In A Nutshell

It's fair to say the last week has been a challenge! Between the shoot for the next series, setting up an exhibition, kids, work and the Aesthetica Symposium, I am in serious need of a rest.

During the last one to one with my supervisor, it was suggested I look at creating a series instead of single images to depict the particular illness I'm examining, given the volume of work I've been producing. For a while this idea threw me, I'd spent so long fixating on the concept of one main image that to try and open up my mind to anything else was difficult. But then I got it, and a whole new avenue of ideas opened up to me.

The shoot I put together (focusing on anxiety) was amazing, however I ran out of time. I got what I could and am happy with what I've developed so far but honestly, I could have carried on shooting for days. Sadly though that wasn't a possibility for my model and make up artist.

Next came the Fresh exhibition at Thirsk's Rural Arts. Because my exhibition boards had gotten damaged, I had to re-cover them, which took a few hours, before fixing them all together and then hanging the work. Thankfully, I wasn't alone and with a lot of help, we managed to get everything sorted in time for the opening. It was exhausting for all involved though as the boards are not small!

I finished up the week at the Aesthetica Symposium in York, listening to some very interesting speakers and surrounded by some extremely creative people. I was unsure of what to expect and whilst being highly engaging, it also gave a raw insight in to some of the less appealing sides of the industry from an artists point of view. Never the less, it was good to see all view points and I now have a new insight into some aspects of the business of art which might help me separate my artistic side from my business side.

The next few weeks I'm going to be busy in the darkroom. It's only nine weeks until my solo exhibition of the new work so I've got to get my head into gear. Nine weeks is not a lot of time so it's all about managing commitments and staying motivated now.