Oct 16, 2023·edited Oct 16, 2023Liked by Michela Griffith
Hi Michela ,
I am loving and benefitting from your words and vision. My way of looking has definitely changed over time. I look downwards much more now. I like to celebrate the details, the un-noticed, the everyday. But I like to re-imagine these elements into something else as well. I don't have to look at the world in literal fashion. Thank you for promoting me to think about this.
It's good to hear from you. I'm so pleased that you're enjoying reading these, and if they're giving you some extra encouragement that's even better. Yes, sometimes I have to remind myself to look up! Fortunately there's usually no one to witness my undue interest in scummy pools ;-) "I like to re-imagine these elements into something else" certainly resonates with me.
Hi Michaela, love your posts, very thought provoking! As a painter of landscapes I couldn`t work out why I have lost my `oomph` for painting recently, until I realised that my interest has changed from the bigger picture to becoming fascinated by the smaller elements within the scene, the textures of fences, hedges, lichens etc. My eyesight has changed with age which may have affected this but I`m now left with needing a new way to express this interest in my work, probably moving more to printing which is a complete change of direction for me.
Hi Mel. Thank you, it's lovely to hear from you. I think sometimes we get so close to our own work that it isn't until we take a step back or a break that we realise something has shifted for us. I hope you get your 'oomph' back. I've found gel plates an easy way into printing - and a very quick way to develop a drawer full of collage papers! My introduction was this excellent online course (https://sallyhirst.co.uk/materials-methods/). Monotype printing on a gel plate might give you a feel for if you enjoy printing?
Hi Michela - another lovely (and thoughtful) post - thank-you. You asked how we see. Even before I started taking photos (40+ years ago) I’ve always seen shapes, textures, lines and patterns - before I see the ‘what’ I’m looking at. I think this is a hangover from my days of technical drawing at school and then years of creating engineering drawings that portray 3D objects in 2D. These shapes and patterns greatly inform my sense of photographic composition - some things just look right.
Hi Jon, and thank you. That’s really interesting to read. ‘Some things just look right’ - I know that feeling, even if I haven’t always been able to explain why. I too have a legacy of 2D drawing (landscape architecture) and that appraisal, design and drafting shapes me too. But you’ve prompted me into remembering that in my early teens I was attracted to art nouveau and that those organic lines have stayed with me, sometimes cropping up in designs, and they still hold an appeal in the things I notice.
Hi Michela ,
I am loving and benefitting from your words and vision. My way of looking has definitely changed over time. I look downwards much more now. I like to celebrate the details, the un-noticed, the everyday. But I like to re-imagine these elements into something else as well. I don't have to look at the world in literal fashion. Thank you for promoting me to think about this.
Hi Matt,
It's good to hear from you. I'm so pleased that you're enjoying reading these, and if they're giving you some extra encouragement that's even better. Yes, sometimes I have to remind myself to look up! Fortunately there's usually no one to witness my undue interest in scummy pools ;-) "I like to re-imagine these elements into something else" certainly resonates with me.
Hi Michaela, love your posts, very thought provoking! As a painter of landscapes I couldn`t work out why I have lost my `oomph` for painting recently, until I realised that my interest has changed from the bigger picture to becoming fascinated by the smaller elements within the scene, the textures of fences, hedges, lichens etc. My eyesight has changed with age which may have affected this but I`m now left with needing a new way to express this interest in my work, probably moving more to printing which is a complete change of direction for me.
Hi Mel. Thank you, it's lovely to hear from you. I think sometimes we get so close to our own work that it isn't until we take a step back or a break that we realise something has shifted for us. I hope you get your 'oomph' back. I've found gel plates an easy way into printing - and a very quick way to develop a drawer full of collage papers! My introduction was this excellent online course (https://sallyhirst.co.uk/materials-methods/). Monotype printing on a gel plate might give you a feel for if you enjoy printing?
Thanks Michela, I shall investigate!
Hi Michela - another lovely (and thoughtful) post - thank-you. You asked how we see. Even before I started taking photos (40+ years ago) I’ve always seen shapes, textures, lines and patterns - before I see the ‘what’ I’m looking at. I think this is a hangover from my days of technical drawing at school and then years of creating engineering drawings that portray 3D objects in 2D. These shapes and patterns greatly inform my sense of photographic composition - some things just look right.
Hi Jon, and thank you. That’s really interesting to read. ‘Some things just look right’ - I know that feeling, even if I haven’t always been able to explain why. I too have a legacy of 2D drawing (landscape architecture) and that appraisal, design and drafting shapes me too. But you’ve prompted me into remembering that in my early teens I was attracted to art nouveau and that those organic lines have stayed with me, sometimes cropping up in designs, and they still hold an appeal in the things I notice.