Seismic shifts

On the way to the charity shop

As part of the experience of coming home I have been sorting through the contents of my cupboards. I started doing this as I unpacked the kitchen, there were utensils and platters which I had not used or which I had too many of. I set them aside for donating to the local charity shop. This process continued with the clothes in my wardrobes. My tastes had changed a little and some things just didn’t fit anymore. I took my evening dresses out and put just one back. Somehow it looked right - I know that it fits and the style will not date too badly, I hope. It also clearly identifies that I really don’t go out to fancy places where I will need to dress up, and that feels like the real me.

The way home

I then began tackling the boxes of wool and fabric. I had lots of baby wool left over from when my nieces were much younger than they are now. There was also piles of fabric from my patchworking phase. I donated the baby wool to the charity shop and have two patchworking friends who will be receiving a donation to their respective collections in the near future. It was surprisingly easy to let this go and I wondered why. Then I realised that I had already moved on. I was now focusing on photography and writing. My chosen art forms had changed without me realising.

Lion head art

At the same time I noticed several other changes. I have always been a keen reader and gallery goer. I had established and run a bookclub for several years. I enjoyed taking a long weekend and flying interstate to go to an exhibition. So consuming the written word and visual art was never a problem. But I hadn’t spent much time producing it. Lots of family and holiday snaps to be sure, but I don’t think that is the same as photography as an artistic expression. This clearly satisfied some need, but it’s a bit like the difference between watching and playing tennis. I could appreciate the fitness and skill of the players but I wasn’t out there getting hot and sweaty, I wasn’t stretching myself to reach the ball.

From the first project

Enter the first 365 day photo project. Looking back it was a bit of a leap into the unknown. There really weren’t any rules beyond posting one photo each day on Facebook. And therein lay one of the surprises – I suddenly had an audience, people looked at my photos, ‘liked’ and commented on them. It was an incredibly interesting to get feedback. It gave me confidence that I was producing something of value, something which people looked forward to seeing each day.

From the second project

Writing the travel blog was the next venture. Sharing my thoughts and feelings about situations as well as what I was seeing was a quite different experience. I was required to be more present and with this came a greater risk of how people would respond. But I was 15,000 kilometres away from most of my audience and this distance gave me courage. I took the responsibility of ‘reporting’ seriously but also wanted to be authentic and real. The blog really helped me discover my voice in a way that the photography hadn’t. I do have lots of ideas for series with the photos which I hope will take them from being memories to something else.

Pursuing my own ideas

So along with my move into having an audience I also realised one other boundary had been crossed. I was no longer in the terrain of recipes or patterns. I wasn’t following directions to produce a jumper or a quilt. It was all becoming a lot more free form. I was doing what I wanted - taking photos of things that caught my interest and writing about the things that mattered to me. This process is more about discovery. I dream up ideas, explore them a little - sometimes they get discarded, sometimes they need a bit more time to ‘bake’ and sometimes I know instantly that I will follow one through. I love this business of sorting ideas, it keeps me thinking and engaged. The challenge then becomes to deliver on them. 


And I have saved the best til last, one action has been fulfilled – I got onto my uni course! I am so thrilled. I can’t wait to meet all the other budding writers and talk about our experiences, share tips and give each other feedback and support on our new journeys.