Dear Patricia

On August 9, I wrote to Patricia to introduce myself.

Dear Patricia,

Last week, Daniel let us know that you’d be joining us this semester. I’m excited to begin so I’m writing to introduce myself – to let you know how I came to be in the course, what I’ve been doing and what’s on my mind at the moment.

I began the MA Photography at the beginning of this year having spent the previous 5 years establishing myself as an artist/photographer. During this time, I attended workshops and master classes, many at the CCP, each chosen to develop one aspect of my photography practice. Some were technical, some practical and others conceptual. Last year I got to the stage where I needed something more to take the next step.

I should also tell you that before embarking on this journey all my previous study and work was in the field of education. I began as a primary teacher and then moved on to diverse experiences in education. I’ve worked in schools, government departments, Aboriginal organisations, teacher unions, and universities located in Melbourne, Alice Springs, Vancouver and Manchester. In all of these situations and places photography and writing have been a significant aspect of my work.

But this year is one of the best – I’ve learned so much already! My colleagues (Jo, Megan, Josh and Thorstein), lecturers (Kristian, Daniel, Hoda and Brie) and mentor (Melinda Gibson) have challenged and supported me in many ways and my achievements would not have been possible without this engagement. 

After some exploration, the project I have chosen is loosely based around the idea of ‘edge’. Each week I try something new and each week I am inspired by feedback and/or inspired by art works and artists that I’ve encountered online, in books and in galleries. This usually initiates a new idea. 

Writing a blog has helped me to document what I am doing, reflect on the feedback I am receiving so that I can work through and understand what is happening and then make new plans.

As I began blogging, I soon realised that each entry was connected to a different aspect of the course and my practice. I realised I was posting four kinds of entries:

·     Folio entries that document my photographic experimentationand how I am thinking about my developing art practice (here I am describing, reflecting)

·     Reading entries that record what I am reading and the connections I am makingwith the world of art and ideas (here I am reviewing, connecting)

·     Inspiration entries that record the conversations, artists and exhibitionsthat are influencing my thinking and art practice (here I am describing, reflecting, connecting)

·     Thinking entries that record other things that I am wondering, things that don’t yet fit under one of the other headings or threads I’m trying to pull together. These posts usually address questions such as: Where did my thinking about edge begin? What is the meaning of edge? (Here the genre seems freer; I am questioning, wondering, playing with ideas)

Looking at my blog chronologically shows how all these things are intertwined. This means that I, and others, can track the development of my photographic practice, my research, my sources of inspiration and my thinking. Significantly the blog has been the foundation for a successful relationship with my mentor; it gives us something to talk about! And in the writing and talking I am developing a more sophisticated language to talk about art and photographic practice. 

I’ve noticed that it’s important not to write straight into the blog so I’ve created a Word document that is my draft digital diary. I write everything into this document first, no matter how unformed the idea is, just so I remember. I select photographs and write the text, often drafting and redrafting. When a section is ready to share with others I post it. I make great use of the Navigation sidebar and heading levels to shape my writing.

In the semester break I spent 3 weeks in central Australia. It’s a place I’ve lived, it’s where I’ve met and worked with Aboriginal people, it’s country I love and it’s a challenging place. It’s a place where you think about edge a lot – geographical edges, geological edges, cultural edges, linguistic edges, property boundaries, historical changes… While there, in preparation for this semester, I took a lot of photographs and thought a lot about poetry.

I'm ready to take the next step and really looking forward to working together this semester!

Regards, Anne