halt the enquiry?

Tried @IMDb and @radiotimes.bsky.social but no luck…

CGI or AI? Nah, they’re not that good yet.
Publicity photo for PATIENCE a TV show on Channel 4. The photo shows the two main characters in the show. On the left is Ella Maisy Purvis who plays Patience Evans, a young autistic woman, working in a clerical role in the basement of the City of York police station. She is wearing a red roll neck sweater under a dark jacket. She has blond centre parted hair and is wearing noise cancelling headphones. On the right and slumped slightly lower is Laura Fraser who plays Detective Inspector Bea Metcalf in the City of York police. She is wearing a turquoise silk blouse under a dark jacket. She has dark shoulder length hair. They are standing between shelves in an archive of police reports.
January 12, 2025 at 8:24 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
How's this #monochrome image #OnlineArtExchange…

A faded black and white furniture catalogue circa 1900 from Heal and Son for Chairs and Table fixed to one of the Tables in the lovely Broadway Gallery, Letchworth Garden City.
www.broadway-gallery.com

Go see it…

@artukdotorg.bsky.social
A faded black and white furniture catalogue from Heal and Son for Chairs and Table. It is a two page spread, chairs and table on the left and curtained dresser on the right. Below these headings are faded photos of the items of furniture. Below the photos are details of size and price. In the bottom left corner is a square logo for Heal and Son.
January 9, 2025 at 5:34 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
A thought post #LTHEchat…

Is a student's response to an assignment a form of #feedback on your #teaching?

So that would mean your feedback on their #assignment would be feedback on their feedback…

Does this change the dynamic?
Laurillard's Conversational Framework Essentially the diagram shows the relationship between student and teacher and the interflow of theory, ideas, conceptions and feedback etc. Google Laurillard's Conversational Framework for more details.
January 9, 2025 at 11:52 AM
simonrae.bsky.social
By colour and size was a favourite way of categorising books where I came from…

thus: “I’m looking for a little Red Book about 3” x 4”, can you help?”

(Photo is of very uncategorised books!)
Photograph of books on 3 shelves. There are two notices attached to the shelves. The first one implies that books on the top shelf are “Self Help” books. The notice below this says “PLEASE ASK FOR ASSISTANCE FOR TOP SHELF ITEMS Thank you”.
December 30, 2024 at 6:35 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
Merry Christmas
Black and white cartoon of Santa, a tree, and a reindeer.
December 25, 2024 at 8:05 AM
simonrae.bsky.social
This #Badge is left intentionally blank for cases just like this…

Please cut out and fill in as appropriate.

Well done.
4 cartoon Badges. The top round pink one is for Swimming 10 mtr, the middle white one says “This badge intentionally left blank”, a half hidden blue grey one is for Computers in S, and the last square one is for Wood Craft. The badges are pinned to a shirt top pocket out of which is poking a pen. The cartoon was a gentle dig at the trend for awarding Badges to students when they had achieved something of merit so that they could feel proud of themselves.
December 23, 2024 at 8:10 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
Night-time photo looking down a damp road. Leave, shrubs and trees line the left side of the road. Down the road are several vehicles parked by the kerb. On the right are several Victorian terrace houses with bay windows. Lights are on in some of the houses. A solitary street lamp lights the first house. The road is in a small town in the UK about 50 miles north of London.
December 18, 2024 at 7:27 AM
simonrae.bsky.social
And for Computer Technology as well… think back to when you were a child (even if it was only a decade ago), are the computers you saw/used then anything like the ones that are powering Bluesky?

The first one I used in the 70s was the size of my house, now I carry one around in my pocket.
Cartoon done for the City University Computer Unit Newsletter issue #12, December ’76. The drawing shows a progression of computer shapes. On the left is a large Mainframe 2.5K computer wearing striped trousers and hobnailed boots with its sleeves rolled up. It is holding a magnifying glass looking down on a 96K Mini computer wearing short trousers and bovver boots. The Mini is holding a magnifying glass looking down on a 128K Micro chip with six visable little terminal legs. Both the Mainframe and the Mini are looking cross and both are thinking “of course… it’ll NEVER catch on…”. The Micro chip is thinking “# 60 51 63 63 20 57 46 46 21”, which translates roughly as Go away!
December 12, 2024 at 5:46 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
Nothing much changes…

This is a poor copy of a cartoon that I drew for City News, the in-house paper for the City University, London in the late ‘70s.
Cartoon drawn for City News, the in-house paper for City University, London in the mid ‘70s. It shows a graph. The vertical axis on the left is labelled 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 hundred thousand. The horizontal axis is labelled 1973, ‘75, ‘77. Two lines are shown, one solid line rises from 3.5 in 1973 up to 6.5 hundred thousand in 1977 and shows the number of students, a second dashed line falls from just over 7 in 1971 to 3 hundred thousand flats in 1977. The two lines cross in the centre of the graph forming a hammock shape. A barefooted disheveled looking student is asleep and snoring in the hammock. The cartoon is headed Rae’s Laugh and is signed Simon Rae. City University, London is now City St George’s, University of London.
December 10, 2024 at 10:03 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
Bizarre sensation this morning listening to Bob and Roberta Smith presenting Make Your Own Damn Music on radio #Resonance 104FM

Felt like an actual part of the artwork, not just a listener

Felt manipulated like the oil paint on one of his canvasses

Normally a reader or a viewer but not a material
A painting by Bob and Roberta Smith RA Make Your Own Damn Art 2010. Oil on board. 1005 mm x 999 mm x 64 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/work-of-art/make-your-own-damn-art The image is made up of the words from the title of the painting painted in bright block letters in stripes across the painting which appears to be planks of wood laid horizontally and fashioned into a square. Nail heads are just visible at the end of the planks. MAKE is in red on a buff background, YOUR is in pale blue on a red background, OWN is mostly in pale blue on a dark blue background, DAMN is in red on a buff background and is noticeably narrower than the other words, MUSIC is in green outlined in red on a black background. All the letter have a slight shadow which gives a 3D effect.
December 8, 2024 at 9:24 AM
simonrae.bsky.social
Lots of sawing and building work on a remixed episode of Bob and Roberta’s Make Your Own Damn Music on radio ResonanceFM104 to accompany my morning porridge making as he explores the urgency of facilitating every child’s Right to Art which involves breaking down a lot of walls.

www.resonancefm.com
Cartoon face wearing glasses and a pink T-shirt. The caption reads: “Can you afford creativity?” The image is signed @simonrae
December 1, 2024 at 8:06 AM
simonrae.bsky.social
This is so nice…

It reminded me of a poster from the ‘80s that I should have kept ☹️

It was advertising an event to do with the the #INMOS #Transputer (www.rs-online.com/designspark/...) and featured a beautiful knitted version of a Transputer in situ. I do so wish that I had kept a copy!
Photograph of a board from a massively parallel Meiko Computing Surface, which features four T800 transputers plus external memory taken from https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/revisiting-the-inmos-transputer.
November 25, 2024 at 9:37 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
Arggg…

Listening to fabulous radio program on #Resonance 104FM playing classical music and talking to classical musicians

Elgar, 3 Counties Festival, opera, trumpets 🎺🎺, Debussy

But it's from the Archive… don't know who what or when 🙁

www.resonancefm.com
Close up photo of 4 ears of corn Wheat colour against a black background
November 25, 2024 at 7:33 AM
simonrae.bsky.social
Photo booth, c. 1970

Stourbridge College of Art.
Black and white Photo Booth image of longish haired young person wearing a black polo neck and grey cardigan. Two chains around his neck, one metal chain link, one black cord string with clusters of six white beads set 3 by 3. He is holding his metal framed glasses up toward the camera so that a smaller image of his face is reflected in each lens. He has a whispy moustache.
November 21, 2024 at 8:24 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
An oil pastel drawing done in New Quay, Wales some time ago.
A drawing done from the window of the cottage we were staying in for a week in New Quay, Wales in October. In the foreground is a municipal carpark and toilet block. Beyond are the brightly painted buildings on the quayside. Then comes the green fields on the far side of the bay below a fairly threatening sky. I used oil pastels which sometimes turned on their side to get a straight edge line. And yes, they are messy! I try to remember to wear a latex glove on my drawing hand to keep clean 🙂.
November 20, 2024 at 10:38 PM
simonrae.bsky.social
Drawing from sometime earlier…

It was a nice café that we went into for a coffee and something to eat. I had time to draw other customers.
Drawing of the bay at Tenby in Wales. Two people sit with their backs to the artist looking out at the bay. Several small boats are bobbing at anchor. Across the bay a strip of land separates the sea from the sky. I tried to do the main outlines in a fine black ink pen with one line, not taking the pen from the paper. I added colour using coloured pencils later.
November 19, 2024 at 9:51 PM