Dr Abbie Cairns
@drabbiecairns.bsky.social
Artist-Teacher-Reseacher
Notebook doodles
Ink on paper. Ideas about things taking over and sneaking into spaces.
#Drawing #LineDrawing #Sketch #Ink #PenAndPaper #Doodle #Clock #Head #Heads #Pounds #Hearts
#CreativeColchester #ColchesterArtist #EssexArtist #AbbieCairns
Ink on paper. Ideas about things taking over and sneaking into spaces.
#Drawing #LineDrawing #Sketch #Ink #PenAndPaper #Doodle #Clock #Head #Heads #Pounds #Hearts
#CreativeColchester #ColchesterArtist #EssexArtist #AbbieCairns
November 12, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Notebook doodles
Ink on paper. Ideas about things taking over and sneaking into spaces.
#Drawing #LineDrawing #Sketch #Ink #PenAndPaper #Doodle #Clock #Head #Heads #Pounds #Hearts
#CreativeColchester #ColchesterArtist #EssexArtist #AbbieCairns
Ink on paper. Ideas about things taking over and sneaking into spaces.
#Drawing #LineDrawing #Sketch #Ink #PenAndPaper #Doodle #Clock #Head #Heads #Pounds #Hearts
#CreativeColchester #ColchesterArtist #EssexArtist #AbbieCairns
Notebook doodles
Ink on paper. Ideas about things taking over and sneaking into spaces.
#Drawing #LineDrawing #Sketch #Ink #PenAndPaper #Doodle #Clock #Head #Heads #Pounds #Hearts
#CreativeColchester #ColchesterArtist #EssexArtist #AbbieCairns
Ink on paper. Ideas about things taking over and sneaking into spaces.
#Drawing #LineDrawing #Sketch #Ink #PenAndPaper #Doodle #Clock #Head #Heads #Pounds #Hearts
#CreativeColchester #ColchesterArtist #EssexArtist #AbbieCairns
November 12, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Notebook doodles
Ink on paper. Ideas about things taking over and sneaking into spaces.
#Drawing #LineDrawing #Sketch #Ink #PenAndPaper #Doodle #Clock #Head #Heads #Pounds #Hearts
#CreativeColchester #ColchesterArtist #EssexArtist #AbbieCairns
Ink on paper. Ideas about things taking over and sneaking into spaces.
#Drawing #LineDrawing #Sketch #Ink #PenAndPaper #Doodle #Clock #Head #Heads #Pounds #Hearts
#CreativeColchester #ColchesterArtist #EssexArtist #AbbieCairns
It was great to catch the morning keynote at the Universities' Council for the Education of Teachers today before heading home for SPACE: Peer-to-Peer!
I have really enjoyed my time at UCET. It has included insightful discussions, inspiring speakers, and a brilliant community of teacher educators.
I have really enjoyed my time at UCET. It has included insightful discussions, inspiring speakers, and a brilliant community of teacher educators.
November 12, 2025 at 11:20 AM
It was great to catch the morning keynote at the Universities' Council for the Education of Teachers today before heading home for SPACE: Peer-to-Peer!
I have really enjoyed my time at UCET. It has included insightful discussions, inspiring speakers, and a brilliant community of teacher educators.
I have really enjoyed my time at UCET. It has included insightful discussions, inspiring speakers, and a brilliant community of teacher educators.
exploring inquiry as a pathway to deeper professional understanding and identity formation in further education.
It has been wonderful to reconnect with colleagues, make new connections, and share in rich, thought-provoking discussions about the future of teacher education.
It has been wonderful to reconnect with colleagues, make new connections, and share in rich, thought-provoking discussions about the future of teacher education.
November 11, 2025 at 10:43 PM
exploring inquiry as a pathway to deeper professional understanding and identity formation in further education.
It has been wonderful to reconnect with colleagues, make new connections, and share in rich, thought-provoking discussions about the future of teacher education.
It has been wonderful to reconnect with colleagues, make new connections, and share in rich, thought-provoking discussions about the future of teacher education.
What a brilliant few days at my first UCET Annual Conference!
This afternoon, I had the privilege of contributing my own session, Becoming an Inquiring Professional in FE: Mapping Identity, Practice and Purpose, ...
This afternoon, I had the privilege of contributing my own session, Becoming an Inquiring Professional in FE: Mapping Identity, Practice and Purpose, ...
November 11, 2025 at 10:43 PM
What a brilliant few days at my first UCET Annual Conference!
This afternoon, I had the privilege of contributing my own session, Becoming an Inquiring Professional in FE: Mapping Identity, Practice and Purpose, ...
This afternoon, I had the privilege of contributing my own session, Becoming an Inquiring Professional in FE: Mapping Identity, Practice and Purpose, ...
As the figures dominate the reflective surface, the viewer’s image becomes partial and uncertain, a reminder of how visibility and self-perception are never fixed.
Here it is on my studio floor (hopefully installed far more securely in the gallery!).
Here it is on my studio floor (hopefully installed far more securely in the gallery!).
November 9, 2025 at 10:56 AM
As the figures dominate the reflective surface, the viewer’s image becomes partial and uncertain, a reminder of how visibility and self-perception are never fixed.
Here it is on my studio floor (hopefully installed far more securely in the gallery!).
Here it is on my studio floor (hopefully installed far more securely in the gallery!).
While simultaneously disrupting the act of looking itself. The broken typography and layered reflections mirror the complexity of how we perceive and construct identity.
November 9, 2025 at 10:50 AM
While simultaneously disrupting the act of looking itself. The broken typography and layered reflections mirror the complexity of how we perceive and construct identity.
My third and final piece in the Better Together exhibition at #TheMinories, What Are You Looking At?
This work invites a critical encounter between viewer and image. A mirror layered with coloured vinyl figures and fragmented text poses the question What are you looking at?
This work invites a critical encounter between viewer and image. A mirror layered with coloured vinyl figures and fragmented text poses the question What are you looking at?
November 9, 2025 at 10:45 AM
My third and final piece in the Better Together exhibition at #TheMinories, What Are You Looking At?
This work invites a critical encounter between viewer and image. A mirror layered with coloured vinyl figures and fragmented text poses the question What are you looking at?
This work invites a critical encounter between viewer and image. A mirror layered with coloured vinyl figures and fragmented text poses the question What are you looking at?
Originally created for the cover of my first book, Exploring Your FE Teacher Identity, this expanded version lets the figures step off the page and take over the frame, embodying how identity is never fixed but constantly negotiated through connection, experience, and reflection.
November 8, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Originally created for the cover of my first book, Exploring Your FE Teacher Identity, this expanded version lets the figures step off the page and take over the frame, embodying how identity is never fixed but constantly negotiated through connection, experience, and reflection.
The overlapping, brightly coloured forms ask whether we are seeing many individuals or multiple versions of one self.
November 8, 2025 at 10:25 AM
The overlapping, brightly coloured forms ask whether we are seeing many individuals or multiple versions of one self.
A closer look at Identity Figures that is also part of the Better Together exhibition at #TheMinories. Pictured here one late night in the studio!
This piece explores the fluid, multifaceted nature of identity, how we move between personal, professional, and collective selves.
This piece explores the fluid, multifaceted nature of identity, how we move between personal, professional, and collective selves.
November 8, 2025 at 10:21 AM
A closer look at Identity Figures that is also part of the Better Together exhibition at #TheMinories. Pictured here one late night in the studio!
This piece explores the fluid, multifaceted nature of identity, how we move between personal, professional, and collective selves.
This piece explores the fluid, multifaceted nature of identity, how we move between personal, professional, and collective selves.
Sadie encouraged us to look for hooks rather than trying to tackle whole topics, a useful reminder that change begins with small, meaningful shifts.
Thank you to LSRN, the College of West Anglia, and Fircroft College of Adult Education for curating such an energising and thoughtful space
Thank you to LSRN, the College of West Anglia, and Fircroft College of Adult Education for curating such an energising and thoughtful space
November 7, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Sadie encouraged us to look for hooks rather than trying to tackle whole topics, a useful reminder that change begins with small, meaningful shifts.
Thank you to LSRN, the College of West Anglia, and Fircroft College of Adult Education for curating such an energising and thoughtful space
Thank you to LSRN, the College of West Anglia, and Fircroft College of Adult Education for curating such an energising and thoughtful space
She also prompted reflection on how the structures we use in teaching, clear learning outcomes, connection, and plenaries, are often absent from professional development.
November 7, 2025 at 12:43 PM
She also prompted reflection on how the structures we use in teaching, clear learning outcomes, connection, and plenaries, are often absent from professional development.
Jenny highlighted how dual professionalism positions FE teachers as experts in sustainability: it’s part of our vocation when we stay connected and current.
November 7, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Jenny highlighted how dual professionalism positions FE teachers as experts in sustainability: it’s part of our vocation when we stay connected and current.
I had a great morning at the LSRN Learning and Skills Research Network x Green Changemakers: Green Research online event!
The sessions offered a powerful reminder that one-off events don’t create change, communities do.
The sessions offered a powerful reminder that one-off events don’t create change, communities do.
November 7, 2025 at 12:42 PM
I had a great morning at the LSRN Learning and Skills Research Network x Green Changemakers: Green Research online event!
The sessions offered a powerful reminder that one-off events don’t create change, communities do.
The sessions offered a powerful reminder that one-off events don’t create change, communities do.
Together explores the balance between individuality and collective strength, how we support, carry, and complete one another. Separate, the forms feel fragmented; united, they reveal the quiet power of community.
Made from wooden board, wire, insulation pipe, and electrical tape.
Made from wooden board, wire, insulation pipe, and electrical tape.
November 7, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Together explores the balance between individuality and collective strength, how we support, carry, and complete one another. Separate, the forms feel fragmented; united, they reveal the quiet power of community.
Made from wooden board, wire, insulation pipe, and electrical tape.
Made from wooden board, wire, insulation pipe, and electrical tape.
This piece was a real challenge to create in a small space, but one that pushed me to think about how materials and meaning can quite literally lean on one another.
November 7, 2025 at 9:59 AM
This piece was a real challenge to create in a small space, but one that pushed me to think about how materials and meaning can quite literally lean on one another.
A little glimpse of Together, currently on display at #TheMinories as part of the Better Together exhibition.
It is always a joy seeing work in a gallery space, the studio never quite does it justice!
It is always a joy seeing work in a gallery space, the studio never quite does it justice!
November 7, 2025 at 9:58 AM
A little glimpse of Together, currently on display at #TheMinories as part of the Better Together exhibition.
It is always a joy seeing work in a gallery space, the studio never quite does it justice!
It is always a joy seeing work in a gallery space, the studio never quite does it justice!
I am very much looking forward to Day Two (in person on Saturday!), sharing space with many inspiring educators, and presenting my own paper!
November 6, 2025 at 5:39 PM
I am very much looking forward to Day Two (in person on Saturday!), sharing space with many inspiring educators, and presenting my own paper!
The sessions offered rich reflections on creative practice, pedagogy, and the evolving intersections between art, design, and education. I particularly enjoyed the thought-provoking keynote by Jorge Lucero, alongside inspiring contributions from Christina Mamakos and others.
November 6, 2025 at 5:35 PM
The sessions offered rich reflections on creative practice, pedagogy, and the evolving intersections between art, design, and education. I particularly enjoyed the thought-provoking keynote by Jorge Lucero, alongside inspiring contributions from Christina Mamakos and others.
I had a wonderful time at Day One of the 14th International Journal of Art and Design Education (iJADE) Conference!
A huge appreciation to the organisers, chairs, keynote speakers, and presenters for an engaging and energising first day.
A huge appreciation to the organisers, chairs, keynote speakers, and presenters for an engaging and energising first day.
November 6, 2025 at 5:31 PM
I had a wonderful time at Day One of the 14th International Journal of Art and Design Education (iJADE) Conference!
A huge appreciation to the organisers, chairs, keynote speakers, and presenters for an engaging and energising first day.
A huge appreciation to the organisers, chairs, keynote speakers, and presenters for an engaging and energising first day.
It is a great way to uncover the natural embedding of these key themes and to appreciate the many creative ways we already weave them into our practice as educators.
November 3, 2025 at 5:17 PM
It is a great way to uncover the natural embedding of these key themes and to appreciate the many creative ways we already weave them into our practice as educators.
One feature I always enjoy exploring is how Copilot can help map the embedding of English, maths, safeguarding, and British values, as well as the sustainability goals, more recently.
November 3, 2025 at 5:17 PM
One feature I always enjoy exploring is how Copilot can help map the embedding of English, maths, safeguarding, and British values, as well as the sustainability goals, more recently.
I have had a lot of fun this afternoon putting together some AI training for my ACL Essex colleagues.
I am sad that I cannot join the team meeting tomorrow, as I will be teaching, but I hope they enjoy watching the videos and exploring Copilot!
I am sad that I cannot join the team meeting tomorrow, as I will be teaching, but I hope they enjoy watching the videos and exploring Copilot!
November 3, 2025 at 5:17 PM
I have had a lot of fun this afternoon putting together some AI training for my ACL Essex colleagues.
I am sad that I cannot join the team meeting tomorrow, as I will be teaching, but I hope they enjoy watching the videos and exploring Copilot!
I am sad that I cannot join the team meeting tomorrow, as I will be teaching, but I hope they enjoy watching the videos and exploring Copilot!
Wait
#Studio #ArtStudio #Watercolour #Orange #Paint #Paper #WorkInProgress #MixedMedia #Tape #BTS #Wait #Collaboration
#CreativeColchester #ColchesterArtist #EssexArt #AbbieCairns
#Studio #ArtStudio #Watercolour #Orange #Paint #Paper #WorkInProgress #MixedMedia #Tape #BTS #Wait #Collaboration
#CreativeColchester #ColchesterArtist #EssexArt #AbbieCairns
November 3, 2025 at 3:25 PM