Hello and welcome to my blog, where I will provide you with an insight into my background as well as a flavour of my varied life interests. I was born in 1954 to my parents John and Phyllis, who are still surviving at the time of writing, and brought up in the Torry area initially, before moving to Craigiebuckler in Aberdeen where they reside to this day.
I completed my education at Aberdeen Grammar School in 1972 and spent 2 years working in various labour intensive jobs before embarking on my College training at Dartington College of Arts, Devon (sadly closed) but I believe is now amalgamated with Falmouth College in Cornwall, achieving a Diploma in Art in Education followed by a Diploma in Third Year Studies before continuing at Goldsmith's College, London where I gained a Post Graduate Diploma in Fine Art.
After a period of around 6-7 months in Dublin, Ireland during 1979 I worked with Marsha Paludan, US dancer and choreographer consisting of performance and music. Producing two shows at University College Dublin and the Project Arts Centre in conjunction with Dublin Contemporary Dance Theatre. Marsha arranged an exhibition of my work in Lawrence, Kansas entitled "Feast" and comprised of works focussing on food centred on a photographic sequence showing the creation of a sandwich. In addition there were screenprints and an 8mm film that were based on the images from the photographs above.
I trained primarily in the visual arts as I had a passion for drawing and painting, inspired by both my father and grandfather who had artistic leanings, and despite not gaining my Art "O" Level qualification at school it did not deter my desire to proceed in that direction for my career. My exposure to the extended range of media at college incorporated screenprinting, photography and textile printing thus opening my eyes to many new areas which also embraced performance and dance.
In addition to my work in the visual art field I also play flute and enjoy a broad range of genres across rock, blues, folk and ethnic musics from the world's offerings, but consider Jazz as my most memorable. You will get a full flavour of my personal eclecticism via Blip.fm where I share my musical taste.
I returned to my home city, Aberdeen, and encouraged by local husband and wife business owners Marlene and Graeme Ross of Abbotsford Acoustics, set up my own business which allowed me to work in a creative manner as well as develop my skills in trading for the next18 years running my own company ScreenHeat. It specialised in T-Shirt and Sweatshirt printing and also offered a print service to the local and thriving Oil Industry.
I returned to my home city, Aberdeen, and encouraged by local husband and wife business owners Marlene and Graeme Ross of Abbotsford Acoustics, set up my own business which allowed me to work in a creative manner as well as develop my skills in trading for the next18 years running my own company ScreenHeat. It specialised in T-Shirt and Sweatshirt printing and also offered a print service to the local and thriving Oil Industry.
I became fascinated by the vibrant visual environment offered by the Internet as it emerged from the formative stages of online messaging systems e.g. Bulletin Boards and the "new" communication platforms that were mainly text based and offered very basic ASCII character graphics. The Internet offered the means to display digital images captured from the real world and thus the revolution in publishing and the extensive development of new technology was born. The graphic base and the ability to harness animated images across the globe at lightning speed plus create instant connections with individuals and groups in places you couldn't hope to access at such a rate with other means of communication meant it was the ideal platform to grow my circle of contacts.
Having commenced my online activity around 1986 with a modem that could handle a stunning 1200/75 bps Full Duplex on the Sinclair Spectrum prior to my first machine upgrade, that was considered fast in those days of yore, on what was thought to be a Home Computer, the Acorn Electron. I graduated to the Amstrad PC 1512 that brought me the "ultrafast" 2400/2400 connection speed and so my gradual stepping up the speed ladder continued. In between I migrated to an Apple IIsi in 1991 as it was then considered the primary system for Design and Artwork serving the main creative function in my business at that time and the PC was consigned to Admin duties.
I have found since working online that in spite of my background in the Visual Arts, this has opened the door to a new expertise extending into the area of writing. I am able to offer a copy writing service for business and advertising and will consider projects in those areas.
In the area of recreation and pleasure, I have engaged in playing chess almost daily since I arrived online where games are accessible with great ease from many sites. The one I play on most often is Net-Chess, and a number of other "correspondence" style sites, Scheming Mind and Itsyourturn while I have also played on a real-time site Free Internet Chess Server.
I also have an interest in Blackjack, Baccarat, Backgammon, Texas Hold 'Em Poker and Scrabble amongst the most well known of the social card and table games. Since receiving a Nexus 7 for Christmas in 2012 have found this a great addition to my access to all things mobile, in both game and more serious exploits.
I have always seen myself in the role of "chance" taker and while life is filled with risks, in overcoming those that arrive unexpectedly, it is a sign of the dogged stubbornness that embodies my character and the will to proceed fearlessly that I hope will enable me to reach my goals and fulfillment of the dreams that I have held.
