hyde family © early 1980s vogue photo (not that vogue…)

loss, family, friends, photo walks, cats and dogs

December 31, 2023

It seems odd to say 2023 was one of the better years for me recently, despite Mum passing on 1 March.

Realistically, I’d probably started mourning her loss in March 2018, when I believed that would be the last time I’d see her in person. It was a mixed blessing to have one more opportunity in October 2019. But I knew when I left Tasmania at the end of that visit that would be the last time.

By the time she passed, we hadn’t even been able to have Skype calls for about a year and a half. And our calls hadn’t involved actual conversation for a long time before that.

So, her passing was more of a continuation and perhaps the closing chapter of my mourning.

Don’t get me wrong: I still semi-regularly well up and have a good cry while thinking about her. But it’s not been as intense as it would have been without her prolonged descent into dementia and multiple false alarms to prepare me for the final eventuality.

her final destination [buttons beach, ulverstone, tasmania, australia, 2023]

We said our farewells, and Mum set off on her final journey on 18 June 2023, when Dad, Robert, Peter and I could finally be in one place.

An old friend, Dee, messaged me soon after to tell me the ocean currents may have taken her to New Zealand.

dad reviving his david bellamy impersonation [tasmanian arboretum, eugenana, tasmania, australia, 2023]

It was the first chance we had to be in one place as a family to say goodbye to Mum, but it was probably also the first time the four of us had been together since early 2007.

john hyde [sunnybank hills, brisbane, queensland, australia, 2023]

With family, loss and the passing of time on my mind, I predominantly spent my month in Australia catching up with family, especially those I hadn’t seen in far too long.

My uncle, John, is one member of my extended family I’ve managed to see on all of my visits since leaving Australia in January 2011. But I enjoyed spending another few days of quality time with him, talking about family and family history, debating politics and catching up with his partner, Verna. And I managed to set him up on WhatsApp so I can call him regularly at no cost.

with the lodwicks © 2023 rhys lodwick [booragoon, perth, western australia, australia, 2023]

My Mum’s side of the family has been harder to catch up with over the years, mainly due to geography. For most of my childhood and teens, they lived in Calgary. And when they returned to Australia, they settled in Perth.

I met Rhys (pictured at left, taking the group selfie) when I was about 11, but I didn’t meet my other cousin, his twin, David (centre back), until Rhys’ wedding about ten years later, in 1998.

I’m ashamed to say that was the last time I’d seen Rhys and my uncle, Graham, until this year. Although, I stayed with my aunt, Patricia, in 2002, when I returned to Australia after my first stint of living in the UK and caught up with David then. Christopher (back right) wasn’t yet born.

So, it was lovely to spend a couple of days getting to know Rhys better while he played tour guide, to spend a few days with his family, and to spend an evening with Mum’s family.

I would have liked to have spent more time with them, but I had so much to cram into just a month. Hopefully, I’ll be able to spend more time next time.

And I caught up with Rhys, his wife, Jenny, and their daughter, Georgia, for an evening when they were in London a few months later.

untitled #20 [sunnybank hills, brisbane, queensland, australia, 2023]

In addition to spending time with family, I was pleased to catch up with my first-ever best friend, Narelle, for the first time in around 39 years. And to spend time with Lisa and Sarah.

untitled #40 [west ulverstone beach, ulverstone, tasmania, australia, 2023]

It was a pleasure, as always, to spend time talking and dining with Victoria while I was in Tasmania, including a rain-sodden wander on West Ulverstone Beach.

untitled #89 [tasmanian arboretum, eugenana, tasmania, australia, 2023]

We wandered around the Tasmanian Arboretum with Cheryl after scattering Mum’s ashes; just what I needed.

I did spy a platypus and took some photos, but they may need quite a lot of enlargement to confirm that!

frilled neck lizard [mindeerup, perth, western australia, australia, 2023]

I took many photos of Perth in the glorious weather as Rhys played tour guide.

Here’s one of a frilled neck lizard sculpture in the Mindeerup section of south Perth, part of Karl Kep Ngoornd-iny (Fire and Water Dreaming) by Yondee Shane Hansen.

In addition to my family, who offered up beds and couches to me during my stay, I want to thank everyone who could make the time to catch up during my (relatively) short time in Melbourne.

It was lovely to catch up with Jess, Preethi and Feih for drinks one night. Ian, David, Pete and Corey the next night. Brunch with Richard and his daughter, Sienna, dinners with David and Anthony, and a pint and chips with Jason.

(I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone!)

anthony horan [springvale botanical cemetery, springvale, melbourne, victoria, australia, 2023]

Special thanks to Amy and Chris for shuttling me and Richard to Springvale Botanical Cemetery to visit Anthony Horan’s grave and to Richard for the engaging natter on the train (and apologies for getting us on the wrong train!)

sunshine on grief [brookwood cemetery, brookwood, surrey, england, 2023]

Usually, my visits to cemeteries are for purely photographic purposes. But this year, I found myself in cemeteries to visit friends.

That’s how I came to be in Brookwood Cemetery, the largest cemetery in the UK. It used to have its own dedicated railway, including first-class carriages for the dead, running direct from the London Necropolis Railway Station in Waterloo.

The same station still serves it. But now it’s just the living commuting by train from the main Waterloo Station.

(I knew about the cemetery and the railway well before my visit because of Catharine Arnold’s book, Necropolis: London and its Dead, which I read many years ago. I’ll return for a more leisurely photo walk in future).

I did, of course, also visit cemeteries for purely photographic purposes.

In chronological order, I wandered the following cemeteries:

untitled #48 [plaistow cemetery, bromley, london, england, 2023]

Plaistow Cemetery in Bromley (on my birthday)

untitled #180 [brockley and ladywell cemeteries, brockley, london, england, 2023]

Brockley Cemetery (part of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries)

untitled #277 [brockley and ladywell cemeteries, ladywell, london, england, 2023]

Ladywell Cemetery (part of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries)

untitled #63 [london road cemetery, bromley, london, england, 2023]

London Road Cemetery in Bromley

Bromley Hill Cemetery

untitled #66 [paines lane cemetery, pinner, london, england, 2023]

Paines Lane Cemetery in Pinner

untitled #199 [pinner new cemetery, pinner, london, england, 2023]

Pinner New Cemetery (probably the worst maintained cemetery I’ve come across, and I include those maintained within the concept of ‘managed neglect’ in that comparison)

untitled #116 [hither green cemetery, hither green, london, england, 2023]

And Hither Green Cemetery, which I’ll have to revisit in 2024, as I arrived about 15 minutes before they closed for the day.

All this talk of death and loss may have you concerned. Never fear: there’s life in the old girl yet.

untitled #115 [birmingham, west midlands, england, 2023]

I didn’t travel as far afield as I’d hoped this year, but I did spend a day wandering Birmingham, its canals, and marvelling at the city’s Spaghetti Junction with fellow photographer Phil Ivens one Sunday.

henley bridge [henley-on-thames, oxfordshire, england, 2023]

I spent a lovely weekend with my distant cousins in Uxbridge, including a day in Henley-on-Thames.

hambleden cinema [hambleden, buckinghamshire, england, 2023]

And Hambleden.

the ashley-joneses and bevans [uxbridge, london, england, 2023]

Once again, it was lovely to spend time with family members I don’t see often enough (though there’s less excuse with these guys as, apart from Malcolm, we live in the same city, albeit on almost opposite sides!)

untitled #104 [new river path, palmers green, london, england, 2023]

I topped and tailed the year by continuing my photo walks along the New River Path.

In February, Sarah joined me to walk from where we left off last time, in Bowes Park, to Palmers Green.

untitled #45 [new river path, palmers green, london, england, 2023]

And in November, Scott joined me for the next stretch from Palmers Green to Enfield.

untitled #35 [grove park nature reserve, grove park, london, england, 2023]

And, on Boxing Day, I took what I thought was a scenic shortcut through Grove Park Nature Reserve, aiming for Hither Green Cemetery, only to find the footbridge as part of the Railway Children Walk was closed for maintenance.

And now, the part of my annual wrap-up you’ve all been waiting for (drum roll).

Here’s the roll call of the new kittehs (and doggos!) I sat this year.

I sat 17 cats, 11 of which were new clients (though two were new kittehs for existing human clients).

I sat three doggos, all new clients and all lovely beasties. Unfortunately, Dougal (pictured above) has now crossed the Rainbow Bridge, passing around the day I left for Australia.

I sat ten fish, four of which were new clients. Six have now gone to fish heaven (only one on my watch, purloined from its pond by a cat or a fox).

Jilly arrived in Bounds Green as Lottie’s successor.

Oscar joined my three regulars in Bromley.

Frank, who loves to cuddle (which is a good thing, as he’s so smooshable!)

Pebbles, an old soul.

Treacle, who is as sweet as…

Milo loves a good game of tug-o-war.

Mango can be entertained on a shoestring (literally) and loves a lap.

I visited her four times over three days in the summer. She knew exactly when I was about to leave and when to curl up cutely on my lap.

Bobby with his “come hither and rub my belly” gaze.

Cino, Bobby’s less aloof brother.

These two were hilarious to listen to when they chatted while they played with their toys.

Bobby and Cino had some fishy friends (two of the three pictured).

George, a cheeky tabby who lives next door to my regulars.

And Lottie, George’s housemate.

I visited these two thrice daily one weekend while sitting my regulars.

And my newest and youngest clients, at 14 weeks, David.

And Stevie.

I slept in someone else’s bed for 160 nights this year (no, not like that).

Between pet-sitting, a weekend visit with my cousins, and my visit to Australia, I was away from home almost 44% of this year!

I loved it, but I will admit I missed my bed, iMac and my own room (though not the scaffolding surrounding our flat for about six months).

The coming year looks quite busy already, but it will be interesting to see whether it will be more or less busy than this year. I already have four new doggo and two new kitteh clients scheduled over the summer.

Before I wish you all a happy new year and the best of everything for 2024, I want to thank all my friends and family who have been there for me during 2023 when I really needed it (and, in many cases, every year before that).

I hope I have been and/or will be there for you when you need it.

Love to you all for 2024 xx

arseways round

December 31, 2022

The portrait of Mouri above I took while cat-sitting her and her father, Dugla, nicely sums up 2022.

It wasn’t a bad year as such.

It was just a bit befuddling, stressful and a constant balancing act.

I experienced worse and more frequent panic attacks earlier in the year due to health issues. I’m hoping the trigger has just turned out to be a new food intolerance (the jury’s still out). But I became near-agoraphobic for a period.

In addition, I got a bite guard and discovered I was both vitamin D deficient and B12 anaemic again 15 years later.

With some time, stern self-talk, medical tests and procedures, I seem to have brought the psychological impact of the potential food intolerance under control. But I need to confirm my suspicions before things return to “normal” (though, even then, the likely culprit is so widespread that “normal” is definitely subjective).

My year started well with temporary work beginning in mid-January. It allowed me to get back on my feet financially after a couple of years of sporadic work and the lingering psychological impact from previous jobs.

And the job offer came despite my being open about my experience photographing roadkill. I shared that in the context of the organisation focussing on haematology as I would potentially have to interact with graphic and disturbing imagery.

Almost a year on, my managers and co-workers are some of the best people I’ve worked with.

They’re inclusive. They understand work-life balance. There’s zero bullying and no alpha male egos to contend with. Bliss.

At this stage, I expect to continue to work with them for a few more months at least, but we’ll see what lies ahead.

Despite the positive start to 2022, the year was bookended by death. And there was also the loss of a beautiful kitteh I stayed with in October.

Anthony left us unexpectedly in January, and a friend’s mother passed in November. So I attended my second-ever virtual funeral toward the beginning and my first-ever in-person funeral toward the end of the year.

Though the degree to which I knew each was quite different, both were meaningful losses.

On the positive side, this year I:

Had my hair cut and coloured for the first time since early October 2019.
Attended my first live gig since the pandemic started.
Visited four art exhibitions.
Read a book cover-to-cover in one evening (okay, technically, it was a short story, but it’s the most I’ve read in book form since 2021…)
Resumed my language studies (late in the year, this is recent).
Continued my letter-writing (albeit just one this year…)
Took some new self-portraits.
Continued to share curated series from my sepulchre work and travel photographs, and I swapped fungi for flowers.
Created the odd digital collage.
Dabbled in AI art.
Engaged with at least 40 people on dating apps (though at least five turned out to be douches) and went on dates with 10 of those I chatted with (who were mostly not those who turned out to be douches).

primark, formerly medhursts [bromley, london, england, 2022]

This year, I found something of a second home in Bromley, cat-sitting Lily, Sammy and Poppy most months of the year.

The current Primark was originally Medhursts department store, where David Bowie used to buy vinyl. And I popped by to look at a couple of the houses he lived in as a lad.

Earlier in the year, while cat-sitting, I revisited the Imperial Arms in Chislehurst and wandered through

untitled #59 [elmstead wood, bromley, london, england, 2022]

Elmstead Wood and

Marvels Wood.

I didn’t travel as far afield as I’d hoped, but I did manage to venture out of London to visit

untitled #21 [leeds castle, maidstone, kent, england, 2022]

Leeds Castle and

Bletchley Park.

As well as catching up with Meg and Mog in their new home

untitled #6 [cotton end, bedfordshire, england, 2022]

in Cotton End, just outside of Bedford, and an overnight stay in Bedford a few months later.

And days out in London included revisiting

untitled #2122 [regent’s park, london, england, 2022]

Regent’s Park with my new co-workers and visiting

the sky’s the limit [sky garden, city of london, london, england, 2022]

the Sky Garden for the first time with friends old and new.

It was a quiet year on the cemetery front.

untitled #52 [abney park cemetery, stoke newington, london, england, 2022]

I revisited Abney Park Cemetery on a first date.

watering can [grove park cemetery, grove park, london, england, 2022]

I visited Grove Park Cemetery for the first time.

untitled #2540 [bunhill fields, islington, london, england, 2022]

And dropped in to see William Blake and John Bunyan in Bunhill Fields for the third time.

untitled #2553 [bunhill fields, islington, london, england, 2022]

Stopping to chit-chat with the resident squirrels.

untitled #2 [new river, hornsey, london, england, 2022]

Sitting Lottie (and her loss) led to a renewed friendship with Sarah and a wander along the New River (not new, not a river) from Hornsey to Bowes Park.

Hopefully, in 2023, we’ll continue that walk north from Bowes Park.

It was an absolute pleasure sitting with Lottie earlier this year despite her being poorly.

I love this portrait I took of her because it’s so uncharacteristic of such a sweet-natured kitteh. Obviously, she was yawning - not threatening to decapitate me - at the time. Though it may seem otherwise.

Alongside my new friendship with Lottie and recurring stays with Lily, Sammy and Poppy, and Meg and Mog, I added

Mia (including her cat-sitting me with her cat-mother, Sophie, post-medical procedure),

Dugla,

Mouri and

Bentley to my close feline friends this year.

In 2022, I spent 63 nights with smooshable kittehs and visited kittehs locally 13 times.

I had 10 furry clients. Five of them were new clients.

I’m hoping my mojo will be fully restored in 2023. So I can enjoy kitteh-sits, doggo-sits, and photo walks further afield. And continue to hang out with my faves closer to home.

And on the creative side, I look forward to creating and sharing:

Themed chapbooks (including photographs, writing, collages, sketches, musical compositions and curated playlists).
Collaborations.
Possibly some AI art (but likely incorporated into other work).
More instalments of existing series, including my love letters to london.
New series I’m yet to discover.

I hope your 2022 went as smoothly as possible and that 2023 will bring you lots of good things. xx

children's mental health gallery

December 28, 2022

I'm pleased to share three of my self-portraits are included in the Children's Mental Health Gallery, created by The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne.

Raising awareness of mental health through art, the gallery showcases artwork about mental health experiences.

They are dedicated to amplifying and celebrating lived experiences of mental health challenges and recovery.

The gallery launched on 10 October 2022 as part of Mental Health Week 2022 and will be accessible for six months until 10 May 2023.

I strongly encourage you to take a look at the gallery. There's a variety of photography, painting, collage and sculpture, as well as audio and written works.

The artwork comes from a mixture of those supported by The Royal Children's Hospital and those, like me, who were invited to contribute and have lived/living experiences of mental health challenges and recovery.

(I intended to share this back in October but, you know, life).

this road floods each tide

October 7, 2022

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 30 September 2022].}

It's been a while (like, over a year) since I created and shared a new digital collage for my lost in her own world series.

So here's one I created this evening using a photograph I took in Bosham a little over a year ago.

#FridayFeels

It's also been over a year since I wrote an instalment of my postcards from another's life series. But I've had some ideas gestating the past couple of days inspired by a couple of podcasts I listened to earlier in the week. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to write those soon.

I hope you have good things planned for the weekend x

pure mourning

April 30, 2022

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 31 March 2022].}

Painting:

The day of the dead by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

on cloud nine

February 28, 2022

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 30 January 2022].}

Here's the first collage from a series that came into my mind while I was completing cut out and keep; my 100 Days Project for 2020.

I'll explain my thinking behind the idea more as I go along because this particular one doesn't best illustrate my concept for sapphic studies.

But it's an opener to the series.

Painting:
Le Sommeil (Sleep) by Gustave Courbet

connecting the dots

August 28, 2021

A bank holiday weekend probably isn’t the best time to be pimping my professional profile. But I haven’t known what is “the weekend” and what is a “workday” for over a year now. All days are equal to me, and to be honest, I only remembered it was a bank holiday weekend this morning.

Anyway, I’ve spent the past couple of days updating and adding more projects to my profile on The Dots. Though I still have more projects to add, I thought I’d share the link and a screen capture of my public profile. In case you or anyone you know may be looking for a freelancer or employee with my skills and experience.

Unfortunately, you can only view the content of my projects when logged into The Dots, but it’s quick (and free!) to sign up to have a nose around.

If you’re already a member, feel free to connect!

I’m also working on profiles on other sites and a portfolio website showcasing my design, social media, book design, editorial photography, writing work, etc. I’ll share those links as soon as I can.

So, if you or someone you know is looking for someone like me to work with or to be part of your team, hit me up at propaganda@bronwenhyde.com or get in contact through The Dots or LinkedIn.

I’m happy to have clients globally, so don’t be shy if you’re not in the UK!

windmills of your mind

July 5, 2021

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 28 June 2021].}

Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never-ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!

Like a tunnel that you follow to a tunnel of its own
Down a hollow to a cavern where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving in a half-forgotten dream
Or the ripples from a pebble someone tosses in a stream
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!

Keys that jingle in your pocket, words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly, was it something that you said?
Lovers walking along a shore and leave their footprints in the sand
Is the sound of distant drumming just the fingers of your hand?
Pictures hanging in a hallway and the fragment of a song
Half remembered names and faces, but to whom do they belong?
When you knew that it was over you were suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning to the colour of her hair!

Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never-ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
As the images unwind, like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind!

- Marilyn Bergman / Michel Legrand / Alan Bergman

Original recording by Noel Harrison

A more irreverent version from The Muppet Show. This was probably where I first heard the song and why I always think it speeds up when the original doesn't.

a millennium in a moment

December 11, 2020

^{[I originally posted this collage as early access for my Patreon patrons on 4 December 2020].}

scenic lookout

October 23, 2020

^{[I originally posted this collage as early access for my Patreon patrons on 16 October 2020].}

gorgeous view

October 1, 2020

^{[I originally posted this collage as early access for my Patreon patrons on 24 September 2020].}

nice light on those cows

September 25, 2020

^{[I originally posted this collage as early access for my Patreon patrons on 18 September 2020].}

fully fernished

September 19, 2020

^{[I originally posted this collage as early access for my Patreon patrons on 12 September 2020].}

cut out and keep

September 7, 2020

From 7 April to 15 July 2020 inclusive, I took part in The 100 Day Project for the second time.

My first time around, in 2018, was creating postcards from another’s life: a one-woman collaboration. I realised early on I’d set myself a daily project that was too intense, involved and time-consuming to be done every day for 100 days.

That hasn’t stopped me continuing that project, and I’ve now completed 19 postcards since 3 April 2018. It takes a lot of time to find the right image from both an inspirational and compositional point of view. The writing takes about 30 minutes once I have an idea in my mind. The editing of text and image takes at least the same amount of time. Getting it online on my various platforms adds more time. And for a project that I set myself to be done within a calendar day, starting at 21:00 might mean I’m posting minutes before midnight.

This year’s project - retrospectively collected under the title cut out and keep (chronological order) - was actually even more time-intensive. I had the advantage of working on it while unemployed. Obviously, that allowed me more time to dedicate to the project each day. And it’s probably the primary reason I was able to get through all 100 days of this year’s project (though some days I did cut it a bit fine, I must admit!)

Had I been employed during this year’s project, it would probably have become a long-term one like postcards… Instead, it became something of a lifeline during a time of personal and global uncertainty.

Nothing happens in isolation

I never tagged my series of collages on social media as #isolationcreation or similar. Mostly because I’d intended to do the project before coronavirus ‘happened’. Despite that, it still served to focus my mind as I faced redundancy from my day job and scrolled through the grim daily updates on the spread of the virus in my social media feeds.

It was both a personal challenge and a distraction from a global reality that performed the function of protecting my mental health during that time.

Shortly before I started the project, the UK went into lockdown. We stayed in Level 4 restrictions until about a month before I finished. Although the lockdown didn’t substantially change how I lived my life during a period of redundancy consultation and unemployment, the bigger picture obviously weighed heavily on my mind.

Along with stress caused by my employment within the previous year, and the emotions and stress generated through injury and family circumstances in the same period, then during the lockdown, the daily news updates, press conferences and battling the surge of friends on social media succumbing to conspiracy theories became exhausting.

An escape hatch

The project was something of an escape. It allowed me moments of lightheartedness during an otherwise tense time. And it was also a way to process how I was feeling about the situation and life in general.

In that way, it was akin to the 365 Day project I undertook in 2007/8. That project allowed me to deal with life, but also escape from my everyday life and become someone else for a few hours a day on the days when I chose to play out a role not my own.

Both projects were cathartic during troubling times. And both projects allowed me to sample what life would be like if I were an artist 24/7 (even though I was employed for much of the time it took me to complete my 365 Days project).

A new medium

Although I chose collage as the medium for my 100 Day Project, photography was always intended to be a part of it. I didn’t take new photographs but revisited old work and used previously unedited photos to complete the project.

Whether inspiration for my daily collage was an illustration, painting or my photography, how I might combine my photos with others’ art always formed part of the process.

It was always my intention to combine my photographs with others’ artworks. However, some days my photography felt like an unnecessary addition.

While I’ve long been interested in and intrigued by collage and assemblage, various factors meant physical collage wasn’t really an option this time around:

London was in lockdown, so gathering physical sources for collages was out of the question, and I didn’t already have these at my disposal.
I don’t own a scanner, and photographing collages is always hit and miss (though many of my artist friends do this well!)
I’m more confident with Photoshop than with a pair of scissors, a scalpel and a bottle of PVC glue.

Resourceful

In honesty, the ‘what’ of my project only really came to me on the day I started. It hinged heavily on me being able to find suitable public domain images to inspire and execute my collages with.

I’ll be forever grateful to the folks at Old Book Illustrations for the extensive resource they provide. As well as organisations like the Wellcome Collection, and everyone’s online go-to, Wikipedia and their Wikimedia Commons. Flickr and national institutions using their platform also had a look-in.

Obviously, I’m also forever indebted to the various artists - most long gone, some unknown - who created the various illustrations and paintings I used in my collages.

For the love of it

For me, photography is not just about the moment of capture; the action of capturing on film or in pixels what I see through my viewfinder. Nor is it just about the act of working in a physical or digital darkroom to bring the photos I’ve taken to life for myself and others to view and enjoy.

Creating these collages reinforced many things I’ve always loved about photography. And now, I guess - by extension - creating in any medium.

Fascination street

My biggest drivers for photographing something, someone or somewhere is that:

they/it intrigue or fascinate me; and/or
I find the subject aesthetically pleasing, grotesque/disturbing or both.

These drivers often lead me to try to discover new angles and new perspectives on a subject.

Creating the cut out and keep collages started with the same drivers.

Whether I had a particular phrase, song lyric or subject in my head before selecting an illustration or painting, the artwork I chose had to fit one or both of the above criteria.

Some days, the most time-consuming activity in creating a collage would be finding just the right illustration or painting to pique my interest and excite me on that particular day. Apart from a few exceptions, I usually only decided on the exact image and idea on the day of creation.

When searching for an illustration or painting for that day, I might save others for use later on. Or note a particular artist’s work to return to later. But an illustration or painting had to really gel with me in the moment. This is also the way I decide on photographs and the story I’ll tell in my postcards… series.

The thrill of discovery

Every day creating my collages felt like a day of discovery.

Photographing something/someone/somewhere lets me see the subject more clearly and in more detail. Especially when reviewing and editing the photos, as I often discover elements I was unaware of at the time of capturing the image. This is especially true when travelling and visiting new places on a tight schedule.

Working on the collages held a similar thrill for me.

Even where the collages I chose may have been from well-known stories or artists, there was always something more to discover. For example, I was familiar with Gustave Doré’s etchings of dramatic biblical scenes and Victorian-era London, but I was enchanted to discover his irreverent illustrations of Baron Munchausen.

Discovering new artists across a range of styles and subjects was also a perk of the project. Some highlights were J. J. Grandville’s irreverent, anthropomorphic narratives. And vivid and dramatic floral illustrations by various artists.

Not to mention all the inspiring, educational and enthralling art of so many unknown artists.

Do your own research

As anyone who followed my Flickrstream back in the day - and more recently, my Instagram - may be aware, I’m a bit of a stickler for correct tagging.

That may involve a quick Google search to check the correct spelling of a place name. A quick search on Google Maps to locate a street view to confirm where I took a photo, the name of a street, a building or landmark. Or it may involve an intensive Streetview search to identify a particular location on a country lane somewhere in relative obscurity.

Finding the specific photo location (if not evident at the time) or more information about the location/building/monument/plant often informs my choice of title. It also lets the viewer know more about the image and where it was captured. And it allows me to understand more about what I may have seen but not had time to take in; the connections to other people, places or objects it may provide.

In confirming or researching these things, I’ve learnt more about tangential subjects and discovered how the subject I’ve photographed intersects with others I’ve taken or my other interests. It can shed light on concepts, languages, personalities and more that may influence:

how I approach the image
how I title the work
my future work
future projects
planning

For me, part of the pay-off of my photography - and creating any artwork, or writing a story - is what I learn along the way.

I love learning new things, making new connections, finding coincidences and synchronicities. Being reminded there is much more still to learn about art, artists, history, culture, technology, literature, countries, people and more.

Audience participation

Creating art and photography, and writing are things I would do even without an audience.

Despite that, it gave me a lot of joy to share the collages each day and see a selection of friends’ and contacts’ engagement with them once they were launched upon the world.

For those 100 days, it felt like the collages created greater active engagement between me and others. I saw this with my 365 Days project, which also fostered numerous now long-lasting friendships.

If creating a collage made me giggle - especially with my love of puns and the absurd - I got another buzz seeing the humorous responses to it. Or the ‘love’ reaction - not just a ‘like’ - on the post on Facebook. When that happened, it felt like I’d hit the mark with what I created. Not just for me but for those engaging with the work.

Whether the response to my art is joy, disgust, adoration, or utter bewilderment along the lines of ‘why on earth would you…?’, seeing how people respond is always interesting.

Top of the pops

With that in mind, I decided to tally up the likes/reactions across my Instagram and Facebook posts to work out the top 10 most popular collages from the project:

#28 - after the deluge
#99 - bathing beauties
#36 - where angels fear to tread
#37 - the boatman’s call
#24 - and so he set off under cover of night
#13 - insectation
#46 - she’s electric
#25 - new growth
(a tie!) #06 - from the moment you’re born you’re dying / #20 - flowers in the attic

What do you think? Is your favourite here?

If not, which is your favourite collage from the project?

Keep it to yourself

If you enjoyed the project, you can now take a collage home for yourself or buy one for a friend!

I decided to make a selection of the collages available as postcards, greeting cards and more on RedBubble. I’m still in the process of adding the work to my shop, so if you don’t see the one you’re after, please keep checking back for new uploads.

If you’re interested in buying a signed C-type print of one of the collages you can contact me to find out if it’s available and if so, the size and price.

Unfortunately, some collages may not be available due to the size and quality of the illustration used. Or because the photograph used was taken at a location that doesn’t allow for me to sell the work commercially (e.g. an English Heritage property or Highgate Cemetery).

Commission a collage

Want to commission me to create a collage?

You might have a particular subject, title, illustration or painting in mind or a combination of any of the above.

If you already have an illustration or painting in mind to incorporate, please send me a link to it/them (not just the image file), and we can discuss. Feel free to refer to my list of resources below as a starting point for possible illustrations and paintings.

There are a couple of minor restrictions for the painting or illustration:

It must be in the public domain. A link to the artwork will allow me to see artist and publication information, confirm it's in the public domain, and credit the work correctly.
It needs to be a good quality file. 72dpi is fine if it's large enough to print. Feel free to suggest an illustration or painting even if you're unsure. I might be able to find a higher resolution file.

If you’ve perused my cut out and keep project, you’ll likely have an idea of what type of illustrations/paintings work best, but I’m happy to work with you to create a custom collage!

Get in touch with me to discuss if this idea takes your fancy!

Some great resources for public domain illustrations and paintings:

Old Book Illustrations

Wikimedia Commons

The Wellcome Collection

Do it yourself

Want to try your hand at digital collages?

Here’s my quick guide:

Find one or more illustrations in the public domain that tickle your fancy on any given day. Refer to my list of resources above as a starting point.
Download the image/s at the largest size available.
Select element/s you want from the image using the magic wand and other Photoshop tools.
(Optional) Select a photo from your own collection and edit it, if you haven't already.
Resize and/or rotate the illustration/s, as necessary.
Align the illustration/s and the photograph and/or other images.
Use the eraser tool in Photoshop, if necessary, to get rid of elements you don't need.
Decide if you're happy with it or not. (Hopefully, you are!)
Save, flatten, save a flattened copy, save various versions for web, as appropriate.
Share on your social media profiles and hope others enjoy them as much as you do!

And lastly...

... a shout-out to my friend, David Jackmanson, for introducing me to Diogenes recently. He served as inspiration for the collage I created to go with this post: in search of an honest man.

Illustrations:

Diogenes by Jean-Léon Gérôme

take a long walk off a short pier

August 28, 2020

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 21 August 2020].}

So, I 'lost' a week to the heatwave. And just as that finally finished I found out my Dad was in hospital.

He's home now, and the situation wasn't life-threatening because antibiotics. But let's just say the past couple of weeks have been stressful for me for the above reasons and others I won't go into right here, right now.

In that time, I did manage to:

get all my collages from The 100 Day Project up onto my blog and add credits for the illustrations to the posts on Patreon (in case you're interested),
decide retrospectively on a title for the project (to be revealed), and
think about what I would do with it next.

I know it's been much delayed but, once I can, I'll share my thoughts on the project and some other (hopefully) exciting information with you.

---

Over the past months, I've also been dealing with the impact of conspiracy theories on those around me. I'm thankful it doesn't include direct family. It's heartbreaking to watch friends being drawn into this, and I've had to step away from friends of over 10 years.

My condolences if you've also been dealing with this. A friend shared a tweet with me recently that garnered myriad comments which read like memorials and shared experiences about their friends and family members' deaths.

I'm not exaggerating to say it's felt like that to me at times. Having to 'let go' of people who I've had a mutual support system with and admired the photography and talents of for so long.

They're not dead. Just completely bought into these conspiracy theories. I can't watch it. It breaks my heart and is detrimental to my mental health.

---

On a lighter note: when I was creating my collages for The 100 Day Project, I came across George Du Maurier's illustration, Vae Victus, from Wives and daughters, volume one.

It sparked the idea for a series of collages entitled lost in her own world. I started creating collages for the series this evening. This image is one of four I've created so far, with more to come.

Each collage uses the same illustration with a variety of backdrops; all my photographs.

As you may have guessed, today's collage is entitled take a long walk off a short pier.

The title conveys how I feel about 2020 so far (despite this year allowing me lots of creativity and productivity thus far). And how I feel about those spreading conspiracy theories. But at the same time, it creates an idyllic backdrop for our protagonist to lose herself in.

Which feels much needed at this time.

toasted

July 15, 2020

Day one hundred of The 100 Day Project.

...and it’s a wrap!

My 100 day project is done!

Thanks for following along. It’s been fun!

I’ll keep the collages coming, just likely not daily. They’ll be posted as early-access, patron-only posts to my Patreon about a week before I post them here and elsewhere around the web.

Illustrations:

Man and maid by Hugh Thomson from Sense and sensibility