editorial

cross-posting this from my studio practice blog as it largely concerns my portfolio and how I approach that:
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Had a quick discussion with Ben and established:

• it isn't so necessary to be restrictive at this point in regards to timing, formats etc. It's more important to make something good to show, and to enjoy what I make. If I spend time honing those skills in by the end of the project I'll (hopefully) be able to make an editorial in a short amount of time!
• personal stories are what I'm better at and can result in images that are more interesting but also successful (as shown in the difference between the first two editorials I did)
• try some spot illustrations!!
• it's not really worth mocking up editorials into their texts... the art directors know what editorial looks like and it might be more useful to not assign an image so distinctly to one publication/ story. Having it open in your portfolio gives it a bit more scope.
• other publications worth looking at: Boston Globe, LA Times, The Lancet, New Scientist

LinkedIn fixed!

My profile is here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-fairhurst-565082130

The account was restricted by accident, and was opened again this morning. I have since posted that post here, though I also shared it on social media. It got a few responses, some anonymous saying they agreed/ it had made them think a little differently, others that we shouldn't have any business in what an artist does at all (I disagree). I addressed these responses (that had been made via asks rather than chats) publicly on my blog. It's really interesting to talk about this kind of thing, though intimidating when publishing it to a potentially very large audience. The thing I didn't like about this is that I feel like it is the very very tip and beginning of a much larger dialogue, and I can't really fit all my ideas into one post. I also don't have a concrete opinion, which is good, but it also makes for a repetitive and cyclical statement. It's also something I've talked about with a few people recently, and in honesty, it's a conversation I'm a little tired of, as I'm not really encountering many different opinions.

Another technical issue, though not as pressing as before: I cannot close the second account I made

LinkedIn woes!!

I'm really not sure what to do about my LinkedIn. I contacted various people on Friday, got told to take it to a certain place, and haven't heard back from them. I'd very much like the original account back especially as it's connected to my professional email address, but I need to complete that task for tomorrow, and have started setting up a new one in case I can't get it back!!

I'm now having technical problems setting this one up! When I try to connect to others they are not receiving the invites and when I give them the URL nothing is showing up despite the account being verified...

REGARDLESS! I've made a post and I have posted it to the account that is currently alive. Hopefully the other account will come back so I can cross-post it. I know LinkedIn is the *serious social media* but also wonder how formal these posts should be... I'd like to use them more  a starting point of a discussion, rather than just listing the be all and end all of it.

EDIT: it won't post for whatever reason! but I've put it on my non-uni blog and other social media, and here it is... it turned into more of a ramble, but it comes very much from the heart. I'm very open for conversation on this kind of thing.

Is it an artist’s responsibility to be wild? ( a beginning of a thought on illustration, who everyone is expecting to leave the party early)

This is not so much an argument but an ongoing dialogue I have been having with myself…

If you’re a believer in the prophecies of Lawrence Zeegan circa 2012 and co, you might be sat in your chair, tutting at the “cottage industry” of design, illustration.

Oh they’re so boring! you scoff, They love to draw something nice don’t they? I hate that!! Those charmless bastards! 

Now, I am not here to contest that there isn’t a chunk of industry that isn’t enamoured with the ‘navel-gaze’, the pretty, the flat, the empty. I am not here to challenge the concerns towards an industry that so enjoys giving to itself, taking from itself, a self-fulfilling whirlpool of delicately decorated ornaments and packages that swirl until your eyes are inked shut. Did you ever trust a circle?

But! I have a few questions, for all sides, circles, squares, and largely myself:

1. Did you know that it is an urban legend that artists do not need to eat? Eating and living generally requires money, and money can be made from selling goods and products. A spoiler: trendy things sell.
2. Away from the context of the self-published, can we scoff too much at the other elements of illustration that one may consider to be trend-driven? Should we consider that art directors have a good well amount of input into final outcomes, and maybe, indeed, an illustrator will give up their *artistic integrity* and draw yet another <cliché thing> so they can feed their kids/husbands/dogs. Priorities, am I right?
3. Of course, I am a big believer in free-will and self-expression (and if you are not, I urge you to take at least thirty seconds to think that one through). As one may choose to draw something that would make Shrigley step back and say, “wow, that’s just nuts, absolutely crackers”, one may also just enjoy painting a few flowers, maybe a dog or two if they’re feeling a bit frisky. My point being, why are we here to berate someone for doing what they want to? 
4. But, it’s a shame to become complacent and lazy. To blame art directors, to blame an industry in holding *you* back. In theory, you can take any job on and kick it into your own shape. Give it a go! The problem, I think, is not in being plain or nice, but in being derivative. To become derivative of others and even yourself isn’t the path with the most interesting view, not to mention sometimes offensive and hurtful, and I believe that to be exciting and fresh is the best thing you can do for yourself, and with this thought in mind, I would encourage anyone to be selfish.
5. A point, for now. A question. What have you been looking at?

End thoughts: this is not an argument, but an ongoing dialogue I have had in my head. Please, challenge it.

I setup a Behance which is quite a nifty little way to display my work, and it can tie in quite nicely to LinkedIn if your profile hasn't been mysteriously restricted...

I was thinking about how it hadn't been very useful to me, and then remembered, I hadn't even tried to make connections there. It's useful, if you use it, I am sure.

I was about to blog about LinkedIn and make a post on it when...

I have no idea why this has happened so have tried to contact them but the form keeps saying that there is an *error*. I'm trying to contact them and I really hope I can get an answer before Monday! If not I would consider making another account, but I had spent a while on this one and it would be a shame to lose it.

PPP3

Who am I now- has anything changed my view of my practice?

• I am looking towards a career of freelance editorial and illustration for publishing
• I am interested in commercial work but over the past year I've found myself questioning the genre of illustration and its institutions. But what I do and enjoy is, regardless, very much illustration. 

What are my plans for the structure of my future practice? 

• Individual? Freelance?
• I'm considering an MA because I like the idea of continuing my practice and ideas in that kind of environment but I'm not sure it's worth it, at least, not yet. If I want to get deep about stuff maybe something like an artist residency would be more valuable? At some point? I was told to talk to Hannah Waldron when she visits LCA as she work as a designer but also engages in that sort of more *artistic* practice with residencies.
• I think it's about a balance of commercial and less so work
• I think an agent may be a good idea!

.com

I got a domain for my website which was a lot easier than anticipated. It was spurred a little by this tweet by Eleanor Davis... (obviously not directed at me personally!!) I'm not kidding myself that this is a finished portfolio but I have had people contact me so it's nice to have something a bit more done and maybe even more accessible/ easy to navigate than tumblr

[link]