writing an #artist statement

I'm relatively new to the art world and it's conventions, having been buried in the world of education for so long. Thankfully there's this place called the internet that has information and guidance on all sorts of things. (So long as you don't just believe the first thing you read.)

If you've read any previous entries you'll know that I'm trying to write an artist's statement, there's an open exhibition at a couple of local galleries this year and suddenly it's something that I can't put off any longer. I found lots of 'advice' out there in the blue nowhere, but the most useful was an exercise on Molly Gordon's website. Next most useful was getting a cross section of lovely friends to read it and make suggestions and corrections. Here it is;

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I create to escape reality. Earlier my photography explored the darker side of this. My painting was a search for peace. Recently a reversal has begun. I hope to enable others to relate to the hidden world of chronic pain or to help them to slip away from the confinements of our own various views of reality.

Many of my artistic decisions are born of necessity, ruled by my physical limitations. Photographs and an iPhone app, new or familiar often provide the catalyst. Decisions are instinctive and organic, I create without preconceived ideas or expectations, just allow it to flow. My hope is that I will be able to channel or release a concealed or suppressed truth.

The ongoing challenge is to end up with an image that satisfies my eye and also successfully communicates a mood or message to another; to capture the interest of a passing eye. It matters little to me that the conveyed meaning for the viewer is what I intended, so much as it evokes a response from them. The test for me is to accept the completed image without making a value judgement, to accept that my journey is as eclectic as the Fibromyalgia that I live with every day and to be grateful that my creations allow me to express the pain and the joy of my life.                           

I donate a percentage from every sale to Fibro Action, one of the main UK Fibromyalgia charities.

So that's done. Now on to the pesky CV. Which of course is nothing like what's needed when applying for a teaching job...

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