Accidental Collections

I've been thinking a lot about Rilke's writing especially the part in Letters to a Young Poet where he writes about being an artist and "if your everyday life seems poor, don't blame it; blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not enough of a poet to call forth its riches; because for the creator there is no poverty and no poor, indifferent place." I also was thinking about Keri Smith's How to be an Explorer of the World and on the back, she writes, "At any given moment, no matter where you are, there are hundreds of things around you that are interesting and worth documenting."

And so I've given myself the project to find beauty in the ordinary and really look around and observe my world. I had been feeling rather plain, boring lately. You know how it goes, everyone else's life seems so fascinating and exciting, and your own seems small. People are travelling to exotic places, doing cool stuff at their jobs, etc. I decided that if I really truly wanted to be creative or at least have the guts to call myself that, then I'd better put my money where my mouth is. I started with looking for accidental collections. Things that I never intended to collect but somehow ended up with. These things are especially important since those who know me well, know that I give away A LOT of stuff. I spring clean at least 4 times a year. So for something to accumulate, it must be a sign. The first collection I found was colored pencils. I have many. At least 4 different sets. As I took this picture, I realized that I not only really love using them, but I find them beautiful. I think a jar filled with colored pencils is as breathtaking as a dozen roses in a vase. I could fall in love with someone who gave me a jar filled with them, that's how romantic I think they are. Weird, yes. But very cool.

After the colored pencils, I started looking around my room and tried to do that with new eyes. I started to appreciate the small crazy world that I've created in there. And I hope to keep that freshness, that joy for the little things with me for a while...I'll keep you updated.