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HELEN DARLING
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Helen Darling
Jun 16, 20222 min read
When is enough, enough?
I recently taught an advanced printmaking workshop at Central Art Space. The idea of the workshop was to give participants tools that...
Helen Darling
Jun 8, 20222 min read
Its not about the #CameraBrand
After a bit of a break from social media I have decided to write, again. Motivated, in part, by lovely feedback I received for an...
Helen Darling
Mar 29, 20222 min read
Art / photography in a time of madness
Part 2: Doing Good. Can art or photography make the world better? In my biased opinion the answer is an emphatic ‘yes’. Firstly, though,...
Helen Darling
Mar 17, 20223 min read
Art in a time of madness
Part 1: The Creative While around a fifth of the population are highly sensitive this proportion is much higher among creative types. ...
Helen Darling
Mar 8, 20222 min read
Inspiration: 5 ways to inspire yourself
Where do you get your inspiration from? For me, it is any number of weird and wonderful places - something that has come up in...
Helen Darling
Mar 3, 20223 min read
When it all goes pear-shaped
Lino printing is a process. It starts with an idea, then a drawing, then refinements, then inverting the drawing, then tracing the...
Helen Darling
Mar 1, 20222 min read
No compromise
When I started writing these blog pieces about my journey in photography and art I didn’t think that I would share personal information. ...
Helen Darling
Feb 24, 20223 min read
Teaching the art
I have been invited to teach a few linoprinting classes now. it is something that I both enjoy and dread (just a little). The reason...
Helen Darling
Feb 22, 20223 min read
Rejection
The Irish comedian, Dylan Moran, once did a brilliant skit about writing a letter rejecting a rejection letter. For anyone on the...
Helen Darling
Feb 17, 20223 min read
Authentic
If authenticity is the goal here are three helpful things to consider.
Helen Darling
Feb 3, 20223 min read
My first work was cringe-worthy
My introduction to printmaking came one evening in a church hall in North Dunedin and it’s fair to say I have been hooked ever since. ...
Helen Darling
Feb 2, 20222 min read
I'm not a fraud
Many, many years ago when I was lecturing in Nursing I read a paper, the concepts of which have stuck with me. The author wrote about...
Helen Darling
Jan 2, 20222 min read
Windswept in the Southern Ocean
#subantarctic #voyage #seavoyage This Christmas I escaped the heat and furore of Central Otago for the cold and wild winds of the...
Helen Darling
Nov 11, 20212 min read
Photography for good
Like a number of people across New Zealand (and the world) I was captivated by the return flight of the godwits. These long-haul flyers...
Helen Darling
Oct 19, 20211 min read
Sometimes its the small things
I recently went on a landscape mission - heading into the high country of the South Island of NZ to capture 'grand vistas'. There was...
Helen Darling
Oct 8, 20211 min read
Currently on my (photographic) bucket list
I’m a restless sort of person, liking to get out and do stuff. In the past that was getting beyond NZs borders and seeing the world;...
Helen Darling
Sep 29, 20212 min read
Focus
I enjoy the work of a number of incredible photographers and, it may be controversial, but I have a thought about the 'norm' of sticking...
Helen Darling
Sep 23, 20212 min read
Coming unstuck
Photographs are interesting things - at their best they remind us of things we have loved, they journal events and capture important...
Helen Darling
Sep 17, 20211 min read
Rules are meant to be broken
I am not naturally a rule follower (which is why I would be unlikely to darken the doorstep of a photography club) and while I can see...
Helen Darling
Sep 9, 20212 min read
The Dark Side
Accidentally stumbling across an insta hotspot is one thing; deliberately seeking out 'instagrammable places' is another - while it is...
Helen Darling
Sep 6, 20212 min read
Clickbait
The normal use of clickbait is to divert our attention away from whatever we are looking at on the internet to something (generally) that...
Helen Darling
Aug 23, 20212 min read
That's a big lens
I'm about to embark on a week-long photography retreat, fair to say, I'm a bit excited. Hanging out with fellow photographers, talking,...
Helen Darling
Aug 23, 20211 min read
The High / Low of Photography
No, I am not writing about the photographer's mood but rather the ability of photographs to convey mode by the use of a lot of light...
Helen Darling
Aug 23, 20212 min read
What's a photo worth?
I follow an American photographer, #JoelGrimes, who has a very distinctive style (and also presents incredibly personable videos)....
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