My Blog

Take Five with Andy Spain

05/18/2012 15:36:00

Andy Spain is a freelance photographer undertaking commissions for architects and other clients across the UK.

He has worked with blue chip companies like BT & Native Land and numerous architectural practices including HLM, Fielden and Mawson, AD Architects, Coda and Steffian Bradley.

Andy also undertakes personal projects for exhibition and sale, most recently 'Ecocities' which was featured in the Telegraph and Evening Standard and 'Suburbia' which was shown at Photomonth. He also exhibited at last year’s Royal Summer Show.

Andy writes a blog and offers workshops. He also sends out a monthly newsletter which always has a wonderful image to light up your inbox. And if you have got ten minutes, go over to his website and take a look at his gallery.

In your professional life, what is the single best thing about what you do?

I wanted to be a photographer from a very young age so just doing what I do for a living is constantly enjoyable even if I sometimes need to remind myself.

Do you have a creative hero / heroine and if so, why?

I don't have a creative hero as such. There are many people you meet who inspire you. I met another architectural photographer recently who does fine art work (a direction I would like to go in) - 20 minutes talking to him was great.

What piece of advice do you wish you had been given at the beginning of your career?

You don't know it all yet, you never will know it all, just get on and do it and you'll learn (your craft and your business)

If you hit a creative block, what is your top tip for getting through it?

Just do it, some days you fly, other days are hard. Don't let the hard days blind you into thinking it's always going to be like that.

And finally, for fun, if you were a shoe, what type of shoe would you be and why?

It has to be my pair of Reef flop flops I got in New Zealand years ago, if I've got them on then the sun is shining and life is good.

The Other Art Fair

05/11/2012 09:04:00

I was at the Private View of The Other Art Fair last night. This is an exhibition of work from emerging and unrepresented artists in the UK.

The fair is a wonderful collection of work across many mediums and is a great opportunity to buy art directly from the artists and to talk to them about their practice. It is also very exciting to see the wealth of talent and imagination this country is producing in the creative field.

With 100 artists in the show, all of them with works which engage and stimulate, it is probably bad of me to just pick out just a handful, but this is just a snapshot of a few which particularly interested me.

Nicola Anthony is a favourite artist of mine and is showing some of her word based work in the Fabelist Marketplace. I was especially taken with ‘Rubik’s Years, a beautiful glass and resin sculpture through which ambient light plays, making it an ever changing piece.

Ben Gooding produces aluminium pieces with every line scored by hand. This is mark making from the OCD school of art, with hundreds of lines repeated painstakingly, producing an almost machine tooled finish with a human touch. The process is fascinating and the finished panels produce textures dying to be touched.

Still on texture (and painstaking process), Alberto Fusco is showing his paper sculptures reflecting the volatility of human emotions. The flashes of colour from the obsessively folded pages Fusco uses hint at chaotic emotions trapped in the precise, neat and often symmetrical works.

In photography, Charlotte Anderson and Andrew Stewart both travel to far flung places using documentary images to communicate their views of the world, but in very different styles. The common thread is the sense of place and atmosphere which they create.

Atmosphere also plays a strong part in the works of digital painter, Marcel Ceuppens and oil painter Jennifer Hooper, although again, their work is very diverse in style. Ceuppens’ work is very precise and graphic with a recurring solitary figure overwhelmed by architectural verticals, a modern dilemma portrayed in a modern way. Hooper in contrast uses traditional oil painting to evoke unsentimental nature studies in vague backgrounds. Both provoke thoughts of place and time.

The exhibition is on until Sunday 13th May - full details on their website. It is well worth a visit.

What Will You Do Today?

05/04/2012 11:00:00

I have written in the past about visioning, goal setting and affirmations. These are all really important things when setting out where you want to go and reinforcing the mindset to get you there.

I do believe from my own experience that once you start putting your message and intention out into the world that things can line up in your favour.

However, before you think that I only advocate 'think happy thoughts and all will come to you', you would be wrong. Once you have your vision and goals in place, you then have to take action.

Let me give you an example from my own background.

Many years ago, I was working on the edges of theatre administration and decided that I wanted to get into theatre marketing. I had no idea of the breadth of ‘theatre marketing’, what I needed to know, how I could learn or how I could get into the sector. I also didn’t know anyone who worked in theatre marketing. The only thing I had was a huge pile of programmes from all the shows I had seen in the previous 12 months.

I went through every programme and made a list of all the people listed in the credits as being responsible for the marketing of each show. I ended up with a list of 50 people, for who I found addresses.

I wrote to every single one of them. The letter was just a polite 'I would like to do what you do - do you have any advice?' type of letter. I also sent them my very thin CV. (A side advantage was that I learnt to type as that this was the days before computers - oh yes, they did exist - and so I had to produce 50 letters and 50 CVs on a manual typewriter.) Oh, by the way, before you think I was an over eager extrovert, I wrote letters because I wasn’t brave enough to telephone.

I sent the letters off and waited for what I expected might be 4 or 5 responses.

I got 48.

A few were very nice letters with great bits of advice, courses to go on, books to read, places to look for jobs. Most were generous invitations to come in and see them for a chat.

I spent a very happy couple of months using up my holiday entitlement in odd half days visiting little cramped offices at the top of old theatres to smart swanky suites, and everything in between.

I got to meet some really fabulous, inspiring people. I heard their stories and listened to their advice. I learnt so much about theatre and marketing and was able to make some informed decisions about defining my goal and what to do next. I went to events and met more people. I built up a network. It was also very good fun.

After a couple of months, I got a phone call from one of the people to whom I had written inviting me to a job interview, resulting in a year long contract with Cameron Mackintosh, which in turn led to a contract with the Society of London Theatre. Goal reached.

So, what action will you take today to move you towards your goal?

Elephants, Frogs and Monkey Minds

04/27/2012 07:48:00

Last night, I was at the launch of a new book, ‘The Business Yogi: How to be Happy at Work’, by Sinead Mac Manus and Bridget Stacey Luff.

I have been bumping in Sinead at events over the past couple of years, as well as reading her excellent free eBook, From Apps to Zen, and her informative monthly newsletter. I have always loved her energy, insights and world view. She sent me an advance copy of ‘The Business Yogi’ and asked me to read it. Knowing Sinead, I was happy to say yes. However, I will admit to being anxious on hearing that the book used yoga and its’ philosophies as a starting point for business ideas. I had a blind spot about yoga as it is one of those things I feel I should do, as it will make me more limber and fit, but having tried a couple of classes briefly long ago, I found it too slow.

As I began to read, two things immediately jumped out at me: a) the only thing I thought I knew about yoga (that it is all about stretching the body into interesting shapes) was superficial to say the very least and b) slowing down is precisely what so many of us need to do in this 24/7 digital strive, strive, strive culture.

The book uses ideas and insights from yoga to show how work life (and life in general) can be enhanced and happiness achieved. It covers 5 key areas (Starting; Challenges; Progress; Relationships; and Focus) and takes you through each one with clarity, wit and honesty. The writers are both yoga practitioners and have developed a deep understanding of the powers of patience, stillness and balance. However, they freely and endearingly admit to their own bouts of anger or mental busyness in order to show how they use the yoga techniques to overcome these moments.

The book is a fascinating read interspersed with ‘Mat Moments’, useful practical activities to help you regain balance and perspective. These include simple physical exercises alongside short meditations. (There are also podcasts and other materials available from the website to support you.)

Do you need to be interested in yoga to read the book? No, although obviously it could be a great starting point for yoga beginners and a valuable resource for those more experienced yogi. I am a tango dancer and I found several of the concepts of focus, just doing it and letting go applied as much in my dancing as it does to yoga. There are a few yoga postures which are recommended in the ‘Mat Moments‘, but even if you chose to leave these out, there is still a wealth of practical material which you can build into your day to day life, making tiny changes which could have major impacts on your well being.

So, if you are put off by the yoga tag, please don’t be - this is a really inspiring book for anyone who wants to find headspace and happiness.

And the Elephants, Frogs and Monkey Minds? Go buy the book and find out for yourself!

The Best Laid Plans...

04/23/2012 15:06:00

With a bit of practice, most of us can put together a plan to make a project or a business work. However, if putting together a great plan in which everything works was all that was needed for us to sail through life, then we would all be millionaires, household names or ... add in your own indicator of success.

As an entrepreneur, with your future and your work life in your own hands, the real key to planning is not just the “in a perfect world” scenario, but the one in which you have also considered all the things which could go wrong. For example, what do you do when:

you have a big presentation to a potential client and your child is sick and has to be off school
you are due to deliver a workshop and you start to lose your voice
you are writing a article for a newspaper against the clock and your laptop dies
your key client, who provides the bulk of your income, doesn’t renew your contract
your comfortable timeframe get truncated because you have to wait for other people to get their parts of the project back to you
you have 2 bad payers who owe you a lot of money and it is impacting on your cashflow

These are just a few of the many problems which could knock you off track. For every aspect of your business planning, a risk analysis is vital. At each stage, ask yourself the following questions:

What problem could occur?
What is the absolute worse case scenario?
How can I avoid this problem?
If I can’t avoid it, how could I minimise or manage this problem?

It may sound depressing to think of all the things which might not work, but I can’t stress enough how important this process is. By thinking of as many problems with as many viable solutions as possible, you can build a detailed contingency plan. (I always try to come up with 12 solutions to each problem; the first ones are sensible, the middle ones are slightly desperate and the last couple are usually outrageously silly. However, this breaks open your thinking and throws up all kinds of unexpected possibilities from which you can decide your 2 or 3 key solutions.) Hopefully, you won’t need your contingency plan, but when any problems hit, you are fully prepared.

A good risk analysis will help you to see most problems as an inconvenience rather than a disaster. As you practise the habit, it will become easier, so that when the one thing you had not anticipated happens, you can face it with confidence.

Worried About Selling?

04/20/2012 09:46:00

Make It Pay is a brand new event from The Design Trust for designers, designer makers, crafters, freelancers, illustrators.

If you are new to selling or just want some more ideas, this is a fun, creative event to give you advice, skills, support and an opportunity to meet new people.

Over 25 contributors and speakers will be on hand to give you practical advice on how to sell, getting royalties, working internationally, setting prices, where to sell, etc. There will also be people to help you set your goals and get over those blocks which stop you selling.

I am delighted to be one of the contributors and I am looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible and see how I can support you and help promote your work.

There are only 94 places available, and even fewer Early Bird tickets, so book now!

Take Five with Tinsel Edwards

04/12/2012 10:04:00

Tinsel Edwards is a London based artist and co-founder of A-side B-side, a new gallery, artist studios and project space in Hackney Downs.

Her work comments on a wide variety of contemporary social and political issues. Often using text, her paintings are littered with action statements, personal mottos, questions and anecdotes.

She has exhibited widely across the UK and beyond, solo and duo shows include The Pure Evil Gallery in London, Steal from Work in Bristol, and Artport in Berlin. Selected group shows include FLAGSTOP Art Fair and Orange County Centre for Contemporary Art in LA, Banksy’s Santas Ghetto, The Stella Dore Gallery, Multiplied Christie’s Artfair, Printclub London, Momac Gloucester, Jenaer Kunstverein in Gerrmany, The Pursuit of Happiness in Poland, and Light Sentence in Augsberg Germany. Tinsel’s curatorial projects include ‘Punk’, a large scale group show which toured to Hamburg and ‘Here Today’, and ‘Something Borrowed’, exhibitions co-curated with long time friend and art collaborator Twinkle Troughton.

Tinsel’s art has been featured by Metro Newspaper, Dazed and Confused, Pop, Amelia’s, Zeitgeist magazine, Art Rebels and El Pais in Spain amongst others.

In your professional life, what is the single best thing about what you do?
I love painting. I can’t think of anything I would rather do, than spend a day in my studio working on a piece. I also really enjoy exhibiting my work, the different places you discover and people you meet through doing so. There are many different aspects to my work as an artist, curating shows, running creative workshops, teaching art classes. I really enjoy all of them but the thing I love most is the painting process and creating the work.

Do you have a creative hero / heroine and if so, why?
There are so many, and I often go through phases of being inspired by different artists at different times. Billy Childish for his prolific and unwavering creative soul, Bob and Roberta Smith for his humour, wit and simplicity, and for the fact he’s so straight to the point and honest. Tracey Emin for her brutal honesty, Frida Kahlo for her exquisite and intimate painting style. Grayson Perry for his integrity and depth, Alice Neel because her beautiful paintings have so much emotion and humanity, and because she stuck to her guns as a portrait artist whilst everyone around her became pop artists. There are loads more…at the moment I am really inspired by a handful of painters and fascinated with different painting techniques.

What piece of advice do you wish you had been given at the beginning of your career?
Before I left art school, I was expecting that things would all fall into place: I would start selling work, a gallery would represent me and I would be painting everyday in a lovely studio somewhere. It was quite a shock when things didn’t turn out that way. It is really tough, but over time I’ve learnt to be resourceful, juggling different jobs to pay the bills but always ensuring that I have some time to paint. I learnt quickly that Doing It Yourself is the best attitude to have, if established galleries don’t want to represent your work then create and curate your own exhibitions. Its not about fitting into the established order of things but about making your own way. A piece of advice that would have really helped me would be being told that it wasn’t going to be easy, but be true to yourself and your ideas, find your own way to make things happen and enjoy the process.

If you hit a creative block, what is your top tip for getting through it?
For me it helps to be aware that creative blocks come and go, if I hit one I remind myself that I will come through it. If I really start hating my work I tell myself it means its time for a change. My top tips are to keep working, experiment, don’t be too precious (the bad paintings can go in the bin). Absorb everything, go to exhibitions, read, find new inspiration. Being an artist is like being on a journey, productive periods and creative blocks are all part of a bigger process of discovery.

And finally, for fun, if you were a shoe, what type of shoe would you be and why?
I would always go for the orange suede stiletto with the 6 inch heel…or something similarly glamorous but completely impractical. Not sure if thats the type of shoe I would be, but its definitely the type of shoe that I like!

Spring Clean Your Business

03/31/2012 11:42:00

With Easter on the horizon and the sun streaming through my office window, it looks like Spring has sprung!

It's time to open the windows, get some fresh air through the place and spring clean your home. Why not harness the energy of the season and spring clean your professional life?

Here are five tips on giving your career a Spring boost.

1. Take a fresh look at your vision.

Do you know where you want to be in five years? Is your vision still pulling you forward? Remind yourself why this vision is important to you and how you will feel when you achieve it. If your vision needs tweaking, this is a great time to do it so that it is challenging and exciting. If you don't have a vision, get out into the sun and give yourself time to let your mind create your future.

2. Spring clean your space.

Set aside time to go through all your files, drawers, cupboards, etc., in your workspace. It gives you a chance to throw out anything which is cluttering your space, redesign your space and it can also throw up ideas and opportunities.

3. Take a new look at things.

We can all get into a rut, doing things the same way because it is how you have always done it. During the course of a week, check out all the things you do regularly. For each thing, ask yourself "is this the best way to do this? Would another way be more stimulating or effective? Could I even get someone else to do it?" If you are happy with the way it is going, great! If not, how could you change it?

4. Meet new people.

Find opportunities to mix with different people who can inspire and stimulate ideas. They could become clients, collaborators or friends or just spark new ways of seeing things.

5. Refresh your self belief.

Embrace your talents, your passions, your creativity, your drive and develop your positive attitude. If you believe you can do it, you will enrol others in your vision.

Keeping a Positive Mind

03/23/2012 09:34:00

“Whether you think you can

or you think you can’t

– either way you will be right”

Martin Luther King Jnr

I have written before about the importance of having a vision. This is really powerful and if you write it down, draw it, or make a mood board, you can read/look at your vision paper whenever you want. But how can you keep it real, as they say, everyday? Particularly on a bad day?

One way is to distil your vision into a few words, an affirmation that means something to you. Your subconscious mind will give you exactly what you tell it. By repeating an affirmation again and again, you will hard wire your mind to think positively and your vision will become more of a reality to you. (Don’t believe me? Have you ever felt a bit bleurgh but have had to mentally gee yourself up because you were going to a party, meeting friends, etc., and didn’t want to be a wet blanket? It’s just the same principle. If you are into musicals, it is just like Deborah Kerr in 'The King and I' whistling a happy tune.)

How do you go about creating your affirmation?

The first place to start is with yourself. This affirmation is all about you, what you want and how you want to inspire yourself. So this is one occasion when the key word is “I”, for example:

I am a great artist
I am a successful writer
I am awash with creativity
I am a great public speaker
I love networking
I am confident

Notice something else about those statements? They are all quite short. These are sentences you want to be able to remember and repeat quickly to yourself, so you don’t want an essay. Also, the subconscious mind likes simplicity.

Did you also notice that all the statements are positive? Affirmations must be done with an upbeat twist. Why? You have to focus on what you do want because whatever you think, your mind conjures up. Don’t think of a blue rabbit in a tutu. Ah ha, I said don’t think of a blue rabbit in a tutu, but I reckon that little bunny is hopping around your brain just now. Blue bunnies are not a problem, but if your affirmation is “I don’t want to be a failure”, it puts the concept of failure into the brain. And be honest, which one is more inspiring:

I don’t want to be ill
I am healthy

The last thing about the affirmations is that you put them in the present tense. This is telling your subconscious mind what you want in a way that makes it real. If you say “I will be a successful artist”, there is still a bit of doubt with the “will”. When you say, “I am a successful artist”, you can start believing in it and behaving accordingly, which can give you confidence.

Obviously, it doesn’t matter how much you say something if you don’t put in the work to make it happen. However, if you have the vision, your affirmation is a little language device you can use to keep you on track and give you confidence.

Many years ago, I went to the excellent ‘Best Year Yet’ workshop run by Jinny Ditzler and I created the affirmation for myself: “I am everything I need, to be everything I want”. This has helped me when I want to try out new things and more forward. I also have another affirmation which is at the back of my mind when with clients: “I light the blue touch paper”.

What affirmation will take you to your vision?

Take Five with Elise Liversedge

03/16/2012 08:03:00

Elise Liversedge works alongside Mary Hooper in their creative consultancy ONE TWO ONE art and architecture. The collaborative partnership was founded in 2004 by architect/artist Elise and artist/curator Mary Hooper and they have developed a practice with a focus on the exploration of what is meant by a ‘sense of place’ and what significance this has to a collective and individual sense of identity and wellbeing. They have 20 years collective experience of delivering public art and projects that help to create community sustainability through cultural development. As a creative partnership they have a commitment to innovation and excellence, underpinned by their collaborative and personal practice and have experience of working with diverse social and ethnic groups in local communities, and professionals in the arts, healthcare, museums, galleries, and local government. For a more detailed CV have a look at the "i " book on the network page on the ONE TWO ONE website. Elise also "practises as an architect when I can get the work and also thinks wistfully about my 'fine art' background". She is currently working on an idea for a drawing installation - 'silver birch' with poet Gregory Warren Wilson.

In your professional life, what is the single best thing about what you do?

The best thing about what I do is quite simply that what is open to us all: the development of something from nothing.

Do you have a creative hero / heroine and if so, why?

I admire other peoples abilities especially those who do the things that I wish I could - anyone who can play an instrument well or speak another languages fluently - skills that open up another world of both creativity and opportunity.

What piece of advice do you wish you had been given at the beginning of your career?

To be more confident with your marketing and aim high from the start and also to develop a very thick skin from the start so it's easier to deal with all the different responses that come our way, as being very good at doing something is not always good enough - the creative world is so subjective not everyone will appreciate what you have to offer.

If you hit a creative block, what is your top tip for getting through it?

Allowing a respected colleague or friend who has similar ideas or priorities to give a constructive critical analysis of the problem or a sticking point in a piece of work is a good way of getting through a creative block, but you need to develop that thick professional skin to allow a critic to be non personal.

And finally, for fun, if you were a shoe, what type of shoe would you be and
why?

If I was a shoe I would definitely be a soft red leather 3in high tango shoe with extra cushioning!!