2019 is burnt sausage rolls.

2018 is buttercup yellow.

Week 4: Unlimited hashtags + Black & White photographs. Week 5: Unlimited hashtags + Utilise Photoshop Skills Week 6: Unlimited hashtags + Fungi focus Week 7: Unlimited hashtags + Rock Focus Week 8: Unlimited hashtags + Dead Trees Once I got the hang of using hashtags and thought of them as something intrinsic to each post I set no limits. Furthermore, instead of continuing to start a new focus each week I decided to use the images from the first two months as a basis for the next two; instead of favouring novelty I chose to explore more thoroughly and elaborate on existing themes. Week 9: Varied content, used each individual image as a springboard for a response. Week 10: Again, eclectic in content so responded accordingly. Week 11: Focus on people #2 Week 12: Focus on B&W photography #2 - Adhered to this on the first image, which was actually enhanced by being tonal BUT rejected the confinement and used colour for the next 6 days. I also tried uploading a trio of images which corresponded to create a whole row but got confused with the sequence and decided to leave it. I thought to myself “so many people have uploaded it in the correct order, where it all fits...why not leave it here as a subtle statement. Accept the mismatch. Celebrate human error.” The flourishing of this notion seems to only be truly possible with self initiated work. I can change direction any time I want. I can accept and approve, rooted in none or any reason, I can appropriate freely. It all feels v-e-r-y enabling. However, like a tongue rehydrating some toothpaste, there can be icy reminders of commercial realities round every corner. Week 13: Utilise Photoshop Skills #2 Effectively a reminder to be more varied in approach and focusing on responding to the content of the original images. Week 14: Focus on mushrooms #2 A little easier to find specimen in August compared to July! Week 15: Focus on rocks #2 Making use of some lovely examples from the Green Loch! Week 16: Dead trees #2 ...keep supporting and you will find out! Beginning with tomorrow! Thanks for reading and showing support! Miles

Week 5: Unlimited hashtags + Utilise Photoshop Skills My favourite fashion brand Loreak Mendian gave the nod. Week 6: Unlimited hashtags + Fungi focus Thanks for reading, Miles

Miles

 Reflections and the water surface

Slow Down by listening to this: https://youtu.be/acI_oP07RIU and it helps if it’s wet outside, visibly drizzly, wet and grey. White bright afternoon light streams in your curtain-less pane. And your old camera is laying and waiting to investigate your situation, Surrounded by signs of distant productivity and even when visibly clear of ephemeral yield and activity specific leftovers, some cumbersome boxes remain. PAUSE But on Monday the 13th of Feb I am packing my belongings in to a van and driving them up north to my mum’s house. I’m imagining momentary relief, breathing in the space and hopefully not gradually filling it with different unmanageable mess. I have only ever deemed it so because these boxes of projects integral to my practice have always lacked a permanent home. One day I will have a studio space, one with vast white walls to decorate in research and giant work surfaces and the facilities to screen print fabric and a dark room to make cyanotypes and a photography studio with great lighting equipment and and and...

And all of this, at least according to me, is linked with “getting my shit together”. What the fuck does that even mean? I do not have a captive audience nor do I have enough confidence to stick my neck out when my “shit ain’t together”. This brings me back to an unrelenting notion...can you market indecision? Be recognised if you float? Be a floater? Generating an abundance of creative work without a home or clear direction is partly to blame for this feeling. Recently I’ve been attempting to suppress the urge to create. This leads to more build up. P.S. Is the sweetcorn the good stuff? The enduring golden ideas?

To attempt to analyse the hinterlands of our minds can never feel like a wholly conscious decision. Often I write with the simple goal of unravelling confusion. Usually a visceral explosion commences and only occasionally will this output develop in to something easily digested, something universal (usually life advice). One thing I am certain of: we are happy to give but reluctantly listen to our own. Thankfully I have an output for this. Consider this public pondering a nod to Julian Assange’s powerful phrase “publish or perish”. Additionally if you haven’t already read it, I suggest you do: http://www.sternberg-press.com/?pageId=1580 To conclude, I truly do not know what I intended to say but I felt compelled to write something. I welcome sense as an after-thought and soak up the catharsis in each and every tangent along the way.

Displaying photographs in this manner is like saying...I have taken the time to have something physical produced. And whilst this could have been taken on a smart phone it wasn’t. It was my Pentax ME Super and the film was developed in a local development shop in Edinburgh. Whilst I am writing specifics, the photographs were taken in Aberdeenshire, I refer to this spot as “hame” (a Scottish colloquialism for the word home). However it feels less like home these days and more like the beginnings of a project. One which explores my connection to where I was brought up, a selfish exploration really. It was here that I lived before I passed through this University (art school) funnel, and in this environment it was the luxury of abundant free time and space that nudged me in to a more advantageous position; one where learning is much easier than before. It is a year since graduation and it would be difficult to ignore the impact of time since then; how it has helped round my person. Academic learning is merging with practical pursuits and for this I am richer. I am directing a photoshoot on Thursday, my efforts are being acknowledged, filling a schedule appears to accelerate them - probably just increases the feeling of being busy but either way...I am excited for what may arise next.

HolyroodHockney.mov (01:53:22) I am in between sitting up and lying down, sleepless in my bed. Frantic thoughts of life’s pressures pollute my mind. As usual they are out of proportion with reality but still noisy and rippling in effect. Which of these tasks are entirely within my control and how can I stop feeling bad for not tackling some of them sooner? The worst person to let down is yourself. How can I learn to feel okay with inconsistency? And how can I truly learn if I am inconsistent? What has often felt like the most rich learning has been that which is carried out routinely for a significant amount of time (at least weekly for 6+ months). I have just realised the primary reason for such scrutinising talk is a cup of tea at 22:00 - far too late; no wonder my thoughts are rapido. Anyway enjoy the video.

Whilst it is important to be aware of contemporary fashions and visual/cultural trends it is often when we look in to work from the past that the most interesting information is gleaned. It feels like such objects offer more than an aesthetic education, they tell us about the standard methods of production at the time and both the limitations and thus creativity that arose from that. With the “lobby cards” directly above being from the late 50s one can’t help but be inspired by the impact of the typographic elements and colour selection. Above them are posters for the film “Circle of Deceit” from the 80s. Now, what brought these to my attention was firstly, sandwiched between “Harry and the Hendersons” and some abysmally busy yet appropriately loud 90s action film posters, they were amazingly clean (a single font, a single image) and sophisticated (the sandy background colour with plenty of whitespace and strictly black lettering). I then thought to myself…each genre of movie appropriates a certain graphic style which I presume results in clear categorisation for the viewer. Basically I realise that, the designer of these posters did so with the intention of communicating a theme. Without knowing the film, I get a feel for some sort of dusty dangerous middle eastern intelligence report, probably something political, printed media, military related. Additionally they in themselves appear as a form of 80s photojournalism: Very strong, striking analog still paired with text in a typewriter style font. Striking a chord with me primarily because of the minimally designed yet military inspired aesthetic two styles that are forever on my radar. This visual direction would fit with contemporary fashions. Naturally it was never designed with the foresight of an audience in 2016. Could this be an example of timeless design? Or has it simply fallen in to a trend? Perhaps it is too simple to fall out of trend?

CREATE IN EVERY STATE OF MIND I had a great, late, heavy weekend and here I am on Sunday being shamelessly expressive on paper. A sudden urge to buy and paint a canvas struck me as I rose in the afternoon. I went out to pick up supplies but the shop was closing as I approached. Slightly disheartened I went home. Remembering that I have a scattered stockpile of art materials from art school days I foraged. Finding a folded A3 piece of cartridge paper and a couple of off-white sheets of A4 sugar paper, that’ll do. With what minimal masking tape I had I stuck the A3 paper on to a make shift painting surface (the reverse of a noticeboard). I then sketched with differing weights of pencil, short bursts and fluid motions to try and find a balance. After covering as much of the canvas as I was comfortable with I decided the work in progress required more depth - in fact it probably could have done with a backing coat of something. Not motivated enough to locate the acrylic paint nor arsed enough to clean the brushes I nipped across to the bathroom and acquired a whitening toothpaste I had seldom used. Then after squirting out a decent amount, I scraped the soft pastels with a ruler to introduce pigment to the minty medium then mixed it around and applied it to the picture with some fabric! It smells fucking great, it looks fucking great and I feel a little bit better! Remember to create in every state of mind.

Extracted from “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle.

Countless observations, countless minor digital gatherings. Some point to an idea and some are hoarded out of simple curiosity. Inner Voice: “Oh this could support an existing idea, oh this could be the focus of a new publication…but if it was so easy to gather, so easy in that moment then it doesn’t feel like mine. Is it mine because I observed it, am aware of it? Does it belong to anyone? Do I even need/want credit for it? It’s too simple to do anything with. Not enough deliberate layers of meaning…not complicated enough, doesn’t support my other work…doesn’t fit with my style” Response: “It could easily support an existing idea or be the focus of a publication (something decidedly whimsical though and thus rendering the final output something that doesn’t have to be perfect). Let the viewer freely interpret the work. Your labour is evident in your skill and dedication to the visual arts, you have put yourself in the position to be able to deconstruct the world, to be educated enough to make related claims. It needn’t actually belong to anyone though no, unless money and exploitation is looming (real life). Discovery is only one stage in readying the work, perhaps the labour you have reserved from this can be used in exerting significant effort to execution of the idea, researching the audience and in presentation. Simple awareness is the foundation of a saleable creative service/product. Simple is good unless confusion is intended. Your “style” is unimportant; a unique thread will be visible in the content and approach within your work.”

This post is going to centre around the importance of recreational fun and having a break from wholly purposeful business activity. You see, the benefits of taking breaks are detailed right here in a wonderful talk by graphic designer and all round good guy Stefan Sagmeister:  https://www.ted.com/talks/stefan_sagmeister_the_power_of_time_off?language=en Whilst I didn’t take months off on some tropical Island, I did let loose in a city I’d never been in with my girlfriend who I see less than I’d like. I’ve returned to Edinburgh feeling emotionally renewed. Generally I attribute my success in relation to what I have achieved on my to-do list but it is becoming apparent that there are things we don’t jot down that are just as important and ultimately contribute towards success. I will get on to describing my definition of success in a future post. Main message to take from this: Always give yourself something to look forward to - be it a business trip, recreational trip or a mixture of both. The benefits of switching perspective are unequivocal.