In Praise of Partnerships

'A Kettle of Kites’

Red kites were successfully reintroduced to the Harewood Estate as part of a conservation programme almost 25 years ago, and it looked as if every bird in the ‘kettle’ – what a fascinating collective noun! – was monitoring our journey, as we drove north along the Harrogate Road recently. Their silhouettes drifted lazily, effortlessly across the clear, blue sky, inspiring me to create a cyanotype print a few days later, based on a digital negative from my back-catalogue.

I’ll admit that the print itself was underwhelming – too stark, small, and simple – and, in the past I would have criticised this as a ‘lamentable effort’. But I've learnt to be more forgiving of my artwork, more imaginative, and now I often use these traditional prints – ones in the style of the 1840s – as the starting point of a more collaborative idea. So I digitised it, created a repeating motif, and started being experimental – playing, in truth – digitally blending it with another photograph of a red kite and creating the image above.

Now, sitting back and reviewing the process as a whole, I realise the extent that my photography – my creative expression – has changed over the last few years. Like many people, we’ve taken to describing the recent passage of time as ‘pre’ or ‘post’ Covid but I’m also adding pre/post ‘cyanotype printing’ and pre/post the ‘Art Therapy’ and ‘Smile-Worthy’ projects. It's as if the earnest, intense adult version of me (who dreamt of having her images hanging in a commercial gallery and in exhibitions) has been ousted by my inner 5-year-old – a very curious, playful, inquisitive 5-year-old!

Traditional Cyanotype Prints

When I first started making cyanotype prints (in May 2022) I set myself a very clear brief of working with the traditional process (as developed in the 19th century) and established a very disciplined, ‘adult’ programme of activities – a progression – planned to help me learn the basic behaviours of the medium. I made test strips, used 2D then 3D subjects, and steadily built up my knowledge and respect for the process of cyanotype printing and, at that time, I only digitised the prints for ‘safety’ – aware that each print is unique and lost forever if I drop it in the washing up water!

Looking back at the logbook I kept to record these experiments, I can see that this scientific, somewhat clinical approach lasted long enough for me to make 45 prints before there was an imaginary knock at the back door and an imaginary child asked, “can Paddy come out to play?” And from that moment, the adult in me was edged aside and my inner 5-year-old took centre stage.

‘Mood’
An abstract diptych digitally blending freehand cyanotype prints

The emergence of my younger self – the playful, curious version – wasn’t solely focussed on cyanotype printing. As I've mentioned earlier, the ‘Art Therapy’ and ‘Smile-Worthy’ projects emerged at about the same time. It’s as if I was experiencing my own personal ‘Age of Enlightenment’ – exploring new ideas, asking different questions and, above all, establishing what I value in my creativity and artisitc expression; learning what’s important to me in an artistic sense.

And now I like to describe my artistic process as one of collaboration. More and more often, my inner 5‑year-old takes the lead – is playful, joyous and inquisitive – allowing my outer 71-year-old to adopt the thoughtful role, considering, assessing and valuing the outcome. What a brilliant partnership.

Stay safe.

Paddy xxxx

December 2023

Links:

You can see more of my early work on cyanotype printing HERE …

And the ‘Art Therapy’ and ‘Smile-Worthy’ projects HERE … and HERE …