Did a stupid thing the other day. I marked a Covid Constitutional book as dispatched as had just boxed and stamped it for postage. I headed out to the post office only to discovery that I had lost it on the way somehow. Total mystery. I'm printing a replacement as I type this email.
I was tremendously upset by this so I reflected on the experience to try to understand why.
I realised then just how much time and effort goes into each book. And that this has value. I'll never get that time back. Nor the ink and paper used. The other values ingrained in each book are the years of experience allowing me to make interesting photographs and the crafting skills painstakingly gathered through years of trial and error and copious repetition.
The binding technique that I have developed allows for a lay-flat double page spread with no loss of detail in the gutter (fold). It is a technique based on lots of other approaches but mine has innovations that I hope will become wide spread amongst artists in future. I have received many requests to teach this and am working on a tutorial at the moment. I will also be interviewed on camera and on podcasts over the coming weeks and months about my books and methods.
But I also got to thinking about how to take my practice further. I have repeat buyers. I have a unique approach that appeals. And the tools now exist to do it myself. I do not need curators, gallerists, editors, publishers etc. I am all of these things.
The other area of my practice that needs growing is print sales and I'll be banging on about that soon enough.
I'm active on instagram @treacyphoto where I'm enjoying the challenge of making reels about these books. It's a good way to see them in hand being flicked through rather than just on a static website page.
That circle at the top has given me an idea. Tomorrow morning I will feature the image it is from on my home page and make it available as an A4 or A2 print until I change the profile image again to something else which will feature as a new print offering. And so on.
If you're in London and fancy meeting up, do let me know.
Drop me a line about anything at all - feedback on books, prints, reels, things I'm doing well, things I can improve on. Show me something you're working on. Whatever.
I'll be sending more of these in future. Some will be short mutterings on pictures, others will be longer demonstrations of techniques for you to try if you'd like. That sort of thing.
Thanks for your time. Back soon.
- Paul.