ARTISTS TALKING

# 1 [10 December 2010]

Well, several months later and yet more broke I have learnt some very important lessons this year. Mainly that despite a lifetime of encouraging others to achieve their ambitions I am finding it difficult to achieve mine. The stress of no income is a severe hinderance to my creativity and I have had to train myself away from aimless daily searches for opportunities. I realised I was not actually being productive, so, onto action point one.

You're a photographer, go take some photographs. And i did. A beautiful Autumn afternoon, a VW camper and an abandoned airfield. Fresh air, space and a visual challenge. The experience of being out DOING was uplifting in itself and being engaged in the act of seeing a relief. Since that afternoon I have not stopped 'seeing'. Seeing the futility of chasing and the importance of creating; the benfits of having  tidy space in which to work, the fragile balance of self-belief and  self-doubt.

Find someone to buy your imagesif only it is your friends whose belief and support means so much. Practical support comes in many forms and afternoons of bemoaning an artist's lot in the cafe can sometimes produce opportunities. On this particular occasion it resulted in an afternoon creating images in a local violin shop which led to a studio session creating Christmas cards and further work installing the Christmas window for the shop.

Currently I have images in a local Xmas exhibition and will be spending what little remains of 2010 creating work for a solo exhibition in a local gallery.

Ok, so this is only generating a very small break-even state but it means I am creating again...now I need to up my profile and make time to upload my images. Also to develop personalised learning for those people who have asked me to teach them...a strength I need to 'cash' in on.

Meanwhile, where did I store my CV? The bank manager doesn't quite get this artist thing!

# 2 [28 October 2011]

annual report!

I’m increasingly amazed how fast time appears to pass, and yet how often little really changes. As with the seasons it seems we settle into a rhythm that we barely notice and, in some cases, the realisation that managing our everyday responsibilities has consumed yet another year can be almost as depressing as the inevitability that days are about to get shorter and colder. 

I write this because the last time I wrote my a-n blog is almost a year ago on a day when, like today, the clear blue skies and Autumn sun was making us believe it was Summer. And because, just like then, I am trying yet again to think of ways I can break the shackles of self-doubt and become the artist I want to be. 

I am starting my annual attempts by taking up an invitation from Katherine Waters and Don Henderson to be part of their Christmas show at Corpus Gallery in Banbury. Katherine has been a great inspiration to me since we first worked together in the late nineties. She has that amazing ability to keep driving forward creatively, constantly excited by opportunities and, unlike many of us, fearless in the midst of a possible adventure! I am about to visit her current collaborative venture am looking forward to my first trip to Corpus Gallery with a van load of images all framed, polished and carefully bubble-wrapped for the trip down the motorway.

Now, what are the chances of selling anything in these times of austerity, and should my prices reflect this or remain at a level that makes it worth all the effort?