Ever notice how artists and designers surround themselves with beautiful things? Not necessarily fine arts, but beautiful everyday things. Found objects or practical objects with a flair. Out-of-the-ordinary salt and pepper shakers, plain-yet-colorful plates, vintage scarves, oddly shaped rocks, pieces of gnarly wood. Do you save great-looking postcards just because they’re great looking? Or buy cheap-but-handsome trinkets and souvenirs? If so, you probably have an artist’s eye — that certain aesthetic sense.
To celebrate The Beauty of the Little Things, we have a new category on red Ravine called Everyday Art. We’ll upload photos of the objects in our lives that are striking, unusual, luminous. To remind us that you don’t have to have a lot of money or hold a big job with a fancy design firm to enjoy beauty in your every day.
Update: Last night QM and I stumbled across a new group on flickr called Everyday Art. Click here to check it out. Synchronicity…
Can’t wait. I’m already scoping around with Eagle Eye. 8)
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Great idea. I’m reminded of my sister. I never realized before how she uses her home to display her artistic view of the world. She’s a Goodwill Groupie, donating and buying as the wind blows.
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mariacristina, good observation. I know people like that, too, whose homes become *the* place for their creative expression. I also admire people who can let things and objects move in and out of their spaces quickly. I’m not like that and tend to cling. Right now I’ve got a moratorium on anything new coming into the space until I let go of more of the old!
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Yes, or people who have incredible gardens. That’s a kind of artistic expression I can’t seem to realize. Others make it look so easy.
I used to buy a lot of old furniture that I’d find at garage sales, but my imagination always seemed stronger than my ability to follow through and do something truly creative with the things I bought. I have a bunch of pieces I bought intending to refinish or paint; they’ve sat for years waiting for me to do something. I’ll go through these phases where I actually follow through on my ideas — I haven’t had one for years, but this new house move seems to have stirred up something. I actually refinished some old cabinets in my bathroom, and that success has motivated me to take on the next project.
QM – I think your vow to let go before bringing in is a good one. Too much stuff can clutter up more than one’s space.
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[…] few days ago, we did a post on Everyday Art. A lot’s happened since then. I added the tag to my Flickr account and ybonesy set up a […]
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Just got back from my visit in Corrales with Jim and Ybonesy. Thanks guys! I had a great visit and really enjoyed your new house!
Everyday Art…boy howdy! I saw/see it every day when in New Mexico. Yesterday (Monday) I ended up in Torreon, NM while road tripping with my son. Torreon (Sandoval county) is a Navajo community in the “checkerboard region” of the Navajo Nation in NW New Mexico. I went there to show my son where I lived and worked for three years (my first teaching job). I always loved living there. It was like living in a painting. I never got tired of the beauty of the landscape. I tried to capture that beauty yesterday with my little digital camera but I haven’t downloaded them yet. I tried to capture Cabazon Peak (an ancient volcanic neck similar to Devil’s Tower depicted in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”) in a summer lightning storm, but don’t think I was successful in getting any lightning in the pics.
Other favorite everyday art…I bought a Lada Niva, a small Russian SUV 4×4, just because I liked the way it looked. The door handles were what I call very cool Soviet industrial/art deco. (I’ll have to send a pic later).
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Hey, glad you made it home. I didn’t even get to say good-bye. I thought you were staying one more night.
I’m glad you showed your son all these examples of everyday art that you know. There’s something very special about sharing what you love with someone you love. Hey, you should open a flickr account if you don’t have one already so we can see the photos when you have a chance to upload them.
Have a great trip to Phx and the concert!!
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