Freelensing my heart out...

This is my first blog post, and rather than spending any time explaining that, I’m going to dive straight into what’s going on with me right now. That’s how I want these posts to go. I want to share my raw, imperfect life.

I read a few posts from my friend’s poetry blog the other day, https://antoniahennerleyart.wordpress.com, and it was so refreshing to feel genuinely connected to what she was saying — because it was real. Unedited. I think a lot of us are yearning for that kind of honest, vulnerable conversation. We’ve been surrounded by polished Instagram photos and perfectly smoothed, ChatGPT-ed words for so long.

I’ve spent a good few years beating myself up for being a perfectionist. But when I look closely at my creative practice, I see how often I lean into the unknown — into imperfect, unpredictable results. What I’m beginning to realise is that a true perfectionist would probably struggle to offer up this much control. They might not choose processes that refuse certainty altogether.

What I’m discovering is that I’m not devoted to perfection at all. I’m devoted to aliveness. The aliveness that comes from trusting that meaning doesn’t emerge from forcing an outcome, but from staying open — a kind of attentive surrender.

I often feel I’m only partly responsible for what emerges. My role is to set the conditions, to listen, and to respond. The rest belongs to time, materials, trust, and chance.

Ironically, it’s taken me a long time to find this way of surrendering in my personal and relational life. But the more I practise it in my art, the more naturally it begins to flow into my day-to-day life too.

These freelensed macro images feel like a perfect example of this way of working. In many ways, they could be seen as ‘wrong’ — strange focal points, overexposed moments, unconventional compositions. But to me, they’re exciting. They’re alive. They ask me to stay present with what’s unfolding, rather than judging it against an imagined ideal.

... keeping things short but sweet

... with gratitude, Iz x