Taking a year out had many benefits, including the opportunity to travel and teach what I love on the ships, however returning to my second year after this break had its challenges. I enjoyed the research for my Unit 2 paper along with exploring cyanotypes for Grotto, but I still felt somewhat rocked on my academic path which began to affect my entire perception of things.

The initial feedback I received from Jonathan regarding my Unit 2 assessment, was slightly disappointing, but didn’t come as a shock. I had hoped however that my research paper and work on cyanotypes, along with my honesty and rawness with my short film, would have boosted my overall grade, but this wasn’t the case. It now feels like an impossible task to improve on it in any significant way with only one unit remaining, but I am certainly going to try.

The feedback from the film was much the same, but it all helped to redirect my art practice in a positive way. I am enjoying focussing on the cyanotypes, which is combining many of my interests in the outdoors, with photography and both analogue and digital exploration.

It is a shame that my personal circumstances have affected my work, particularly the financial pressures and ongoing health issues, but I’m working around those things in the best way I can.