The Drug of Creativity

Hi Everyone,

Well yet again, it feels like an eternity since I last sat down at the computer to write a few words. My life has been turned upside down by my 4-legged friend. I honestly had no idea what to expect when this lively little puppy entered my home and it really has been such a steep learning curve. We have both had to work so much out very fast - thank goodness for advice from some very good friends, and for YouTube! Things are starting to settle down a little now, I am very aware that I have consciously chosen a period of madness in order to be in a better place, we will be a strong little team, of that I am certain.

For the first time since I started this blog I've had a period away from my photography as I adjust to my new 'normal'. That's been a huge challenge in so many ways. It's astonished me how quickly I have lost threads of topics I was exploring, luckily I do a lot of writing and journaling as well as image-making so I have most of my thoughts and ideas written down. Maybe I will see thinks differently now though… the benefits of fresh eyes, we will see.

I am wondering whether this little mini-break will prove to be beneficial. While devoting plenty of time and energy to my little Sparkle as she grows, I now know I need to do something creative every day. Creativity definitely breeds creativity and without it I am unhappy and frustrated. Acknowledging this is helping me shape priorities moving forward so that we all thrive and live our best lives.

A Different Style

I have a couple of things I would like to talk about this month. One relates to an exercise that I recently had some fun with on my course; the challenge of 'trying on different styles'. The objective was to take us out of our safe space and to create work which would not immediately be recognised as our own. I found the exercise both challenging and liberating at the same time.

 

Sleeping

I produced a series of images as part of this exercise which bothered me as I wasn't sure how I felt about them, they were so different to anything I had produced before. They have however grown on me and I am quite fond of them now. I thought I would share them here and see what you think. In terms of a series each has a title reflecting some form of energy. For me, the mini-collective sparks (no pun intended) an underlying theme of energy, joy and happiness.

Some Hand-On Fun

I've also made some prints which I would like to share. Printing on Acetate continues to fascinate me, every time I work on an image I have so many ideas as to where I can go next. Thankfully I haven't forgotten everything and I am excited to take this form of printing forward. These two pieces took time to pull together and required the acquisition of some lovely new skills which is always satisfying.

I selected two images from the recent series Unlock My Mind to work with. Each is a multi-layered print backed with Platinum leaf which catches the light beautifully. I am very pleased with the results.

The photographs of the prints really doesn’t do the work justice as it's difficult to get a sense of the depth in the image but it's the best I can do; 3D to 2D is never going to be particularly successful. Hopefully you can get a sense of what I am trying to do.

So, that's it for this month. Hopefully by next month things will have settled down a little here. I will be taking my little Sparkle out for walks and we will have worked out a routine which suits us both. I will have done something creative, however small, every day, guaranteed…

As ever I would love to hear what you think so please take a moment to post a comment if you feel inclined.

Stay safe in this crazy world

L  xx

Quick Links to Previous Blogs

The Echo Chamber

By Linda Bembridge | June 7, 2021

Hi Everyone, It feels like an eternity since the last blog but it’s not too long, so much has happened!  We finally have some decent weather here in the Chiltern Hills so it’s been nice to spend time outside without being freezing cold. A couple of days ago it was actually just a little too […]

Scanography

Prisoners Of Our Psychology

By Linda Bembridge | May 11, 2021

Hi Everyone… Where have the last few weeks gone?  I know some of it at least has been spent creating new embellished prints as well as playing with my scanner. Pulling together words for the ‘Unlock My Mind‘ series opened up so many different avenues so I’ve continued to explore some of these concepts in a […]

Unlock My Mind

By Linda Bembridge | April 14, 2021

Hi Everyone, I hope we are all staying safe and well in these difficult times. Here in England we are enjoying the lifting of some restrictions after such a long and difficult winter. I ventured out for a walk along my local high street yesterday just to see what was going on and found myself […]

4 Comments

  • I love these vibrant colours! I am excited by what you are doing and I agree – we need something creative every day, however small; it seems to connect us to a force of energy. Thank you

    Reply
    • Hi Candy,
      I am so pleased you like these images, the colours cheer me up every time I look at them. I think I might be making some big prints fairly soon which will be exciting too. And yes, doing something creative every day is so much more important than I ever thought it was, it’s like a release of pressure. That force of energy is definitely something not to be ignored.
      Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and take care

      L xx

      Reply
  • I think the fact that you feel cheer when you look at your latest work is the best! I love your new prints on acetate. I can imagine they would look even more lovely in person. Alas, I must appreciate them in 2D, which is still quite wonderful. What do you mean by multi-layered print? Are you printing multiple layers of acetate? Sorry, I don’t know anything at all about this.
    Looking forward to attending your talk. Be most well, jennifer gordon

    Reply
    • Hi Jennifer,
      Yes, if we can’t enjoy the work that we are doing currently then we need to change what we are doing! I will admit to struggling to photograph the prints I am making using Acetate, I just can’t get a good impression of the finished work, I think I might stop trying and just enjoy the process of creating and experimenting.
      And yes, the talk looms large, lots of preparation required as time marches on!!! Hope you enjoy…
      L xx

      Reply

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