I’ve been waiting for this to land! FE’s Teacher Educators. A timely and much appreciated report. #furthereducation lnkd.in/eA4chaAS

Big fan of shiny things. Like this letter P. #AbbieCairns #TinaBullen #Shiny #TextArt #ArtCollaboration

In the studio yesterday being a punk tina.bullen Some text, some tape. A definite happy place. #AbbieCairns #TextArt #TapeArt #Punk ##TineBullen

From digital to biro, getting ready for the canvas. A little art process. #AbbieCairns #Sketch #Figure #Yoga #ArtProcess

This week’s Sunday spotlight shines on the theme introduced during this week’s New Text Tuesday. This week we ask do you think vocational lessons benefit from more structured conceptual scaffolding, or does it risk oversimplifying practical knowledge? #SpotlightSundays #JVET

Be more tree. Digital line drawing. #AbbieCairns #CreativeColchester #LineDrawing #Yoga #DigitalArt

Essential tools. I am never too far away from a pen or a pencil. Thought, I prefer a pen! Some lunchtime line drawing. #AbbieCairns #LineDrawing #PenAndPencil #ArtistTools #CreativeColchester

Some bits of some art. A little tape collection! Tape by Abbie, doodles by tina.bullen #AbbieCairns #TapeArt #Studio #ColchesterArtist #TinaBullen

Some warm orange on a cold morning! #AbbieCairns #Orange #Paint #Collaboration #TineBullen

Let's get digital! (Because the studio is far too cold!) These little figures are taking over. These are some quick photo edits to remove background and play with placement. What next?! #AbbieCairns #CreativeColchester #ColchesterArtist #Figures #DigitalArt

I am pleased to be exhibiting at Patch Colchester this February. Patch Colchester, 24 Trinity Street 2–28 February 2026 Mon–Sat, 10–4 If you are local, do stop by! #AbbieCairns #PatchColchester #LineDrawing #ColchesterArtist #Exhibition

I have got arrows on my mind and some big plans for these little sculptures! 3D to 2D to... something else! The originals are currently on exhibition at Colchester Library. Catch them while you can. Exhibition: Collaboration of Artists Dates: 9 January – 27 February 2026

to offer an evidence-informed, practice-focused resource for FE practitioners, teacher educators, and leaders. How to express interest please complete the short form here: forms.gle/wFqEcZfo2FJR...

and values throughout their careers. The book explores professional identity within the contemporary FE landscape, drawing on research by Deci and Ryan (2013), Briggs (2007), Freire (1998), Smithers (2017), Rushton (2021), and others. It aims

Call for Participants: Case Studies for The Motivations, Values and Identity Toolkit for Further Education Teachers I am seeking FE teachers to contribute case studies to a new book that examines how teachers understand, sustain, and navigate their motivations, conflicts,

Exhibition: Collaboration of Artists Dates: 9 January – 27 February 2026 Venue: Colchester Library Gallery #AbbieCairns #ColchesterLibrary #ColchesterArtist #Art #Figure

I decided to get tangled up in it. Or rather, I decided to tangle up my falling figure with it. This installation makes this old work new again, allowing it to tell a difference story and live a new life for the next couple of months!

I enjoy a playful approach to my art practice and took the opportunity to continue to play as I installed my work in the new gallery space at Colchester Library! The hanging system relies on there long plastic-wire lines and instead of trying to hide the left over length,

It has been a privilege to be invited to exhibit in the inaugural exhibition of the newly renovated Colchester Library Gallery. Exhibition: Collaboration of Artists Dates: 9 January – 27 February 2026 Venue: Colchester Library Gallery

Today was installation day at Colchester Library! Pop by before the end of February to see a collection of my work!

pick Inky pens and watercolours. Tina, I have been playing! 2026 is the year our collaboration efforts will be exhibited! #AbbieCairns #TextArt #ColchesterArtist #EssexArt #TinaBullen

development across the FE sector, including vocational, adult, prison, and academic pathways. If you are quick, you can access the full article via one of my 50 free eprints here: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/QRYEX...

Drawing on qualitative interviews with nine FE teachers, the study examines five lenses, time, passion, professional influence, personal fulfilment, and remuneration, to illuminate role multiplicity, CPD engagement, and workforce

The paper applies the Network of Enterprises (Wallace and Gruber 1989), responding to critiques of its individual focus by foregrounding the structural and systemic conditions shaping FE teachers’ professional identities.

I am pleased to share that my latest article has now been published online in Research in Post-Compulsory Education (Taylor & Francis). Cairns, A. (2025). Lenses influencing professional identity in Further Education in the UK.

That was fun!

Zentangle offers an accessible, low-threshold approach to drawing that supports focus, wellbeing, and confidence! I am looking forward to slowing down, thinking with patterns, and ending the term creatively with learners.

Ready for a festive holiday Zentangle session with my WEA - Adult Learning, Within Reach learners 🎄 This session focuses on structured creativity, mindfulness, and personal expression through pattern-making.

Last few days to catch the Colchester Art Society: Winter Exhibition! Closing 22 December 2025 The Minories 74 High Street. Colchester. CO1 1UE Open 10am–4pm Pop upstairs to find my Ice Skates. A layered line drawing. Wooden canvas. Quiet marks. Winter pause. Material play.

A self portrait. Another deep dive into identity. Yoga and art unit! Digital line drawing. #SelfPortrait #Portrait #Hands #Feet #Head

Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, each pencil became a metaphor for different strengths, ways of knowing, and forms of expression. A simple object, but a powerful prompt for principles such as celebrating diversity, fostering creativity, and empowering learner choice.

These objects opened up rich conversations around connectivism, growth and development, humanism, child-centred approaches, and the historical contexts of education. I chose a set of coloured pencils. Through the lenses of diversity and inclusion and

Together, we shared our objects, located them within particular theories or paradigms, and discussed how these ideas might shape the educational manifesto they will later create. The range was wonderfully expansive: apps, plants, bridges, woven mats, and even an abacus!

Week 2 of my MA module, and we began by thinking with objects. Learners were asked to bring an object or image that represents the school of educational thinking they most align with, accompanied by a short written justification.

Faceless. #Sketch #DigitalSketch #SundaySketch #portrait #SelfPortrait #Line #LineDrawing #Face #Identity #FaceLess #CreativeColchester #ColchesterArtist #EssexArtist #EmergingArtist #AbbieCairns

Now for a pause, before they start the new year with a focus on pedagogical intervention.

broadening the theoretical frames used to think about learning and practice. The session culminated in the creation of zines inspired by Ronnie Houselander, using visual, playful, and critical making as a form of pedagogical inquiry.

My first-year University Centre Colchester trainee teachers have made it to the Christmas break! To mark the moment, we explored alternative theorists to sit alongside the usual favourites (think Vygotsky),

A little bit of exhibition prep as I prepare for my upcoming solo exhibition at @patchcolchester in February! #ArtExhibition #CreativeProcess #Patch #PatchColchester #DigitalArt #BehindTheScenes #InProgress #Drawing #LineDrawing #CreativeColchester #ColchesterArtist #EssexArt #AbbieCairns

Head over to Instagram to check it out: www.instagram.com/p/DSSUpguDJl... Thanks to the Fusion.mag.uk team.

This was Fusion Magazine's first mother-and-daughter #CollabArticle, and we focused on our shared experience in Adult Community Learning. We explored the unique ways our paths have crossed and how we have mutually inspired each other. ​

I am thrilled to announce that my mum and I have written an article for Fusion Magazine (fusion.mag.uk) this December! (And it is out today!) What a way to end the year! ​

Sketchy. Some power eyebrows. I normally prefer to explore identity in more subtle ways, but decided to indulge in some Sunday sketching. #Sketch #DigitalSketch #SundaySketch #portrait #SelfPortrait #Line #LineDrawing #Face #Identity #ColchesterArtist #EssexArtist #EmergingArtist #AbbieCairns

It was a pleasure to be joined by both familiar faces and new participants. Thank you to everyone who contributed to such an engaging and convivial session.

I had a wonderfully festive time delivering today’s WEA Members’ Lecture. We explored creative making through custom stencil design and produced our own DIY wrapping paper, a simple but joyful way to blend craft, experimentation, and seasonal spirit.

The exhibition brings together a range of creative voices in a shared space, celebrating collaboration, dialogue, and community practice. I am looking forward to presenting new work and contributing to the cultural life of Colchester through this collaborative showcase.

I am delighted to share that I will be exhibiting at The Reading Room Gallery in Colchester Library as part of the Essex Library Service exhibition programme. Exhibition: Collaboration of Artists Venue: The Reading Room Gallery, Colchester Library Dates: 9 January – 27 February 2026

The article concludes with recommendations for supporting dual identities in HE and contributes to wider discussions on professional identity, creativity, and academic practice. The paper is open access and can be read here: osotl.org/osotl/articl...

Drawing on interviews and ATLS placements from participants across the sector, the paper examines how artist-teachers define their roles, navigate identity tensions, and allocate time between artistic and pedagogic work.

This study uses the Artist-Teacher Likert Scale (ATLS), a visual, conceptual, and numerical tool I first developed for adult community learning, to explore how artist-teachers in UK higher education negotiate their dual professional identities.