01/02/2026
It’s the first of February, and with the sun and earth warming this morning, and the moon full, I felt some creativity stirring and thought I’d share some old photograms I made in a former life!
Photograms are images made by placing an object onto photo-sensitive paper and exposing it to light in a darkroom, then developing and fixing the image so it does not fade over time. I made many of these while I was at art school, and later when I taught photography and art to children in arts centres and schools. This was 30-ish years ago, before the age of digital photography (my degree specialism in Fine Art Photography wasn’t exactly future-proof!), when analogue processes and darkrooms were synonymous with the medium itself.
I was deeply inspired by surrealist artists like Man Ray, who explored themes of the unconscious and ethereal realms and was intrigued by the immediacy of the art form. From my very first time in the darkroom, I became enchanted by the almost incandescent light that seemed to arise from a two-dimensional surface, and by the way the force of light could shine and create translucency out of shadowy depths.
The first image is why I wanted to post this today. A snowdrop, representative of the first stirrings of spring. The Celtic festival of Imbolc marks this moment through ancient customs and practices, rich with folklore and stories of hope, protection, purity and the gentle stirrings of pure potential. The second may be a borage flower, I noticed the first one in my garden today. The third a lily, long held as an emblem of peace.
The symbolism of the snowdrop feels especially poignant right now. Despite the harshest conditions, this wee flower shows a delicate yet definite resilience, weathering even the harshest of storms. Yoga has taught me that the same force of Prana Shakti that propels and sustains this flower is the same force that propels and sustains us all. So during the winter submerged in the shadows, it’s reassuring to trust that there is a loving, sustaining force at work, one that unifies us, and quietly brings forth the light.
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