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New Year, New Ideas
New Year, New ideas
Hello and Happy New Year! OK, I’m a bit late with the new year greetings, but that’s January for you!
So what have I been up to?
I tend to go into hibernation in the winter, although I do really enjoy the trees at this time of year, so have been venturing out to capture some of those.
Ashdown Forest/Hundred Acre Wood
I live in East Sussex very close to the Ashdown Forest, a unique and iconic landscape of heathland and trees, immortalised in the drawings of E.H. Shepard for the Winnie the Pooh books.
For me, Hundred Acre Wood is more than the home of Pooh; it is the lost inner landscape of childhood and innocence. It represents the capacity for wonder and joy, which can sometimes be hard for us to reach. In my images for this project I am trying to capture that elusive land and what it felt like to inhabit it.
This project will become a book which will include some of my poetry and drawings so watch this space.
Ice Lumen Prints
We rarely get snow down here in East Sussex, but during January we did have a slight smattering of it for a couple of days. I had read about a process for making lumen prints using the ice and snow. Lumen prints are where you expose expired darkroom paper to light to create a print. The areas of the paper which are covered up remain white (ish) and the other areas change colour depending on the length of the exposure. ‘Fixing’ the print will stop it continuing to expose, but will change the colours, so the best option seems to be to scan them and keep the originals in a dark box. I have tried this before, but the addition of putting it underneath ice added another element of happenstance to the whole process. It was fun to do, but by the thime I was getting to grips with it the snow had melted – never mind it has ignited my interest in the possibilities of this cameraless process, so futher experiments will ensue!
Expired 35mm Film
The discovery of an old Olympus Trip camera and an old roll of film (expired in 2000) encouraged me to try both and see what sort of results I got.
Not knowing whether either would work just added to the excitement.
The results I got back were totally unexpected. Most of the images were grainy and only showed shades of magenta and green – quite a surreal effect.
The subjects are ancient oak trees near my home, distinguished by their thick trunks and rugged bark. Their age enhances their strength and beauty. Initially, I was disappointed by the ‘imperfect’ results of this film, but then I started to see an odd beauty in them. As we age, our bodies and thought processes change, often making us feel past our ‘sell-by date.’ However, by embracing our imperfections and the wisdom we gain, a new beauty emerges. These imperfect images metaphorically illustrate how our perception evolves as we age learning to embrace imperfection and chance.
I entered some of the images into the Royal Photographic Society Women In Photography “Close to Home” competition and couldn’t believe that my images actually won in the Colour category!!
Now I am on the hunt for more expired film!
Looking Ahead
I am looking forward to a few events in the first part of this year.
I will be speaking at the Arena Seminar (see below), alongsode some other great speakers, so if interested book your place.
Arena Seminar
I am very proud to be a member of the Arena Photographers group. Every year we host a residential seminar in Bournemouth with a host of interesting speakers.
It is a special event with a chance to mingle with other like minded people face to face (quite rare these days!).
As an Arena member I will be one of the speakers this year.
Booking is now open for this special event.
Form, Frame & Fire
An exhibition of ceramics, jewellery, painting & photography.
I am delighted to take part in this exciting exhibition bringing together 4 Sussex artists working in 4 different mediums, each bringing their own unique perspective to their work.
Other artists are Chris Schneider (paintings), Jayne Luscombe (jewellery) and Charlie Todman (ceramics).
21st – 25th May, Crypt Gallery, Seaford, BN25 1HD 10-5 Daily
South East Open Studios
South East Open Studios (SEOS) is one of the most established annual open artist studio events in the UK and has been running since 1996; it takes place during the month of June, showcasing creative talent, and strengthening visual arts in our corner of the South East.
I have participated in this event for the past two years and look forward to doing so again this year.
I will be sharing studio space at Tarnhurst in Buxted for the first 3 weekends in June.
More details to follow.
Bookshop
I really enjoy creating books as a way of bringing my images and poetry together.
I have now set up a bookshop on my website to give the opportunity to buy them if you wish.
