A red coloured pencil.
I chose red, a rich velvety red, to colour the title in. It involved many rotations of the sharpener to get the thing done. What remained of the pencil was less than half of the original unblemished length. When mum discovered it, she was really unhappy that I had used it so exclusively. The precious set was now unbalanced - the rainbow rank interrupted by a much shorter member. What ensued was the biggest fight we ever had, before or since.
The Mutual Admiration Society
Show me the audacious and the new. Some artists work well as hermits, removing connection with normality so that they can bury themselves in a pure kind of making. That’s the Van Gogh cut-your-ear-off kind of artist life that wouldn’t be useful for my family, or actually for my own mental health. Instead, I’m really pretty happy when my work lets me encounter the brilliance of other people, and dwell for a time in their particular passions.
Advance and Retreat
Returning to this idea about work and play. I’m accepting that I might never make any money from my urge to pursue ‘art’, whatever that actually means. In the post-study aftermath, I am piecing together the ways that we can fund our life. One of the main ways I can do that is with my photography, and I have never been more grateful to have this ability to merge my obsession and our need.
Photographer in theory, if not practice.
I’m reflecting that this creative life has definite seasons and rhythms, and this week is part of that. I think there is a perpetual element of dissatisfaction for photographers - we think and plan and collect before we can actually do the exciting bit.
A Beginner’s Mind
I’ve made a sparkly new website, which feels rather a lot like a new pair of shoes. I haven’t worn it in, yet. It’s still a little bit pristine and without scuff marks on the toe. I’m not yet comfortable, and could easily imagine the rub when I’ve gone a few miles.
This journal is something I’ve been keen to try on. Sharing whatever rough, unsophisticated thoughts are rising to the surface, revealing and pondering the developments of my art practice and maybe some of my more worthy client projects, without adhering to any particular set of rules.