hello again.
I had prepared a January themed blog post at the beginning of the year, but I didn’t like the genericness of that, so I scrapped it and didn’t write another. For months! Give us nothing! I did! And now it’s March!
I don’t see this as a bad start to the year (naturally) but instead just curating my blog (see: protecting it from crap) and not feeling compelled to post dross to fill up space and tick a box. Do you believe me?
A brief digression into talking about goals:
Instead of doing a lot of thinking (not problematic in itself, but more in terms of sheer quantity of head scratching time), this year, I decided I need to do more doing. Of course I have spent a bit of time thinking about how I want to reshape the direction of my practice this year- but I want to initiate practical steps in a timely fashion wherever possible.
I feel like I want to strip back some of the layers I have accumulated around my art making. After several years of exploring so many new processes, new techniques, new focuses, I want to return to some of the things that were foundational in my art practice in its early years.
I have really enjoyed expanding my creative repertoire to include things like screenprinting, needle punch, embroidery, monoprinting, self-publishing etc etc, but I have long harboured the desire to do a ‘back to basics’ project that would require me to tangle with some technical and personal challenges.
Where did it all begin??
Specifically I am talking about darkroom photography (also animation, but we will get to that). I was lucky enough to have access to a darkroom in my school years during my first forays into black and white photography. My dad allowed me to use his 35mm camera- a Canon AE1 which I still have and use to this day, and I was able to process films, and make my first black and white print (which I still have somewhere- a flower). I enjoyed the hands on nature of the process, the variables, the tinkering, and the quiet, meditative quality of working in the dark.
As I have previously mentioned, I moved into a new studio facility last year and was delighted to find a darkroom therein. I have yet to reacquaint myself with the processes, but have formulated a mini-project in my head to try and kick start my thinking, and get me fired up about all things darkroom. I will update as this progresses. Currently I have a steady thematic direction and am gathering research. Initiating this phase felt like quite a relief. Phew, I have an idea, I have a purpose.
I have also applied for some small-scale project funding to get the proposal going and allow me to purchase materials etc, but I will try to push this forward even on a micro scale if this doesn’t come to fruition. Where there is a will, there’s a hideous project on a shoe-string budget- that’s what I always say!
What I’m working on currently:
Since the beginning of the year I have been lucky enough to lead some more creative workshops. Professional practitioner time! These have been themed around making zines so far. I have, for many years now, enjoyed the process of making zines, mostly for showcasing my artwork and writing, and making them as part of my Cannibal Cubs projects.
I also enjoy collecting and reading other zines. I love a niche, and zines are a niche’s niche.
Self-publishing is fun and only as complicated as you make it (sometimes really complicated- love that). For years I was lucky enough to have access to a photocopier which hugely aided the development and dissemination of my creations. Also a long-reach stapler- very, very key. (Although I do stitch bind now too!). I borrowed this from my Dad initially (thanks again Dad) and he said to me ‘oh yeah I used it to make shitey booklets’, and honestly, same ever since. And no, I didn’t return it. The more garbage your aesthetic the better sometimes with zines, so it suited me as a DIY method of getting my work out there. How ‘out there’ it got is still up for debate…
I have also had a couple of zines professionally printed- primarily as part of a funded project, but also as part of a collaborative exhibition. I like the lo-fi aesthetic of a handmade zine, its potential and power, rooted in a long history of subversiveness, rebelliousness and subculture infighting. My favourites!
The workshops I have been leading have been aimed at beginners and accomplished zinesters alike, so I’ve tried to pitch them at an accessible level, but also allow people the opportunity to experiment and play, and maybe challenge themselves to step away from their usual method of making, or format etc. So far I have been pleased with the way these sessions have unfolded (excuse the poster zine pun), and look forward to continuing. I like it when a workshop opens you up to continuing a practice at home, and is affordable and accessible- both collage making and zines embody this well.
One of the other reasons I’ve enjoyed introducing people to zine making is that, like any hands on activity, it encourages people to slow down their thinking a bit, consider what they are constructing/writing, and have a break from the immediacy of online life, or even just daily routine and frenetic, wired in living. Looking at someone else’s handmade zine is equally an opportunity to take some time to see the world through another’s eyes, be exposed to opinions you may not usually encounter, see something stimulating… I can get quite evangelical about the possibilities and benefits.
Making something with your hands can be highly therapeutic, allowing you to get close to that coveted flow state. Being playful is something that can be severely lacking, or forgotten about completely, even for creatives or artists. Remember fun?
I always joke with peers about how ART IS NOT FUN!!! But it’s not really true. It’s trying to make a living from art that’s not fun. Play and creative practice are great ways to refresh your perspective, for creative professionals and well, anyone. Sometimes this needs to be enforced in a workshop environment (weee organised fun… said… not me), as carving out ‘playtime’ in your own schedule always seems to fall off the list, if it ever even makes it on in the first place.
What I’m reading
INFERNO!! by Dante
Pretty sure I’ve stood in the ‘vestibule of hell’ before in many public buildings but I digress.
Picked this up as a bit of research for a project. I danced around reading this after toiling with Ovid and others. Sometimes another saga… I’m not ready. I think I’m a more mature reader now but was surprised by how readily I was absorbed into the journey.
To be continued…
What I’m listening to
I just finished Katherine Rundell’s wonderful book on John Donne ‘Superinfinite‘. I enjoyed this biography, which was very humorous, very well written and engaging. I came away with a new understanding of Donne’s life and his works. I have studied his poetry, read it countless times, and I still gained fresh insight and enthusiasm to revisit his work once more. 400 years on (and no, that’s not since I studied him THANKS), it amazes and delights me that works that are so old can still speak to us- the common themes are eternal to our species: love, death, suffering, grief, spirituality, all the big ones that move, motivate and unravel us.
I didn’t realise quite how many words in the English language that Donne was personally responsible for (no spoilers). It wasn’t always a totally edifying portrayal, but it added a human, ‘mortal’ element that I found lacking in other studies of Donne. It shows Donne as poet, lover, father, preacher- all phases of his life, and the paradoxical nature of these many transformations. He was someone at the mercy of his desires, beaten down by corporeality, but also someone totally enthralled and astounded by human life.
Highly recommend this book. I am a superfan. Life affirming, fascinating stuff.
That’s a short recap for now, thanks for reading!
J 🙂
DRAFT EXCLUDER 