Hello?? I am the method
My Moodling in the Margins pages are where I have a conversation with my image - they’re a creative process journal for my double exposure photography
The tale begins as I geared up for Open Studios. Grab a cuppa, its a little longer than usual!
I was putting together the Moodling in the Margins booklet from my weekly field notes. I was feeling pretty chuffed with myself for having maintained my “field notes” over time and the pages I was rearranging felt alive: full of notes and images, arrows racing across the page alongside questions that remain unanswered. The excited tingle that shot down my right leg was a message that there was something here to explore, nudging me to take another step. I wasn’t sure what that step was, but I listened to what that tingle was telling me anyway.
Plot twist!
On a whim, I asked AI to interview me about my double exposure photography: What do you notice? How do you decide what to photograph? How do your double exposure images come together? That kind of thing. (Side note: I do this regularly, and it’s like striking gold with all the hidden treasures buried in my brain!)
When I answered, instead of listening to the “shoulds” and “ought tos” of conventional photographic techniques and wisdom, and my loud, overbearing inner critic, I ended up describing the tangible experience of creating; the magic moments of my process: the sparks of interest, how one image suggests another, how choosing to fuse images together emerged from instinct, listening, not planning.
Two insights came out of this. One was the experience of my work - curiosity, disruption, paying attention to the everyday. The other was the structure beneath it - the sequence of decisions, the way double exposure images come together, the stages an idea moves through and more.
I took my interview responses in their raw form and translated them into visuals as AI-generated slide decks. Another full body response flowed. Seeing my own words laid out like a map offered a fresh perspective. Then it hit me.
I do not need to create new content, systems or methods to show my process (echoing and reinforcing what I’d realised a few weeks ago). I have been doing it all along.
“Hello?? I am the method”
My method had been sneakily evolving over years through a hidden dance of curiosity and paying attention, all wrapped around tiny micro decisions that have shaped each double exposure image I’ve ever created.
I went back to the Moodling pages with a completely different understanding of what they were. The scribbles, arrows and half-baked ideas were all part of this dance. They were the process in its most immediate form.
Unfiltered moments of attention
I must admit to having a bit of a creative epiphany. Attention weaves in and out, much like a curious cat, shifting its path in delightful, unexpected way. Meaning seems to emerge by engaging with what captures my interest and remaining attentive to that.
When these pages are shared at the upcoming Open Studios, I’m hoping that people will see my process as a living thing. I want a doorway to swing open for people.
The doorway to permission and freedom to trust what we notice, even when it’s still a muddled mess. I invite them to step over that threshold, through that doorway for themselves. By sharing the unfiltered moments of my attention, the dance remains alive between me and my images, and between my images and other people, always evolving as an ongoing conversation.
The moral of this story? My Moodling in the Margins pages are where I have a conversation with my image - they’re a creative process journal for my double exposure photography. When I applied my practice of attention to my own process, the structure revealed itself.
What next?
Over the next month or so, I am going to pick out the gems from this process and go deeper into what I found, structured over 2 parts. My aim is to explore my creative practice as a way to offer inspiration to others.
In Part 1, I’ll dive into my perceptual world, driven by curiosity and a desire to disrupt the ordinary, showing how noticing the mundane fuels my creativity. My field notes connect moodling and paying attention to the image, establishing the “in conversation with my image” concept. In Part 2, I’ll break down my process into actionable and reflective steps, showing how it highlights intuition and differs from conventional methods. We’ll explore how to work with this intuitive approach, keeping its spontaneity. I’ll also look at how intentional constraints boost creativity.
I’ll also bring this right down to the art of pairing images, revealing the decision-making process in making double exposures and the silent dialogues that arise from this pairing.
My hope is that this series will encourage others to see creativity as a dynamic force fuelled by curiosity and disruption. By sharing my insights, I aim to inspire others to embrace their creative chaos for discovery and innovation.
Will you join me?
Related pieces
Looking for updates from my studio?
The Moodling Letter is where I share what I’m working on - from photography and mixed media pieces to hand-drawn maps - along with invitations to exhibitions, open studio days, and workshops (both in-person and online) where you can experience or take part in the process.