A gift of beauty, weekly, in your inbox: inspiration and immersion in the smallness of Scotland. Moments of tranquility, the benefit of attention: visual poems from a fluid place.
What will you find in FLOW: Letters from the moss?
Have you noticed how one small thing, one precious moment, can shift the needle on your day? Something you do, somewhere you go, something that you see or read. Gather them together and the pearls become both a necklace and a safety line to hold when the water gets deep.
FLOW is a gathering of small moments of beauty: nature noticed, words woven, serenity shared.
Evocative place writing flows around original photographs and mixed media images, bringing the sights and sounds of a fluid Scottish landscape to your inbox. It feels important to be able to find and share joy amid the everyday - small precious things; ambiguous day dreams; fluidity in all forms. I hope that you will find that FLOW is a source of inspiration.
It may encourage you in your own creative endeavours, plant a small seed that you can water, or simply take you away from where you are for a few moments.
I believe that beauty should be noticed and shared; if that resonates, uplifts, inspires, encourages, then all the better.
FLOW will especially appeal if you enjoy nature, have an affinity with water, love art and photography, wish to connect with place, dream of Scotland, or are simply looking for an immersive read. FLOW comes from my home to yours but the themes, words and images I share are universal. Writing helps us to think and to notice, and so far this is the best fit I’ve found online for a rich blend of images and words – a virtual creative cuppa!
What to expect as a free subscriber
Think of FLOW as an open conversation that you are welcome to join. Each week on a Thursday (5pm UK time) I share what I see, what inspires me and where this leads. Sometimes I may take you on a walk with me through the woods and wet places on the edge of the Grampian Hills, or I may show you something by another writer or artist that has resonated.
Working locally is sustainable and stimulates artistic growth; repeat visits encourage us to reflect about our connection to place and how this can nourish and grow a creative practice.
I’m interested in building a rich and supportive space that doesn’t get lost in an algorithm controlled vertical scroll. By subscribing you will benefit from full access to the newsletter and to a web page with all available posts.
Each week’s letter is an invitation to dialogue; the format makes it easy to comment, like and share content that you especially enjoy.
Why become a paid subscriber?
FLOW is free to read. Generosity feels an important part of being here and growing. Writing is a significant investment of time and effort, but I don’t want to hide what I create behind a paywall.
You have the option to support my work through a paid subscription if you value it and have the means to do so; on an annual basis it’s akin to buying a coffee and cake once a month - a real cuppa. Over time it will help me to sustain and grow this publication to the benefit of all readers. I’m immensely grateful to those of you who do choose to make this investment.
My hope is that FLOW will be a place of ease for you - which is what peering into pools or through vegetation, experimenting with media and playing with words provides me with. Small beauty noticed.
Let’s introduce ourselves
Curiosity prompts me to search this place; fluidity calls to me in nature and art. The feelings that this can evoke are too precious not to share, and it’s wonderful to hear from you when this resonates.
Me, briefly. I am primarily a visual artist. My practice is influenced by the qualities of water and by nature’s own mark-making, from the colour and movement of the River Dove and its shifting transcriptions of sunlight close to my last home in the Peak District, to the soft mirror of ephemeral pools and the moss in Northeast Scotland where I now live.
I have been making photographic images for longer than I care to remember, and have been photographing water for 12 years. The individual vision that developed from this led to professional memberships, exhibitions and gallery representation. If you’d like to see what I make you’ll find examples on my artist website as well as the option to buy limited edition prints and handmade books.
Since 2014 I have been a contributor to On Landscape magazine; to date I have interviewed over 200 photographers across the world.
In my own practice I take inspiration from the smallest of details as I wander through my local wood and peer into the moss-lined pools. I’m driven by curiosity to make softly fluid evocative art that takes me beyond the conventional photographic image to mixed media, video and creative writing. I have begun to loosen the reins on my interpretations; we commonly think of water as liquid but it is equally vapour and at times may, briefly, be solid. I have learned to abstract even more, to dream a landscape, sometimes mixing the sights with the ambient sounds of this quiet place.
I’d love to know what brought you here, what you enjoy and notice. You can let me know by replying to any email from me, or leaving a comment.
Thank you for reading. I hope you’ll decide that you want FLOW to be a part of your week.
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