Bodies of water and their crossing will always fill me with the siren call of adventure. The anticipation of exploration and (self) discovery are strong allures so I headed out to the small island of Lismore on my own kind of pilgrimage.
All in travel
On the Road
Sometimes it takes radical trust to believe that things will work out OK. After last minute repairs to the van, we are back on the road travelling through the Cotswolds and encountering more of the Roman history of Britain.
Field Experiments
I have always been drawn to travellers’ tales, both adventure travel tales as well as stories of the Roma people and travellers who were once a common sight camped in the English countryside. Thinking about travelling and finding shelter these past two weeks has led me to experiment with cyanotype prints out in the field with what materials I had to hand.
Crash Course
Learning new things is exciting. But it can also be really, really challenging. The first days of mastering life on the road in a motorhome have been eventful in the extreme. It’s been a crash course of leaning, with plenty more adventures to come.
Wayfarers All
The call to adventure is strong in me as I succumb to weeks of restlessness, like the Sea Rat in The Wind in the Willows. Taking any kind of journey, creating movement of one kind or another, changes the energy, exhorting us to become wayfarers all.
Ugly Ducklings and Swans
It takes courage to follow that path less taken when the ‘crazy restlessness’ of creative adventure takes hold. Rather than throwing out your early artworks as ‘ugly ducklings’ they can be viewed instead as creative ‘markers’, leading you on a journey of discovery.
Leaps of Faith
This week I listened to my inner voice, booked a ticket to London Heathrow, caught a train to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire and bought a motorhome. Some people thought I was mad to do such a wild thing, but there were others who encouraged me to keep going, so I did.
Adventure Planning
How do you choose your own adventure? Combine art and travel and that’s the grand adventure to me. Which is what I’m planning for 2023. This is the big reveal. I’m off to Devon, England to undertake my Masters at Dartington Arts School.
Say YES!
I’ve lost count of the number of synchronicities that have happened in my life. When you say yes to opportunities and chance meetings with people, sometimes the best experiences present themselves.
Art + Place
I have been lucky to research and create art about a specific place on artist residencies. But it wasn’t always like that. In many cases it has taken years before my art about place could be be expressed as a placemaking ‘retrospective’.
Courageous Creating
How do you challenge ageism, live an adventurous life and inspire other women to live their dream? Creating a passion filled life is an act of courage. As an artist travel is one way to create passion and inspiration.
Residencies: Part Three
The first part of any residency is always reconnaissance, getting to know the lie of the land. Much of the work is site-specific, responding to the new environment with your own ways of creating. Ideas emerge as you walk the landscape. Lots of photos, sketches and writing. As I write, I right my path and find my way forward.
Residencies: Part Two
In order to apply for an artist residency you have to be prepared to pay. The costs could include flights, residency costs and living allowances. Which is why many artists apply for grants to help offset the costs.
Of Stories and Travel
Take the germ of an idea that helped build a community thirty years ago and transpose it into the digital age. The Travel Art challenge has its roots in screening 16mm films in a rural library and building a socially engaged audience.
Personal Geographies
Many of my early creative works involve maps or journeys of one kind or another. Maps and stamps took me around the world when I was a kid, it’s no wonder that I love them. This year I have returned to collaging maps for my 2022 daily artworks.
True North
Finding your true north could be as simple as tearing up the maps that define borders and map our connections to each other instead.
Saying YES to chance
Spontaneous adventuring can feel a bit daring and dangerous. Saying yes to chance gave me the opportunity to “get over myself” on an unplanned midweek road trip north.
Voyaging Home
These days home has become both an origin and destination. All my travelling is now through art. Knots and fishing nets, text in collages and making maps all feature in the mini courses I have been creating this month to share.
Kissing stars this Solstice
Tomorrow in Australia we celebrate the longest day and shortest night with a rare solstice event. Jupiter and Saturn, our two biggest planets in our solar system, will be in conjunction, appearing as a single bright star in the night sky, close enough together to “kiss” each other . What a great time to make a wish!
Are you ready for success?
When opportunity comes, will you be ready? I never thought that I was good enough to apply for a major international exhibition. I thought I would fail, but then I thought - what if I am successful? Success takes courage and planning.