I'm starting a new project, one born out of curiosity and meant to give pause, along with a second glance and closer look, at ordinary objects that we typically pass by and take for granted.
Some of these objects may be found in the home, and some may be found in nature.
Many could be, and regularly are, discarded without thought.
What intrigues me is that by simply incasing them in a bit of cloth and stitch, they all of a sudden become something special. They are no longer ordinary, nor expected. Their status is uplifted.
They now demand at least a second glance.
I am beginning this project by exploring bottles.
This first one shown here is simply called "Exhibit A".
I hope that as you view the various angles of this one bottle, now clothed in a second skin so to speak, that you stop a bit and reflect on really how remarkable it is, and was, even before I altered it.
The beautiful curves, the symmetry, the deep amber color, the smooth and even lipped rim,
it's ability to hold something... medicine, perfume, a flower...
Contemplate for a minute the fact that glass comes from sand... how amazing is that?
And how smooth and cool to the touch it is, and that we can see through it, and that it reflects light, and that it shatters so easily and can cut...
It's always helpful to have something to reference size, and how suitable to use the humble penny, another object that has come to be a bit taken for granted, yet is still valuable in it's own way.
One more thing... in light of my last post I feel that I should mention the following:
I have no idea how this current project is visually inspired by my local surroundings, or if it is inspired by them at all. I could say that the stitching mimics the curvy twisty back roads that I often drive, but I don't think that was in my conscious nor sub-conscious at all.
If anything, the work has to do with honoring that which we so easily discard, of wanting to shine a light on how amazing ordinary inventions are. How beautiful craftsmanship is. How temporary things are in our life. And that indeed is something that I see everyday in my surroundings, with those magnificent old barns falling into disrepair until one day they are gone. I think of the way they served and the memories they hold, and I think about the honor that the ordinary deserves.
xo
