So what's this all about then...
Eh up folks, thanks for taking a punt and clicking through to this new blog of mine! I thought a little intro is in order as to what this blog will be about going forward!
Who?
So, in case you've no idea who I am, I'm Alex and I'm an artist and designer based near Manchester, UK, on the edge of the Peak District National Park. I spent 10 years working in theatre as a technical manager (with a bit of moonlighting as a lighting designer), before changing things up a bit and stepping into the world of art and design. I create work using both traditional linocut techniques and digital design. I also dabble in papercraft and painting when the mood takes me. I've worked on large and small projects with charities, advocacy groups and museums, on a variety of subjects. Most of my work is done in my loft studio from home.
What?
I'll be posting a couple of times a week, and the posts will always feature some sort of artwork - either my own (new stuff or previous work), or work by other artists that has had an impact on me. It'll be on everything and anything - whatever is in my head on that day! I want this platform to be a behind-the-scenes look into my studio and into my life, and I need to give myself permission to just create whatever takes my fancy rather than just focusing on big complex projects that take me forever to complete. It's a chance for you, dear reader, to get to know me a bit better, what makes me tick as an artist as well as a fellow human. And it's hopefully my chance to share a bit more of myself with the world and with any luck find like-minded folks who can relate to all the ups and downs of daily life as a creative.
Why?
I love what I do - I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my life. But I've found myself feeling a bit isolated and lost of late, when it comes to my independent work i.e. not pieces created for commissions. So I've had a good ol' think and faced up to some harsh truths. I won't get into them all now, they'll no doubt come in future posts. But from these truths I've come up with 3 'rules' I'll be using for creating work for this blog:
1) 'Have an Opinion'
I self-censor A LOT. I don't speak up when I should, and I don't share much of myself and what I think for fear of ridicule/backlash/embarrassment/accusations of mundanity. Well, sod that. Nothing's off the table. You'll find posts forthcoming on a whole smorgasbord of topics, some whimsical, some serious, some super positive and some less so (lets face it, the world is far from perfect right now...). I've got learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable about sharing!
2) 'Just get shit done!'
I'm not at all naturally spontaneous when it comes to creating work. I over-plan and procrastinate for way too long, and by the time I'm finished faffing around the moment is lost and the idea I had gets binned. So for this blog, there'll be minimal planning for artwork, and the priority is to play with the ideas that I have, as they pop up, and to just get work done, no matter how fast and dirty it might be! Let's see what happy accidents occur when I'm not hunting for the great mythical beast of Perfection. It'll make for some pretty random content, but hey, that's the point.
3) 'Release to the wild'
I am truly rubbish at sharing my work, especially work-in-progress, or anything experimental! But not sharing is a big part of what’s making me feel isolated. As good as social media can be for sharing, I generally prefer long-form posts myself so a blog seems like it should be a good fit, and should allow me to expand on both my thought and creative processes, which will hopefully encourage me to share more work more often!
Anyway, that's the basic plan - if this sounds like something you fancy wrapping your eyeballs round once in a while, follow me (if you don’t already) on the social media platform of your choice as I'll be posting there when there's something new here!
Until next time,
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