Portraiture

For the first time ever, I accepted a commission from a complete stranger a little while ago. It happened whilst I was rather puddled on a train on my way home. I got talking to an art teacher who runs drawing classes in the area and a woman overheard us talking. She was brave enough to come over and ask if I’d consider doing a drawing for her.

I woke up the next morning with some, albeit fuzzy, recollection of it and didn’t think much of it. And then she emailed me. I apparently gave her my business card (I believe she was not the only one to receive one, as I have had a few strange emails since then… oops).

It is rather daunting doing a portrait for a stranger. They know nothing about me, my work or my style. What if the don’t like it? Then what? Do I charge? Do I run away and cry because they don’t like my work? It was a scary prospect.

But I did it and she loved it. She was speechless and very teary when she saw it for the first time. It was a very satisfying feeling. And so, I will continue to take commissions from strangers if I am lucky enough to receive them. Spread the word. I’m up for it.

Essential woman

I read a post on Paver Smith’s Twitter this morning which lead me to an article about Essentials magazine only using real women on its covers. What a good way to start my morning.

In my final year at university, I did my ‘mini-thesis’ on gender representation in the media and how women are generally sexualised and portrayed as ‘super women’: beautiful, skinny and well, objects. Research for this project entailed internships at marie claire and Essentials magazines (the South African editions). The difference between the two was astounding. marie claire’s staff were tailored, preened and manicured whilst the editor of Essentials was a homely, slightly hippyish, naturally beautiful woman with a bit of a stutter. Essentails felt almost like a ’at home with who I am’ kind of magazine (although I’m sure the mc girls would have a thought or two about that), whilst marie claire is the ‘girl I want to be’ glossy rag. During my time at Essentials, I couldn’t wait to move across the hall to marie claire, to spend hours on my make-up and hair each day, fretting about whether the editor found me frumpy, rather than whether I was any good at laying out the features pages. Ah, the joys (or agonies) of being 21 and wanting to be skinny and popular. I helped set up a Prix D’excellence awards and to this day I still have a copy of the magazine with my tiny, perfectly preened, insignificant face-in-background photo. I can’t bring myself to throw it away.

Heading at speed towards the 30 mark, and far beyond the point of trying to be as preened as some of the London bevvy of beauties, I wonder now how well the likes of marie claire and Glamour will do and for how long. With Essentials coming up through the ranks as a ‘real woman glossy’ and taking the plunge of having no celebs and no models, are the tides a-changing?

Good luck to them. I’d like to read a magazine front cover to cover where I don’t look at a models stomach and think, ‘ah, wouldn’t that be nice’.

What’s in a name

I have often been asked ‘why Ticktocktam?’ and I sometimes wonder if it is a good idea to tell people.

Several years ago, in a small, cramped design lab on Rhodes University campus in the heart of Grahamstown, 12 frazzled students lived in each others pockets. Whilst each student nurtured their own special kind of uniqueness, there were a few traits that really stood out. One was perpetually stoned and brilliant, one was going to create the next, most technical, most amazing design, one was the class clown and one was a little explosive.

By now you should gather that I was a little explosive. My elation at understanding the clone tool in Photoshop, or my frustration when my PC crashed from lack of RAM or even the squeal when I chopped off the end of my finger trying to mount my work for our end of year portfolios. Whatever I was feeling, you knew about it.

After 10 months of blood, sweat, tears and one incredible field trip to Nieu Bethesda we had an awards evening. My award was the ‘Ticktocktam’ award, because they survived the blast and still love me. Why wouldn’t I want to hang on to that nickname?

Where to begin…

A degree in Journalism, a job in marketing and a watchful eye on the PR and communications industry. Surely that means I should have a blog. Or does it?

When I entered the world of Facebook and Twitter, I felt like a learner driver. Hesitant and always in danger of stalling. How would I know how much to say and how quickly to say it? Would my slow acceleration annoy fellow Tweeters or would I say too much and have to slam on breaks and get out before I really learn to be ‘social’?

The first thing I thought about when contemplating blogging is how I would write essays at university: wait for someone to give me a topic, then research it, collate my findings and add my own opinion.

Not quite. There is no longer an eager professor with a fistful of topics waiting to shower not-so-eager-and-a-little-hungover Journ students with a freebie idea. Now there is a fortune being said, every day, every minute and no guidelines as to how to say something original. Your own opinion is the name of the game. Does my opinion really count?

Possibly the most appropriate place to start is by understanding the relationship between PR and Social Media. Does SM fall under PR or is it viral marketing? What is the difference between SMO (Social Media Optimization) and SMM (Social Media Marketing)? Is self-promotion real PR? Do you have any control over your message?

I hope to understand and possibly answer some of my own questions over the coming weeks and explore the direction communications is taking in this not-so-new mobile and digital world.

Bear with me, I am after all, only a provisional communicator.