I am working on a week long photography and poetry challenge inspired by a prompt from Poets & Writers called Excavating the Mind.

Day 2 notes and observations

The last time I took pictures in the house, I made a quick note about juxtaposition. I wrote, “I find how objects end up together in space intriguing.” I have never been a stickler for putting things in some designated rightful place. And during quarantine, I have enjoyed pulling things out of the closets. Thus, my home is full of interesting object placement, creating juxtapositions of objects that could create wonder. I thought I might play with artificial lighting while exploring the house, observing my odd juxtapositions.

*Note: None of the objects in these photographs have been moved, arranged or organized in any way. I am observing. This is how I found them.

I started out in the closet to get my clip lights. Levi joined me, but stepped through the looking glass. I didn’t realize until later, that he was sucked into the bass drum. I continued my exploration and observations alone.

I immediately began noticing strange juxtapositions right there in the closet. On one shelf, a small burlap sack rests atop an old newspaper with fascinating headlines. On the shelf on the other side of the closet, a blue fuzzy head buddies up with a container of thumb tacks.

After these initial observations of naturally occurring unusual juxtapositions, I dove into exploring subtle changes with lighting of one odd juxtaposition at a time. I started with some orange lenses I bought a couple years ago for using with my computer before bed. They are supposed to help me sleep. I find it ironic that they ended up hanging out with my books. The lighting changes: room light, no room light one clip light, no room light two clip lights.

Next, a bottle of hand sanitizer and some two pound weights on top of my bookshelf

I left my room and found some interesting juxtapositions on the counter of the kitchenette.

Notes:

• observing the same things with different lighting from different angles turned my mess into a series of still lifes
• clutter disappears when not paid attention too, but comes alive under observation
• groupings of objects tell a story
• observing how and where I leave things is the true excavation of my mind
• blur and shadow add suspense to a still life
• the mini-vac from that angle looks like a dismembered robot foot

I really enjoyed the shadow of the faucet in that last picture of the button jar.

There you have it, the second day of the second round of pictures and observations

Happy Reading and Writing!