Reaching a Wider Audience

Instinct & Intuition has been around for four and a half years now. When I first created the website, I was thirteen and thought it would be a good school project. Then I just didn’t stop blogging.

Most of my readers at the beginning, I admit, were family members. Then perhaps friends of family members. And by “at the beginning”, I really mean until this year . . . but I know there’s nothing wrong with that. From the start I had much support and encouragement.

I appreciated the comments people would gift either online or in person – “I liked that post you did last week! It made me smile”, “Those mushroom photos in your recent blog were so cool” – and enjoyed sharing my writing and art within my circle, but sometimes I couldn’t help feeling discouraged. That was just my own dissatisfaction, though. If I’m creating, shouldn’t it be for something? Something big, something very meaningful? part of my mind whined.

No, actually. I learned it could just be for me.

So, it was quiet for a while. Just me, my blog posts, and my little pocket of an audience. I created for others; mostly, I created for myself.

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After the field school this year, things gained some momentum. My “Lessons From a River” series was being noticed. I met with a member from Wildsight Creston to talk about potentially presenting my photos in a local annual photography event and mentioned the series, which piqued interest; that led to my being featured in Wildsight Creston’s newsletter for both the posts and presentation.

It was exciting to see myself featured in a newsletter. It was even more exciting to see more people suddenly interested in my work and choosing to subscribe to it.

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Not long after that, I received an email from Wildsight’s communications lead asking if my series could be shared on their social media. I sure as heck didn’t say no!

I was brimming with exhilaration – my work was receiving recognition, interest, and the potential to expand and be seen by more people. I imagined receiving hundreds of notifications proclaiming that hundreds of people had decided to become a fan once my posts were shared. I eagerly awaited the onrush that I was sure to follow.

Well, my excitement was great, but my expectations may have been a tad high. Even still, things were changing. More and more people were choosing to see what exactly Instinct & Intuition entails. People that, for once, I didn’t even know!

To be clear, I don’t believe a person’s worth or success should be assessed from their work or their popularity. It just isn’t an accurate or true measurement. And with more attention may come more happiness, but also stress: suddenly there can be pressure, expectations, criticism, scrutiny. That isn’t the best environment for creativity to thrive.

What enthuses me more is the fact that the message of Instinct & Intuition is getting out there. Affecting even one person’s life with more appreciation of and connection to nature is an honor, but there has been more than one individual. Quite a few more than one: my circle seems to be widening. Family support is always wonderful and appreciated; receiving the support of strangers is just plain startling. In a good way.

It seems, too, that the significance of my field school adventures hasn’t been lost on people. I hope that the “Lessons From a River” series creates more interest and passion in the Columbia River, and in Wildsight’s field school. The series is even going to be shared within the Columbia River Treaty Local Governments Committee and their newsletter; more awareness may still be on the horizon.

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Lastly, I mentioned earlier briefly about presenting. I am one of this year’s Local Colours presenters for Wildsight Creston. Tomorrow evening I’ll be sharing my photography and hopefully inspiring others to observe the wild spaces around them a little more carefully. The theme of my presentation rests in the hidden worlds that are shown in each and every one of my photographs; mushroom families huddled under trees, frogs peeking out of ponds, the weird and wondrous lichens and mosses hidden in the forest. Wish me luck :)

I would also like to convey a warm and enormous thank-you to all of the people that have supported, followed, and recommended Instinct & Intuition, anywhere along the way from its creation four and a half years ago to the present. Even if you feel your contribution wasn’t particularly large, it certainly feels meaningful to me. I feel very lucky to be able to focus on this creative journey and continue to see where it takes me.