(This portrait was inspired by the swan maidens of Celtic mythology, women said to shift between human and swan form through enchanted feather cloaks. The cloak was made by Xiaolin Designs)
One of the most challenging parts of the preparation was finding the right language for things I normally do intuitively. Photography has occupied such a huge part of my life for so long that much of the process feels instinctive now, difficult to translate the process into words. I find it easier to write instead, where I have the space to feel out the shape of the words first in draft form.
Despite working professionally for almost 20 years in many ways I still feel like such a beginner. But stepping outside my comfort zone and attempting to communicate those ideas reminded me that experience teaches us far more than we realise.
I also spoke about failure and how it often forces you to innovate as an artist. When you don’t have everything you need, or when something doesn’t go as planned, you start to problem solve in different ways. Without experimentation and the possibility of failure, there is no real forward movement.
One thing I wanted to emphasise to the students was that creative careers rarely happen in a straightforward path. A lot of my career has come from simply continuing to pursue the things I found genuinely interesting, even when they seemed niche or difficult to explain to other people at the time.
There is something important in staying true to yourself through your journey, whatever your plans may be, finding your own authentic place in the world rather than trying to fit into what you think it should look like.
I’m very grateful to the class for having me in and giving me the opportunity to share part of my creative journey with them. I hope the presentation offered some inspiration and encouragement, especially for students still figuring out what kind of creative path they want to build for themselves.
Thanks for sharing in this reflection.
Jessica Truscott
