My name is Helen Anderson and in 2011 I graduated with an honours
degree in Interior Architecture, from Edinburgh Napier University. Since
graduation, time seems to have flown by, however I have still managed to fit in
many wondrous pursuits on the way to finding what I really want to do, where I
want to be and ultimately how to achieve this!
Since finishing university I have come to realise a number of
things. University is an amazing
experience and I would recommend it to anyone.
However, it can be hard to adjust back into to reality and the 'real
world' after spending three or four years in what - on reflection - seems like
a bubble. To suddenly be surrounded by the pressures of getting a good job,
paying off student debts, finding somewhere to live can be a haunting
experience, particularly so during these times of recession in the economy.
Thankfully I have not been totally blind to these realties, as I have always
worked in a restaurant or cafe since I was 13, which has given me a fair
insight to the reality of working life! As they say: 'a waitress job sets you up
for life!' However, after months of
filling in application forms for jobs and internships, working in a cafe to pay
the rent was only making me feel more lost. I soon realised that it was time to
stop and focus on the creative things I love to do and work on expressing my
creative skills and aim to ultimately make a living out of it! This is where self-motivation kicks in! I am
enjoying the challenge of doing all this here in sunny Northern Ireland. I am
very lucky to be surrounded by encouraging and inspirational people and to have
amazingly foresighted parents! Having time now to reflect on the creative
projects which I have completed over the years has opened opportunities to me
to explore new ways of expressing my work and to build a portfolio which more
accurately represents my creative outlook.
Photography
Since I moved back home in the summer, new opportunities have
thankfully evolved, gaining experience is essential part of getting me on
track!... I have been involved in local voluntary work with some local designer
firms, which is giving me great insight.
My dad being one of them! As he continues to give me a great
understanding into how his architectural practice is run with some great
experience gained on some of his design projects which I love getting involved
in, and ultimately having an input of my ideas at different design stages.
I have always known through my studies what I was going to do next
or where I wanted to study next, but after university, I entered uncharted
territory, not knowing what to do or where to go next. I had to take a step
back and allow myself time to take stock of my experiences and gather all that
I have achieved. Over the past few months I have been focusing on my photography more
than anything else. I have also taking time to return to painting and have even
managed to squeeze in a couple of commissioned paintings for friends which has
been great and I hope it continues! In the future, I hope to travel everywhere I
can in the world, taking the opportunity to discover new places and people and
also creatively documenting my travels!
Design Project Render
I have also been spending time getting into this business of social
networking. Although challenging at first, documenting my creative pursuits
through online social networking sites has been a great way of collating my
creative expressions, finding new ways to stand out from the crowd in a
competitive creative world, which in a way has almost sign-posted the way forward for me,
pointing me in useful directions and allowing me to connect with like-minded
people. Building and updating my sites
through research and documenting is something I hope to work on improving in
the future…I know that it can open great opportunities that I want to explore!
There are so many different kinds of social and creative media
networking sites out there, that for me it has been about trial and error and
finding out what works best for me. Already it has been very rewarding for me,
as it has given me a new outlook on the creative world and what is out there
and importantly how I can get my 'stuff' out there. Sharing and connecting with other creatives really helps me to keep
going and motivates me to improve what I do. I believe that if you keep doing
what you love and continue to work hard then good things will come.
Commissioned Artwork
Thank you to Price for giving me this opportunity as your guest
speaker on The Pursuits of Price! I met Price in the beautiful city of Edinburgh at university when she
was on an exchange visit! I was doing
final exams at the time so sadly I did not get to see her for very long but it
has been great to make contact with her again through the powers of creative
networking and realizing we have similar creative pursuits!
It would be great to hear from all you pursuers of pursuits out
there! Any feedback or advice is also
very welcome :)
Follow me online for my latest creative adventures
Instagram: @andersonhelen
If you are interested in purchasing any of my work or would like a commission of any sort please do not hesitate to contact me.
email: helen@haarchitecture.com
email: helen@haarchitecture.com
I look forward to hearing from you all!
Helen
Helen
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