It’s taken a while to work out how to post about the loss of my dear friend and mentor John Blakemore.
It’s been strange reading all the posts about him since he passed. All those different versions of him, some of which i never really knew. It's easy to find out about John's incredible work and career by doing a simple google search but none of it seems to encapsulate the man I knew.
John was an instrumental force in my career and what we know as Make It Easy, what people once knew as The Photo Parlour when me and John began to teach workshops together.
We taught black and white print workshops and bookmaking and image sequencing workshops together at The Photo Parlour from 2014 regularly until the pandemic in 2020. We even tried to organise more only a year or so ago but decided not to due to Johns declining health.
Running those workshops with John changed my life. Not only my technical understanding and my approach to making work but the way I approach life itself. I appreciate that sounds over the top but knowing John and spending time with him was profound, those who knew him will almost certainly echo the same sentiment. His generosity, humility, humour, wisdom and kindness were unlike anyone else i’ve ever met.
I’m very grateful to have had him in my life. I’m also humbled that he passed on his teaching materials to enable me to continue to teach darkroom printing and bookmaking.
Whilst looking though my archive I came across a recording i made with John in 2017… its wonderful.
He talks about his life and career whilst I naively ask silly questions. All whilst sat at his kitchen table having brew. That table he made so much work on, had so many conversations at, so many cups of tea and slices of cake.
Most of all i’ll miss chatting to John, his advice, his questions about my work, his humour, talking about life, pushing me to think more.
The most resonant mantra for me was always, “Inspiration is a myth… Just play!”.
I will miss him dearly.
Daniel Wheeler - 18th Feb 2025
Listen to the interview by following the link here…