Finding My Mojo
Hi Everyone,
I hope we are all safe and well in this increasingly crazy world. It's been quite a few weeks since my last blog mainly due to the complete shutdown of my creative brain. Alarming to say the least. I can now see the world through some sort of colourful lens again so it's time to pick up where I left off, such a relief. It was impossible to force anything, I just needed to ride it out.
As an aside, some fun has been had in this house! If I needed reminding how much my life has changed over these last few years I need to look no further than my little puppy. She had her first birthday (so probably not a puppy anymore...) and I threw her a party! A cake was baked for her and her little Whippet friends which went down a complete storm (recipe available on request). Accompanying humans had a very nice lunch too in amongst the chaos. After a good few hours of excitement we were both completely exhausted, such crazy fun though...
Believe
The main reason for my blip was my book. It took much longer to arrive than expected which just increased my anxiety. I am not usually one to catastrophise but I really did on this occasion. It permeated every aspect of my creativity, essentially I felt paralysed. I lost sight of why I titled my book as I did, that should have been front and centre.
Once the pre-orders had been posted I was humbled to receive some incredibly positive feedback. For that I am eternally grateful. I now feel I can open my eyes and blink in the sunlight again... Some of the comments have completely blown me away and I am delighted that I went ahead with the project. It being an emotional roller-coaster is an understatement but it was absolutely worth all the time and effort (and stress...).
There are plenty of copies still available... just saying... ORDER HERE
The Joys of Travel
After so many months of uncertainty, it was lovely to have the opportunity to travel overseas again. Spending a fabulous week in The Loire Valley, France with the ever inspirational Valda Bailey and Denis Hocking was such a shot in the arm. The trip didn't start well as some of us were caught up in the travel chaos that seems to be the default in the UK these days. The joy of planes (on the way back at least!), trains and automobiles...
I am generally unenthusiastic about going out and about with my camera on my own. I enjoy the company of other photographers even if we are just milling around doing our own thing. If I go somewhere on my own I just feel on my own, something I try to avoid. Having such fantastic company on this trip made all the difference. It was great to be able to add to my photographic catalogue again too rather than work the archives.
Images sprinkled throughout this blog focus on poppies. At this time of year there were poppies to be found in amongst the corn fields. Not as many as we thought there would be but definitely enough. Mixing these with images from a quartz flower installation has been huge fun. All have been processed quite quickly but it's exciting to feel that creative spark again.
It was so lovely to be out and about and I feel excited about the prospect of visiting new places. It's so worth it once you get there no matter the route or how long it takes.
Exhibition
So now my thoughts turn to my upcoming exhibition at the Obsidian Art Gallery. I can't believe it is within touching distance now. It's felt so far away for such a long time but I have about a month to get my act together, round up the prints that I have been working on over the winter and get them ready for the walls. Exciting but daunting in equal measure! If I can I will take some videos once it is all ready to go and include that in a future blog.
So that's it... Thank you so much for getting this far, as ever please let me know what you think, I will always reply.
I am thrilled and much relieved to be excited about my photography again. It gives me energy and happiness, I am a little lost without it. Trying to live a creative life is definitely a roller-coaster, riding the highs is truly a privilege and definitely not to be taken for granted; the less said about the lows the better.
Take care and stay safe
L xx
Quick Links to Previous Blogs
Believe: Making It Happen
Hi Everyone, I hope we are all safe and well. Here in Southern England, we are in this midst of some fairly wild storms. So far I have some damage but not too much. Fingers crossed it stays that way. Never having been a winter person, this year the miserable weather seems to have been […]
Believe
Hi Everyone, Even though we are getting close to the end of January now (hurrah!!) I am sure it’s not too late to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I always find the holiday season tricky to navigate but overall we had fun and certainly made the best of things. We look forward now into […]
Finding My Organic
Hi Everyone, I hope we are all safe and well. Winter is well and truly underway here, most of the trees have shed their leaves and our walks take us through carpets of red, orange and yellow. It’s tempting to kick swathes of colour into the air and enjoy watching those vibrant shapes spiral back […]
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4 Comments
Happy to see you online again! And thank you for sharing your poppies!
I received your book yesterday – what a treat! I’ve been following you for a year now, and take such joy and inspiration from your work and your words. I’m delighted to have your beautiful book to browse whenever I need a boost of beauty and positivity. “Believe” is such a powerful metaphor for your work, these times, and the possibilities we all have within our reach. Thank you!
Hi Terri,
How lovely to hear from you and to read such a wonderful comment. I am so pleased you like the book, it’s such a relief too. And yes, I definitely needed to remind myself why I named the book as I did, keeping the faith is so important in so many aspects of life. If we believe in ourselves, as you say, the possibilities are endless which is very exciting indeed.
Thank you again and take care
L xx
Beautiful images Linda. Really joyful and full of hope. And goodness knows, we need that. Thanks for the mention – lovely spending time with you and a brilliant group, as ever.
You have exciting times ahead – it’s lovely to see your work reaching a wider audience. I do hope all goes well.
x
Hi Valda,
Thank you so much for leaving a comment. It really was such a good trip and came at exactly the right time for me… And yes, time to knuckle down and focus rather than drifting around aimlessly.
Thank you again and looking forward to meeting again soon I hope.
Much love
L xx