hello friends. it's time for another installment of shari and my documentary project. we've decided to post it every 2 weeks in this holiday season. speaking of which - have you read all of shari's amazing holiday guide interviews? wow.
our 23rd word was chosen by shari and it's: HAPPY {by the way - we are going to try and write less - use more sound or video or images - not sure if i'll be able to keep my big mouth closed, - or wait should i say hand from typing.... but....}
SHARI'S response::
hApPy
nature: big skies and big trees bring happiness.
a happy accident. i love the unexpected bits of happiness that pop up
during my day.
autumn. my favorite time of the year.
lately, handwriting has made me very happy. i asked t to write happy and then i did the same. handwriting is much like a fingerprint and i like the idea of individual voices being heard through the handwritten word. it is something that is missing from type; everyone's voice looks
the same. this idea of seeing different voices through handwriting makes me very happy. the idea is swirling in my head and i hope to turn it into some sort of project soon.
MY response::
the first thing that popped into my head was a song. so i sang it .... [can't believe i'm letting you hear this]
happy is one of those almost indefinable terms. and so i offer a list - an ever changing always expandable list...
happiness is:: sitting in front of fires, holding hands while sleeping, the sound of purring,
quiet moments of contemplation,
feeling loved, making a leap, trusting, allowing time for oneself, big skies, surprise gifts,
pets,
new shoes that you just have to wear everyday for a week, polaroid film, a really really good latte,
being pampered and treated to amazing meals by my husband
more soon. have a happy monday/tuesday.
our 23rd word was chosen by shari and it's: HAPPY {by the way - we are going to try and write less - use more sound or video or images - not sure if i'll be able to keep my big mouth closed, - or wait should i say hand from typing.... but....}
SHARI'S response::
hApPy
nature: big skies and big trees bring happiness.
a happy accident. i love the unexpected bits of happiness that pop up
during my day.
autumn. my favorite time of the year.
lately, handwriting has made me very happy. i asked t to write happy and then i did the same. handwriting is much like a fingerprint and i like the idea of individual voices being heard through the handwritten word. it is something that is missing from type; everyone's voice looks
the same. this idea of seeing different voices through handwriting makes me very happy. the idea is swirling in my head and i hope to turn it into some sort of project soon.
MY response::
the first thing that popped into my head was a song. so i sang it .... [can't believe i'm letting you hear this]
happy is one of those almost indefinable terms. and so i offer a list - an ever changing always expandable list...
happiness is:: sitting in front of fires, holding hands while sleeping, the sound of purring,
quiet moments of contemplation,
feeling loved, making a leap, trusting, allowing time for oneself, big skies, surprise gifts,
pets,
new shoes that you just have to wear everyday for a week, polaroid film, a really really good latte,
being pampered and treated to amazing meals by my husband
more soon. have a happy monday/tuesday.
Labels: documentary project
barely in time for a monday night posting [thank you pacific time]
today marks the return of shari and my documentary project.
shari chose the word today - cultivate or cultivation.
SHARI'S RESPONSE
cultivation:
i chose the word this week one day as i was sitting in my study looking
out the window at our garden.
note: you may need to click out of a reader to see this video clip::
i love this word. how it rolls off the tongue. how it sounds like hard
work and it is!
walking in the rain.
currently:
am trying to cultivate a playful approach to life. sometimes, i fear i
take things far too seriously.
what are you trying to cultivate in your own life?
MY RESPONSE
this word at first seemed really daunting to me. how do you represent this word in a static image?
of course i thought of planting. getting the soil ready for plants. i started to think about how you can take a garden in various directions. you can cultivate for food, you can cultivate for decoration.
how if you are serious about the idea of growing you actually pay attention to soil, to the sun, to PH, to all of these very small details that can make or break your attempt to foster plants.
or how you can also just wing it and magically things will thrive and grow.
how sometimes if you try too hard it doesn't work..... you can't cultivate.
above is my recent japanese print love. the magazine ku:nel . i think it was bluelines that sparked my interest in it.... it's really a great visual treat.... and made me
start wonder about other things we cultivate - like taste in art, or food, or poetry or??? how exactly do we plow, amend and ready our minds and hearts for cultural cultivation? in my role as an educator i'm constantly wondering how to do this - how do you cultivate a love for art? can you? or do you want/can it be something that spontaneously emerges?
and so i repeat shari's question. what are we all trying to cultivate in our lives??
today marks the return of shari and my documentary project.
shari chose the word today - cultivate or cultivation.
SHARI'S RESPONSE
cultivation:
i chose the word this week one day as i was sitting in my study looking
out the window at our garden.
note: you may need to click out of a reader to see this video clip::
i love this word. how it rolls off the tongue. how it sounds like hard
work and it is!
walking in the rain.
currently:
am trying to cultivate a playful approach to life. sometimes, i fear i
take things far too seriously.
what are you trying to cultivate in your own life?
MY RESPONSE
this word at first seemed really daunting to me. how do you represent this word in a static image?
of course i thought of planting. getting the soil ready for plants. i started to think about how you can take a garden in various directions. you can cultivate for food, you can cultivate for decoration.
how if you are serious about the idea of growing you actually pay attention to soil, to the sun, to PH, to all of these very small details that can make or break your attempt to foster plants.
or how you can also just wing it and magically things will thrive and grow.
how sometimes if you try too hard it doesn't work..... you can't cultivate.
above is my recent japanese print love. the magazine ku:nel . i think it was bluelines that sparked my interest in it.... it's really a great visual treat.... and made me
start wonder about other things we cultivate - like taste in art, or food, or poetry or??? how exactly do we plow, amend and ready our minds and hearts for cultural cultivation? in my role as an educator i'm constantly wondering how to do this - how do you cultivate a love for art? can you? or do you want/can it be something that spontaneously emerges?
and so i repeat shari's question. what are we all trying to cultivate in our lives??
Labels: documentary project
hello all! time for shari and my documentary project.
this weeks work was chosen by shari . UNDONE.
SHARI'S response
things left undone become the stars of our to do list. often i leave things undone until the very last minute. how about you?
our neighbor's house is being painted. the ladder left behind signals that things are still undone.
this photo reminds me that there will always be more thing to do. one thing that is out of place, calling out "what about me?" life has become a neverending list of things left undone.
incomplete, undone, and seeking my true self, my true purpose. can we, as humans, ever be complete? finished? done?
thank you so much for visiting our project.
MY response
[my thread balls always come undone]
when shari told me this word i shuttered a little. i think this is the first word where i could only see a sort of negative side to things. i also associate the word with a more mental state of mind. feeling undone or in a state of things undone does not feel "good" to me.
so i spent the week trying to think about why that is. and how do i feel when i am "undone". lost, confused, wrapped up in something that will later seem unnecessary... what does is mean to be done? finished? and is that really a better state? isn't it sometimes the process of "finishing" that is better than the finished product itself?
things left to do on a list, dishes in piles, weeds to be pulled... all these need to be done and leave me wishing for more time. just more time [or that clone]. i try not to procrastinate as it usually makes me more anxious than if i just tackle one [or two or three] tasks at a time. done done done - that always feels good.
but.... in the studio i often leave a piece slightly undone - something to come back to the next visit. i know where i left off and what needs to happen next - this way i can return and just get to work. it's much harder to enter into an "empty" space with no task at hand. ah - i finally found the positive state of undone.
the very first thing that popped into my mind when i thought of undone was my shoelace being untied. so i drew it.
have a great monday! [by the way - shari - the images you are taking with your new camera are just stunning. i'm so happy for you!!]
this weeks work was chosen by shari . UNDONE.
SHARI'S response
things left undone become the stars of our to do list. often i leave things undone until the very last minute. how about you?
our neighbor's house is being painted. the ladder left behind signals that things are still undone.
this photo reminds me that there will always be more thing to do. one thing that is out of place, calling out "what about me?" life has become a neverending list of things left undone.
incomplete, undone, and seeking my true self, my true purpose. can we, as humans, ever be complete? finished? done?
thank you so much for visiting our project.
MY response
[my thread balls always come undone]
when shari told me this word i shuttered a little. i think this is the first word where i could only see a sort of negative side to things. i also associate the word with a more mental state of mind. feeling undone or in a state of things undone does not feel "good" to me.
so i spent the week trying to think about why that is. and how do i feel when i am "undone". lost, confused, wrapped up in something that will later seem unnecessary... what does is mean to be done? finished? and is that really a better state? isn't it sometimes the process of "finishing" that is better than the finished product itself?
things left to do on a list, dishes in piles, weeds to be pulled... all these need to be done and leave me wishing for more time. just more time [or that clone]. i try not to procrastinate as it usually makes me more anxious than if i just tackle one [or two or three] tasks at a time. done done done - that always feels good.
but.... in the studio i often leave a piece slightly undone - something to come back to the next visit. i know where i left off and what needs to happen next - this way i can return and just get to work. it's much harder to enter into an "empty" space with no task at hand. ah - i finally found the positive state of undone.
the very first thing that popped into my mind when i thought of undone was my shoelace being untied. so i drew it.
have a great monday! [by the way - shari - the images you are taking with your new camera are just stunning. i'm so happy for you!!]
Labels: documentary project
hello friends. after a bit of hiatus, i'm happy to welcome back the documentary project that shari and i collaborate on.
shari actually chose this word a long long time ago. but we are just now getting to it. i dunno about shari - but i sure felt out of practice. i also simultaneously felt very glad to be working on this again. it's a reason to look around - a reason to take photos [something that has been sorely lacking in my life since returning from japan]. so with out further ado -
SHARI's response
i chose the word circle a long while back. at the time, i was thinking of life and how i used to feel it was more linear. high school, college, career, etc. etc. lately, i've been thinking of life more as a circle like a life cycle. the photos i took are from a walk at the eno and at the nc botanic gardens. the cyclical, circular aspect of life is always so much more evident in nature i think. therefore, i was drawn to the natural circles found in my everyday landscape.
circles: repetition, walking in circles, continuing, never ending. around and around we go!
MY response
when shari first said circle i couldn't help but think of circles as a primary shape. how they can be transformed and combined with other primaries to create new shapes. i also thought of the six feet under episode when claire is in art school and is complaining that one of her teachers i making her practice drawing the perfect circle. ha! i've never had that assignment - nor would i give it - but it makes me laugh.
circular tools [thanks gwen! ] on a polka dot fabric [the double circle]. i then thought about how i do love circles in art. how they can represent closure - a sense of "zen" - repeated they start to become something else - they go beyond their one-ness.
as i looked around me circles really popped up everywhere. they are just so handy - jars, buttons, clocks, candles, camera lens, plates, tomatoes, plums. it's funny how you know something, but don't SEE something until you concentrate [why i like this project]
i then started thinking about the duality of the circle. so it can symbolize a closed space - a family [circle of trust] or something eternal [like a wedding ring]. if you leave an end just a tad open it starts to represent something else - a means to escape or a way in - a dragon eating its own tail. it can mean eternity in a good way, but also in a bad way [running in circles - going round and round in an argument]. this fascinates me.
in my life and art things often seem circular. i return again and again to colors, shapes, ideas, thoughts, patterns.... i never seem to be totally finished with them.
lovely sunflowers w/ their deep brown center. planted for my by my husband! :D
where do you see circles in your life???
don't forget that shari also is hosting a week of elements in photos on her blog today. looks like a lot of fun. i'm going to try and participate at least one day. fingers crossed.
shari actually chose this word a long long time ago. but we are just now getting to it. i dunno about shari - but i sure felt out of practice. i also simultaneously felt very glad to be working on this again. it's a reason to look around - a reason to take photos [something that has been sorely lacking in my life since returning from japan]. so with out further ado -
SHARI's response
i chose the word circle a long while back. at the time, i was thinking of life and how i used to feel it was more linear. high school, college, career, etc. etc. lately, i've been thinking of life more as a circle like a life cycle. the photos i took are from a walk at the eno and at the nc botanic gardens. the cyclical, circular aspect of life is always so much more evident in nature i think. therefore, i was drawn to the natural circles found in my everyday landscape.
circles: repetition, walking in circles, continuing, never ending. around and around we go!
MY response
when shari first said circle i couldn't help but think of circles as a primary shape. how they can be transformed and combined with other primaries to create new shapes. i also thought of the six feet under episode when claire is in art school and is complaining that one of her teachers i making her practice drawing the perfect circle. ha! i've never had that assignment - nor would i give it - but it makes me laugh.
circular tools [thanks gwen! ] on a polka dot fabric [the double circle]. i then thought about how i do love circles in art. how they can represent closure - a sense of "zen" - repeated they start to become something else - they go beyond their one-ness.
as i looked around me circles really popped up everywhere. they are just so handy - jars, buttons, clocks, candles, camera lens, plates, tomatoes, plums. it's funny how you know something, but don't SEE something until you concentrate [why i like this project]
i then started thinking about the duality of the circle. so it can symbolize a closed space - a family [circle of trust] or something eternal [like a wedding ring]. if you leave an end just a tad open it starts to represent something else - a means to escape or a way in - a dragon eating its own tail. it can mean eternity in a good way, but also in a bad way [running in circles - going round and round in an argument]. this fascinates me.
in my life and art things often seem circular. i return again and again to colors, shapes, ideas, thoughts, patterns.... i never seem to be totally finished with them.
lovely sunflowers w/ their deep brown center. planted for my by my husband! :D
where do you see circles in your life???
don't forget that shari also is hosting a week of elements in photos on her blog today. looks like a lot of fun. i'm going to try and participate at least one day. fingers crossed.
Labels: documentary project
hellow friends.... sorry this documentary post it a bit late - [but under the east coast wire] - mondays and wednesdays are my long teaching days.... and BTW the claufotis came out good - i'll share the recipie later this week!
shari chose our word this week.
SHARI'S RESPONSE
i decided to stick with lisa's idea of companion words this week so i chose window as we have already documented door.
i'm not sure i could live in a house without windows. there is something about looking outside, having a window to the world so to speak. with windows, there is light but there is also a feeling of expansiveness, a feeling that you are not boxed in. in the spring and summer, we love to open our windows and let in fresh air. maggie loves this too. she is a windowsill hog. poor rilke.
maggie
i think that photographing windows from the outside looking in is so much more interesting than vice versa. the focus immediately shifts from the subject to the point of view. in this photo i snapped of t, one may wonder why the photo was taken outside. the perspective might not be entirely clear. the roof line next door is being reflected in the windowpane but you are also able to see inside of the kitchen.
there is confusion, mystery, questions.
i also enjoy photographing what is immediately outside my windowpanes: the subtle changes of each season, how the colors change depending on the amount of sunshine, how the window acts as a viewfinder and frames the outside just so. it is these photos that never quite seem to capture what i was "seeing". i can take photo after photo after photo but the magic is just not there. i liked this next photo because i was finally able to capture the colors...the intense green outside (best captured it seems in low light) contrasted with the brick red curtains.
i realize this is turning into the photo documentary project so i'm going to try to move outside of my comfort zone next week. :) thanks for reading.
MY RESPONSE
ah windows. window of opportunity.... windows to the soul.... when a door closes a window opens.
what i noticed while observing windows this week :: i like old ones more than new ones [the wavy glass always gets to me]. odd shaped ones [circle, skinny] rather than "standard size" ones. it's not as easy to find stained glass windows as you might think/hope. i like windows with little decorative elements.
ultimately, though, i feel like in all my looking what i was most drawn to was the idea of the window as a framing device. a way to peek out into the world.and as a means to let light in.
i kept taking really minimal shots of windows. the window pared down to it's essential. i'm not sure why this is, but....
a peek at some clouds
diffuse bright light
closed shades
if you stand on my stairway just right you can see the neighbor's house like this. you can also see that this window is VERY dirty. it's too high to reach [either inside or outside]. really it's a funny place for a window to be - but i love the light it lets onto our stairs.
then i got inspired and wanted to do a very mini version of a drawing like Toba Khedoori . her drawings of windows take my breath away. mine is lame and retarded in comparison, but i like the idea of repeatative drawing - what happens when you repeat a window over and over....
and finally.... close your eyes and imagine the sound of rain on your window panes. i love that sound. always have... always will
until next week.... documentary project signing off. thanks for reading!
shari chose our word this week.
SHARI'S RESPONSE
i decided to stick with lisa's idea of companion words this week so i chose window as we have already documented door.
i'm not sure i could live in a house without windows. there is something about looking outside, having a window to the world so to speak. with windows, there is light but there is also a feeling of expansiveness, a feeling that you are not boxed in. in the spring and summer, we love to open our windows and let in fresh air. maggie loves this too. she is a windowsill hog. poor rilke.
maggie
i think that photographing windows from the outside looking in is so much more interesting than vice versa. the focus immediately shifts from the subject to the point of view. in this photo i snapped of t, one may wonder why the photo was taken outside. the perspective might not be entirely clear. the roof line next door is being reflected in the windowpane but you are also able to see inside of the kitchen.
there is confusion, mystery, questions.
i also enjoy photographing what is immediately outside my windowpanes: the subtle changes of each season, how the colors change depending on the amount of sunshine, how the window acts as a viewfinder and frames the outside just so. it is these photos that never quite seem to capture what i was "seeing". i can take photo after photo after photo but the magic is just not there. i liked this next photo because i was finally able to capture the colors...the intense green outside (best captured it seems in low light) contrasted with the brick red curtains.
i realize this is turning into the photo documentary project so i'm going to try to move outside of my comfort zone next week. :) thanks for reading.
MY RESPONSE
ah windows. window of opportunity.... windows to the soul.... when a door closes a window opens.
what i noticed while observing windows this week :: i like old ones more than new ones [the wavy glass always gets to me]. odd shaped ones [circle, skinny] rather than "standard size" ones. it's not as easy to find stained glass windows as you might think/hope. i like windows with little decorative elements.
ultimately, though, i feel like in all my looking what i was most drawn to was the idea of the window as a framing device. a way to peek out into the world.and as a means to let light in.
i kept taking really minimal shots of windows. the window pared down to it's essential. i'm not sure why this is, but....
a peek at some clouds
diffuse bright light
closed shades
if you stand on my stairway just right you can see the neighbor's house like this. you can also see that this window is VERY dirty. it's too high to reach [either inside or outside]. really it's a funny place for a window to be - but i love the light it lets onto our stairs.
then i got inspired and wanted to do a very mini version of a drawing like Toba Khedoori . her drawings of windows take my breath away. mine is lame and retarded in comparison, but i like the idea of repeatative drawing - what happens when you repeat a window over and over....
and finally.... close your eyes and imagine the sound of rain on your window panes. i love that sound. always have... always will
until next week.... documentary project signing off. thanks for reading!
Labels: documentary project
this week's word chosen by shari
SHARI'S response
when i was a little girl, i collected stamps. this was in my eyes a true "hobby collection". it didn't last long. i just wasn't very interested in stamps but i've always enjoyed having some kind of collection. in college i began a teapot collection but have since given most of these away to friends or goodwill.
the latest in my mary jane shoe collection.
now, i have some smaller collections that i really treasure:
vintage tablecloths (preferably from the fifties)
heart shaped rocks
found paper for collages
tiny showcase art (but only by my favorite artists)
mary jane style shoes
optic nerve comic books
art made by blogger friends such as a p2p card collection, an underdog
ink ring collection, and a small collection of abigail percy jewelry.
just a few heart shaped rocks from my collection
music (cds and vinyl) + instruments (tom's collection)
what is it about collections? why do we have the urge to collect objects, images? i think my three biggest collections are my book, music, and photograph collection. i am really interested in the similarity in collecting material objects and collecting images via photography. in thinking about why we collect, i turned to alain de botton's the art of travel, he states, "a dominant impulse on encountering beauty is to wish to hold on to it, to possess it and give it weight in one's life." we collect what we love, what speaks to us in some way. we collect things that help define us.
my newest collection is a collection of handmade white tea/coffee cups. i have two by karin eriksson, one from white forest pottery , and one from diana fayt . i love that they are mismatched and i look forward to serving guests beverages in these beautiful, beautiful vessels. last night when i was asking tom to build a shelf for these cups, he asked if i was intending to have a four cup collection. i said no, i wanted one of paula's raku cups. so he said five then? and then i said six, a nice even number.
that's the trouble with collections. there's always room for just one more. :)
what do you collect and do your collections change?
one final note. see if you can name the band who wrote these lyrics:
"you've got a great collection of things cause that's the best you can do."
MY response
collection. i am a bonified pack rat. maybe i inherited this trait from my mother or my grandmother [or heck - maybe my grandfather. you should have seen the tin of miscellanios nails, screws, nuts, , washers i inherited from him]. i definitely didn't get it from my dad. he's of the if you don't use it throw it out or get rid of it philosophy. the anti-collector. sometimes i'm envious of this.
if i think back to the first collection that i was really ga-ga over as a kid [i also had a stamp collection which i liked, but didn't get deeply into] was STICKERS. how many photo albums did i have full of them? i liked the scratch and sniff kind, the rainbow kind, the sanrio kind, the foil kind, the puffy and soft ones. i pretty much liked them all. i loved trading my friends for the one i needed to round out my collection [oh little twin stars. i have none of those!!!].
{aside :: as we go along in this project i am more and more amazed at how shari and my lives intersect and cross over. the stamps, the mary janes [oh i have those too].... this happens every week!}
when shari picked this word i was a tinsy bit scared. do i really reveal all the different wacky collections i have? what will they in turn reveal about me? which are the most interesting? what do i have the most of? [clothes? shoes? bags? rings? and then there's the books, notions, vintage fans]. what actually constitutes a "collection"?
i pretty much concluded that you must have at least 2 of something for it to be a baby collection. over 10 and you are a "serious" collector. over 50 and my goodness... well... i'm a fan of obsessiveness so there will be no jugement here. there are some things that are life-long hunts, no? and there are some collections that we grow weary of and stop. i wonder what pushes those desires. [i once vicariously fell in love with a friend's collection of vintage typing ribbon tins. THANK GOODNESS i didn't actually get that bug - but it was close].
i think a big part of the fun of collections is the hunt for the objects. that moment of glee when you find something for a price that is unheard of [or is at least in your budget]... or where you find the one missing piece to your collection that you have been searching for.... there is something joyous about coveting... about wanting about dispalying things grouped together.
just for fun i did a search on the word collection on martha stewart's website . 315 entries. [granted not all relevant, but still].
so now i present to you some collections from my casa.
japanese craft books
if you are a long time reader of mine you've seen these before... my vintage bottle collection [large and small]
vintage lunch boxes [i had to stop at 3 as we have no room]
glass beakers
my mini jello tins
one of my favorites... nests.... [3 from my yard - one from grad school]
and risa asked me what i did with all my polaroids. they live in a metal box... like this
i can't believe i didn't even touch on the art... or the vinyl that my husband has... shari maybe we should devote two weeks to this word??
SHARI'S response
when i was a little girl, i collected stamps. this was in my eyes a true "hobby collection". it didn't last long. i just wasn't very interested in stamps but i've always enjoyed having some kind of collection. in college i began a teapot collection but have since given most of these away to friends or goodwill.
the latest in my mary jane shoe collection.
now, i have some smaller collections that i really treasure:
vintage tablecloths (preferably from the fifties)
heart shaped rocks
found paper for collages
tiny showcase art (but only by my favorite artists)
mary jane style shoes
optic nerve comic books
art made by blogger friends such as a p2p card collection, an underdog
ink ring collection, and a small collection of abigail percy jewelry.
just a few heart shaped rocks from my collection
music (cds and vinyl) + instruments (tom's collection)
what is it about collections? why do we have the urge to collect objects, images? i think my three biggest collections are my book, music, and photograph collection. i am really interested in the similarity in collecting material objects and collecting images via photography. in thinking about why we collect, i turned to alain de botton's the art of travel, he states, "a dominant impulse on encountering beauty is to wish to hold on to it, to possess it and give it weight in one's life." we collect what we love, what speaks to us in some way. we collect things that help define us.
my newest collection is a collection of handmade white tea/coffee cups. i have two by karin eriksson, one from white forest pottery , and one from diana fayt . i love that they are mismatched and i look forward to serving guests beverages in these beautiful, beautiful vessels. last night when i was asking tom to build a shelf for these cups, he asked if i was intending to have a four cup collection. i said no, i wanted one of paula's raku cups. so he said five then? and then i said six, a nice even number.
that's the trouble with collections. there's always room for just one more. :)
what do you collect and do your collections change?
one final note. see if you can name the band who wrote these lyrics:
"you've got a great collection of things cause that's the best you can do."
MY response
collection. i am a bonified pack rat. maybe i inherited this trait from my mother or my grandmother [or heck - maybe my grandfather. you should have seen the tin of miscellanios nails, screws, nuts, , washers i inherited from him]. i definitely didn't get it from my dad. he's of the if you don't use it throw it out or get rid of it philosophy. the anti-collector. sometimes i'm envious of this.
if i think back to the first collection that i was really ga-ga over as a kid [i also had a stamp collection which i liked, but didn't get deeply into] was STICKERS. how many photo albums did i have full of them? i liked the scratch and sniff kind, the rainbow kind, the sanrio kind, the foil kind, the puffy and soft ones. i pretty much liked them all. i loved trading my friends for the one i needed to round out my collection [oh little twin stars. i have none of those!!!].
{aside :: as we go along in this project i am more and more amazed at how shari and my lives intersect and cross over. the stamps, the mary janes [oh i have those too].... this happens every week!}
when shari picked this word i was a tinsy bit scared. do i really reveal all the different wacky collections i have? what will they in turn reveal about me? which are the most interesting? what do i have the most of? [clothes? shoes? bags? rings? and then there's the books, notions, vintage fans]. what actually constitutes a "collection"?
i pretty much concluded that you must have at least 2 of something for it to be a baby collection. over 10 and you are a "serious" collector. over 50 and my goodness... well... i'm a fan of obsessiveness so there will be no jugement here. there are some things that are life-long hunts, no? and there are some collections that we grow weary of and stop. i wonder what pushes those desires. [i once vicariously fell in love with a friend's collection of vintage typing ribbon tins. THANK GOODNESS i didn't actually get that bug - but it was close].
i think a big part of the fun of collections is the hunt for the objects. that moment of glee when you find something for a price that is unheard of [or is at least in your budget]... or where you find the one missing piece to your collection that you have been searching for.... there is something joyous about coveting... about wanting about dispalying things grouped together.
just for fun i did a search on the word collection on martha stewart's website . 315 entries. [granted not all relevant, but still].
so now i present to you some collections from my casa.
japanese craft books
if you are a long time reader of mine you've seen these before... my vintage bottle collection [large and small]
vintage lunch boxes [i had to stop at 3 as we have no room]
glass beakers
my mini jello tins
one of my favorites... nests.... [3 from my yard - one from grad school]
and risa asked me what i did with all my polaroids. they live in a metal box... like this
i can't believe i didn't even touch on the art... or the vinyl that my husband has... shari maybe we should devote two weeks to this word??
Labels: documentary project
hello there. i'm sorry for such a late post... but i bring you shari and my documentary project today. the word this week was ROUTINE and picked by shari .
SHARI's response:
routine: a part of the everyday, ordinary, a schedule.
i started thinking about this word several months ago when i thought up the idea of dishwashing portraits. i wanted to take an activity that was routine and occurred everyday and create art. i wanted to document this part of my daily routine because i spend so much time cleaning the kitchen each day. what interests me about this idea is that there are so many everyday activities that go completely undocumented, unexamined and are often thought of as tedious, boring, uninteresting. i'm thinking of doing a series of these for other routine activities, specifically involving household chores.
a part of my daily routine now is taking a few photos of my backyard. this started as the backyard challenge as i wanted to see my yard with new eyes. each day, i take my camera outside to my backyard and try to see my world differently. i choose to make this activity part of my daily routine.
the word routine also conjures up something that it a regular part of my weekly schedule. one such thing is volunteer work at the co-op.
capturing a moment from my everyday life, one that is routine but is often left undocumented....traveling as a passenger in the car. i wanted to think of parts of my life that often go undocumented because they are so routine that i don't even really think about them. traveling as a passenger is one of those things, though i do often
document this when i travel.
finally, coffee and a book. these two things are without a doubt a part of my everyday routine. this particular image captures my daily ritual in another place (wrightsville beach). i like that these 2 elements of my day are the same no matter if i'm home or traveling. coffee and a good book can turn any day around. :)
i loved examining my daily and weekly routine with this project. what stands out in your mind about your routine?
MY response:
shari must have had e.s.p. when she picked this week's word. i fixated on the thought that i'd be out of my element - away from my routine for a part of this past week. there is nothing like being away from home - from your day to day to make you reflect on your personal routines.
the first thing i thought of was routine :: repetition :: daily :: ritual :: a practice of some sort.
i then started thinking about how you can have several "brands" of routine: the ordinary - get up, shower, get dressed, brush teeth. in the ordinary it's the order - the subtle that differentiates you from me. perhaps your order is hit snooze, get up, brush teeth, get coffee, workout, shower, get dressed. [work out is NEVER part of my routine]
then there's the weekend routine, a mon. wed. fri. routine... i have a studio/art making routine [which always involves leaving something slightly unfinished so i can pick up where i left off]. for awhile i had a daily drawing routine [remember?]....
you can get superstitious about your routine - if you don't follow the precise order at the precise time it's all over. or you feel unsure/shakey. you can be loosey goosey with it - not have it, defy it.
in my life my routine changes every 10 to 15 weeks. depending on what i'm teaching, where i'm teaching it, and what time i'm supposed to be at school. with me - the grass always seems greener regarding routine. if i don't have it i crave it, if i have too much of it - too many responsibilities - i want less.
my favorite routine? sunday morning. sleep in a bit. make a big big latte with foamy milk, get the new york times, read the styles section first, then the week in review, then the arts & leisure, and then thumb through the rest of the paper for things of interest.
i also really was interested in thinking about the mundane.... how normalcy and habits can feed into it. how you can play with yourself by altering your routine... shifting small things [start with putting your right shoe on instead of your left]. how being stuck in a routine can be both good and bad.
and so photos you ask? here are things that are not part of my routine, but were part of my life this weekend:
not my dog [having pets/kids exposes you to all kinds of routines - time to be walked, time to be fed...]
not my bathroom or my shampoo
not my bed
and that my friends is it for now. i have photos of my show, and a million polaroids - that was part of my routine this trip [i took 3 packs worth!!] all of this i hope to start to share later this week....
be well....
SHARI's response:
routine: a part of the everyday, ordinary, a schedule.
i started thinking about this word several months ago when i thought up the idea of dishwashing portraits. i wanted to take an activity that was routine and occurred everyday and create art. i wanted to document this part of my daily routine because i spend so much time cleaning the kitchen each day. what interests me about this idea is that there are so many everyday activities that go completely undocumented, unexamined and are often thought of as tedious, boring, uninteresting. i'm thinking of doing a series of these for other routine activities, specifically involving household chores.
a part of my daily routine now is taking a few photos of my backyard. this started as the backyard challenge as i wanted to see my yard with new eyes. each day, i take my camera outside to my backyard and try to see my world differently. i choose to make this activity part of my daily routine.
the word routine also conjures up something that it a regular part of my weekly schedule. one such thing is volunteer work at the co-op.
capturing a moment from my everyday life, one that is routine but is often left undocumented....traveling as a passenger in the car. i wanted to think of parts of my life that often go undocumented because they are so routine that i don't even really think about them. traveling as a passenger is one of those things, though i do often
document this when i travel.
finally, coffee and a book. these two things are without a doubt a part of my everyday routine. this particular image captures my daily ritual in another place (wrightsville beach). i like that these 2 elements of my day are the same no matter if i'm home or traveling. coffee and a good book can turn any day around. :)
i loved examining my daily and weekly routine with this project. what stands out in your mind about your routine?
MY response:
shari must have had e.s.p. when she picked this week's word. i fixated on the thought that i'd be out of my element - away from my routine for a part of this past week. there is nothing like being away from home - from your day to day to make you reflect on your personal routines.
the first thing i thought of was routine :: repetition :: daily :: ritual :: a practice of some sort.
i then started thinking about how you can have several "brands" of routine: the ordinary - get up, shower, get dressed, brush teeth. in the ordinary it's the order - the subtle that differentiates you from me. perhaps your order is hit snooze, get up, brush teeth, get coffee, workout, shower, get dressed. [work out is NEVER part of my routine]
then there's the weekend routine, a mon. wed. fri. routine... i have a studio/art making routine [which always involves leaving something slightly unfinished so i can pick up where i left off]. for awhile i had a daily drawing routine [remember?]....
you can get superstitious about your routine - if you don't follow the precise order at the precise time it's all over. or you feel unsure/shakey. you can be loosey goosey with it - not have it, defy it.
in my life my routine changes every 10 to 15 weeks. depending on what i'm teaching, where i'm teaching it, and what time i'm supposed to be at school. with me - the grass always seems greener regarding routine. if i don't have it i crave it, if i have too much of it - too many responsibilities - i want less.
my favorite routine? sunday morning. sleep in a bit. make a big big latte with foamy milk, get the new york times, read the styles section first, then the week in review, then the arts & leisure, and then thumb through the rest of the paper for things of interest.
i also really was interested in thinking about the mundane.... how normalcy and habits can feed into it. how you can play with yourself by altering your routine... shifting small things [start with putting your right shoe on instead of your left]. how being stuck in a routine can be both good and bad.
and so photos you ask? here are things that are not part of my routine, but were part of my life this weekend:
not my dog [having pets/kids exposes you to all kinds of routines - time to be walked, time to be fed...]
not my bathroom or my shampoo
not my bed
and that my friends is it for now. i have photos of my show, and a million polaroids - that was part of my routine this trip [i took 3 packs worth!!] all of this i hope to start to share later this week....
be well....
Labels: documentary project
