Monday 2 June 2014

What I am focusing on Blog Hop

Last week, Joy over at Daisy Row nominated me to take part in a blog hop.  Having not done one before I decided I would.  I had four questions to answer about what I do and then to nominate three other blogs, which you will find at the end of this post.  Thank you Joy for nominating me and hope you all enjoy this post - albeit a little long!



What am I working  on now?

Right now my photography work is my main activity and it has gone down the documentary line.  I have become involved in several community projects this year, whereby a couple of photo friends and I are photographing community groups/events and giving the photos back to the groups involved. This has all come via the camera club I belong to being asked to document a re-enactment play that was put on last year called the Bread Riots (see here).  I absolutely loved the whole event, as a result the three of us have been asked to put on an exhibition of our work at a local theatre in July, so we are busy selecting which images to be printed up for the exhibition.  I have also become involved in a project St Austell library requested assistance with.  They are prompting their reading tree in their garden area and needed some photos of the tree to create a brochure and some book marks. This project is almost finished we just need to take one more photo but we are waiting for a window to be repaired first.

Here are three of the images being used in the brochure.




The second project was the Retail Awards which you can read about here and here. The images from this will be used for promoting future award ceremonies and the retail departments and courses.  It is an exchange of services really, we were given the opportunity to be involved in the day and they receive the photos documenting the event in return and the students receive images for their portfolios.  We have also been asked to do a couple of photo shoots with the students in the new academic year and a return visit next year for the 2015 Awards.

The third project which is probably going to be on going for at least another 12 months is working with People and Gardens, this all started off by Dave (photo colleague) being asked to photograph a charity fashion show they are putting on in Nov this year and volunteering me to assist.  When we went up to the nursery to meet everyone, our input went from the fashion show to taking photos for them to produce a calendar (2016) and some Christmas cards to sell  in order to raise funds.  As well as creating a photographic timeline of the tomato, as they grow the tomatoes that go into Cornish Ketchup (you can read about it here) Our hope with this is to have it printed up and displayed at the Eden Project in the Education Centre.

Also in the pipe line is the St Austell Feast Week and the documenting of a performance called "Call to Arms" being put on for the WW1 celebrations.  Really looking forward to that not only from a photography aspect but an interest in the history of WW1.

On top of that I am busy knitting a cardigan for myself and still working on my 50th year scrapbook.  As I turned 50 last year I decided to do something every month for a year to celebrate it, they didn't have to be big events, just something that I never made the time to do.  I enjoyed it so much I think I am going to carry on with it but maybe every other month this year lol.


 How does my work differ from others of its kind?

I have found this question really difficult as I don't think my work does differ from others of its kind.  I suppose my photography differs slightly as I photograph a lot of community events to create a photographic documentary of the event, this is done on a voluntary basis and the images given to the groups to showcase what they have put on.  I enjoy it this way as I am learning all the time with photography and the organisers of these events put so much work into the community that it is nice for them to look back and see how the whole event came together in the end and it is a good record for the future.

As far as my other hobbies they really are for me and my pleasure. 



Why do I create what I do?

I have always been creative, my mother and grandmother encouraged me from an early age. I would make all my dolls clothes, sewing them and knitting them!! Drawing and painting anything.  I would not class myself as particularly skilled at any of my hobbies but I enjoy them all.  I always think my biggest problem is I enjoy too many past times to allow me to be a master of any.  The one thing I have never manage to develop any level of skill at is crochet - I would love to be able to but when I look at a pattern it may as well be written in Chinese as far as I am concerned lol.  Though I do like to challenge myself and learning to crochet a square is on my list of challenges.


How does my writing/creating process work?

Not really sure about this question either.  I tend to go in phases, one week it will be all knitting, the next scrapbooking, I do make sure I use the camera everyday this is helped by doing a daily photo challenge and the 100 happy days challenge. I think my 'all or nothing' nature is reflected in this big time or maybe I should just say I am a flitter! 

When it comes to writing, I use to keep a daily diary when I was younger, I stopped when I left home and went to college, mainly due to the girls I shared a house with (complete strangers) laughed at me and at that time being very shy and lacking in self confidence I stopped.  Now I look back and really regret not keeping it up, but cant' do anything about it.  I have kept a diary now since 2006, don't write in it every day, but at least two to three times a week.  I find that writing things down in blog posts (not always published) really helps me to see things in perspective and allow for some deep thinking and time for reflection on something that may have happened. 

So that is a little bit about me and what I get up, now I would like to nominate and introduce you to three lovely ladies, two I have been lucky enough to meet in real life the third .... who knows what the future may hold :)  I have picked these three as I find not only their work inspiring but they themselves as individuals.

First off is Louise of Boys, Bugs and.....Beautiful Buttons.  I first met Louise on UKS when we were on a team together, though neither of us are on there any more we have kept in touch via blogs and met up when she was on holiday down here with her lovely family a couple of years ago.  I always find Louise's work inspiring with it's fresh, simple and uncluttered style, which I find very appealing. I am always amazed at the ideas she comes up with.


Next is Nathalie at An ounce of creativity.  Not sure how I came across Nathalie's blog but I find her work colourful, cheerful, full of life and once again very inspiring. Her post's are easy to read and give the impression of a person who is full of energy and passionate about her crafting. Like Louise she comes up with lovely layouts and ideas.

And last but by no means least is Kathi at kathijo on my family and other a(nimals).  I first met Kathi at a scrapbooking group that we both went to in Newlyn, (in fact I met Yvonne there as well).  Kathi is a very chatty bubbly person in real life and a huge lover of everything family and red!  Kathi's scrapbooking style is much busier than Louise's or Nathalie's and she is great at speed scrapping, which suits my nature and fits in with her life style as she always has a house full, be it her children or her grandchildren.


So please hop over to their blogs and have a look at the lovely work they do and thank you for stopping by on my blog. Others taking part in today's blog hop are Tracy at Mad About Bags and Karen at Just K Jewellery .

8 comments:

  1. ahh it's lovely to read about your current projects and to have been nominated too..thank you. Now i'm over the shock i think i'm going to love answering these questions x x x

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    1. Look forward to reading your post Louise. xx

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  2. Wow, Karen, I didn't realize you were such a busy bee with all your photography. Thanks for a lovely informative post, and I look forward to seeing your 3 nominees' posts next week. Thanks for taking part, Joy x x

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  3. It's great to hear that you are in demand for your photography and am happy to hear that you are enjoying the direct your art is moving in. Don't you ever find it stressful?

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    1. Thank you Eileen, no the only thing I find stressful at times is other people's behaviour lol. xx

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  4. Thank you Karen for nominating me and my blog! I enjoyed reading about your many involvements in your community! Sounds like you almost have a photography business on the side!!!

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    1. lol thank you Nathalie, I look forward to your post. xx

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