fourteen: shadow

happy monday and good morning friends.

lisa chose the fourteenth word, shadow.

first, LISA's response:

I wanted to choose a word this week that was almost the counter or response to a former word. And so I went with shadow [to balance out light].

I like the complexity of the word... It's another word that can be both
menacing, and lovely.... Or even funny [like shari's bike shadows]
I really liked thinking about the fact that you need light in order to
create a shadow. It's a component. One doesn't exist with out the other. I
had fun looking for interesting shadows in my world.


At the studio. I like the idea of the shadow taking over and the light
peeking - so often I think of the shadows as the secondary. It was
interesting to think of it as the primary.

In my yard:


In these I see the current design obsession with foliage silhouettes.


I love how shadows offer alternatives. They can be alternate sides of
ourselves; they can be slightly distorted but still readable [I know that
shadow comes from an awning].

Finally I couldn't help but remember this picture:


I love shadow puppets. I love the tones of shadows. I love their fuzziness.
I love when they are tall. I love when they surprise you... And I love my
new shadow:



She follows me around everywhere. It makes my day.

MY response:




first, i think lisa's idea to document the opposites of words we have already chosen is wonderful! yay for lisa! so, a collection of shadow photos. i am very drawn to shadows and like to photograph them. i am always on the lookout for a silly shadow (hence the watering can). in 5 out of 9 photos, i placed myself in the photo. you can see me, a part of me or my whole shadow and i guess i do this to remind myself that i was there, that i was a part of this special moment. i think flora shadows are beautiful and i nearly jumped up out of my chair to photograph the pine bough shadows on my bed sheet on the clothesline. i had to keep waiting until the wind blew the sheet at just the right angle before i could take the photo. finally, i've become more and more interested in having real objects intermingled with shadows (tom's shoe, my book). short and sweet today...thanks for reading.

*****************************************************************

a new idea will be posted on street today. everyone can participate!

have yourself a happy little monday!
shari

322: a saturday list

enjoying:

cool cool breezes
daily garden check-ins
my new card society cards
warm banana bread
getting into the habit of knitting daily
2Views
walking beside water
trips to the library
finishing up a movie in the morning with steaming cups of coffee
listening to a favorite author talk about her book
planning measles shirts-of course they will say "we're contagious" on the back. hee.
working on the documentary project for monday

looking forward to:

the new p2p photographs+prints project
the new feist album
barbara kingsolver reading in pittsboro nc
a walk around jordan lake this weekend
a late evening theater jaunt
strawberries this week from the csa
making lemon curd and lemon mousse on sunday

saying goodbye to:

one of my favorite blogs. wishing you the best steph!
xo

321: the everyday

my clothesline has been a constant source of inspiration lately. i realized the other day that there is such beauty to be found if only i looked closer. it's like a painting, a piece of art. some days it is made up of shades of white while other days it is full of color. some days it is both; we have 2 lines.

lately, i have enjoyed sitting outside and watching the clothes move gently in the breeze. i try to notice interesting combinations, for example how the clothes might look next to one another or the next to the landscape of the yard. i look for surprising elements and then i take a few photos. these are the three (above) that i'm most excited about. i have a feeling i will explore this idea a bit further in the coming weeks.

sometimes the everyday can seem like just that (ordinary, routine, normal), but sometimes it can seem like so much more. a piece of tomato, broccoli and pepper jack quiche warmed for breakfast. time spent sitting on the front porch in the late afternoon reading about elizabeth bennett and walking in wanderlust and seeing the first hummingbird of the year. a picnic dinner shared enthusiastically with a friend: homemade gazpacho and cheese quesadillas. seeing the very first mosquito of the spring and realizing that you had forgotten how miserable they made you last year. beautiful laundry hanging in the breeze.

i wonder why our minds are so eager to skip right by these delightful moments and just chalk them up to the everyday. they are much more than that. you and i both know it. we can feel it.

happy friday! i'm off to work on my ship of fools post.
cheers,
shari

320: seeking calmness

more listening today and less talking.

hope your day is lovely!

319

thank you for all of your sweet comments yesterday! i think i'm going to challenge myself to knit 10 rows each night. i just started the second ball of yarn.

i have been thinking so much about walking these days. after being in durham for almost 2 years now i feel more comfortable in the landscape. i have started to learn what seasonal changes to expect. i also think that i am constantly searching for details to photograph (oh how i never tire of macro mode). walking provides me with peace of mind, new views, good exercise, and so much more.

while joe was here visiting we took him for a walk along the eno river. i brought along my camera and as a warm up began immediately snapping photos. i usually snap about five or so and end up deleting them all just to get in the mindset. in my eyes, there is a meandering mindset in which you chit chat and wander and laugh and then a photography mindset where you are quiet, searching, and stopping often.

i walked up to the bank of the eno eyeing some tall reeds that i wanted to photograph and suddenly noticed 2 snakes, two very different species, sitting in the reeds with their tails tied into little knots. joe and tom had walked right past them without so much as blinking an eye. i called them over, though i admit i was worried that the snakes would slither down to my feet, and snapped a shaky photo. we saw two more snakes that day, all of them tiny.



but i digress. back to walking. recently i began to read rebecca solnit's book, wanderlust: a history of walking. so far i'm loving it so i wanted to share a few quotes with you.

"walking, ideally, is a state in which the mind, the body, and the world are aligned, as though they were theree characters finally in conversation together, three notes suddenly making a chord. walking allows us to be in our bodies and in the world without being made busy by them. it leaves us free to think without being wholly lost in our thoughts."

"the rhythm of walking generates a kind of rhythm of thinking, and the passage through a landscape echoes or stimulates the passage through a series of thoughts. this creates an odd consonace between internal and external passage, one that suggests that the mind is also a landscape of sorts and that walking is one way to traverse it. a new thought often seems like a feature of the landscape that was there all along, as though thinking were traveling rather than making."

oh and i think i might have spoken too soon about my spring soundtrack. yesterday i fell in love with this album.

today is a good day to go on a walk, don't you think?
xo
shari

318

doesn't this vine remind you of a knitting needle? it also reminds me that my grandmother saved me yet again from having to scrap the blue scarf i have been working on for eons. in november 2005 (yes, that long ago!), i was nearly finished and then someone decided to show me a new stitch. i knew better than to hand them my scarf in progress but i guess i was trying to be polite. this ended up in over half of the poor thing being torn out. my grandmother came to the rescue. twice more i knitted, i flubbed, and i was saved. i picked up my knitting a month or so ago determined to finish this scarf. it is for t and only the second one i've ever worked on. it is a straight knit stitch as that is all i can handle. i had only knitted three or four rows when i realized that something did not look right. so, i brought it with me to the mountains and between my mom and my grandmother (thanks you two!), it has been saved yet again. does this scarf have nine lives? if so, i only have five more times to mess it up before i will scrap it for good. :) wish me luck.

in other news, i did have my time in the sun late yesterday afternoon. i camped out on the front porch with zadie smith in tow and a green canopy of willow oak leaves above my head. the weather was absolutely perfect, very warm with strong cool breezes every so often. then the most magical thing happened. i heard lots of chirping in the azalea bushes to my left. a mother carolina wren was chirping to her fledglings. she flew in front of the porch and called back to her babies to follow. they put up quite a fuss. i imagined them saying, "come back. help us. we don't know how." soon, one flew right in front of my nose and landed inches away on the railing. then another and another. this one landed on my knee (!) but quickly hopped up onto the railing. from there they flew to the tree where their mother was patiently waiting.

i opened my book again and realized i had the biggest smile on my face. i couldn't stop smiling. once again, i heard some peeping. there was still one baby in the azalea bush. it called to its family and its family called back. finally, the baby bird flew right in front of me and landed on the railing by my right arm. it turned its little head and looked at me before flying to the tree to meet the others. i could still see its downy little feathers. i just could not believe my luck!

yesterday ended with vegetable dumplings and edamame and with dean and britta on the stereo. i think this may very well be my spring soundtrack. what's yours?

enjoy your day!
shari

317

today, i'm relishing the quiet. we've had a busy busy weekend (and we've had company since thursday) so i feel like i just need to relax. the weather is beautiful here. i am looking forward to warming my toes in the sunshine later on in the day. i'm grateful for the warmth and dream of nothing more than sitting outside and letting the sunshine fill me back up. when i am tired, i always look to nature to restore me.

this weekend was filled with music, recording, many badminton games, eating outside at a sidewalk cafe, watching my first rollergirls derby, going for a walk down by the eno, reading and listening to a podcast featuring keri smith.

i am feeling the pull to slow down coupled with a need to simplify. my surroundings seem to be a bit too cluttered these days and i feel distracted. a good spring cleaning is in order. there are floors to be mopped, clothes to be washed, papers to be recycled.



still taking dishwashing portraits. t and i are both in this one. do you see his blue and white sleeve? by the way, he thanks all of you for the sweet birthday wishes. :)

the documentary project is being hosted at lisa's today. it won't be up until this evening however as lisa is one busy girl so i'll go ahead and spill the beans. the word this week is collection.

okay friends. hope your monday is off to a good start. more soon.
xo
s

in which a birthday is celebrated

yesterday was t's birthday. we celebrated all day. a new batch of beer was brewed, tentatively titled badminton ale. the weather was excellent and we stayed outside most of the day.

then as the day faded, we hopped on our bikes and pedaled over to downtown where we wandered around looking at all of the buildings for lease and popping into galleries to see nature photographs and letterpress work.


t celebrated with a strawberry cheesecake cone from blue coffee.


the camera was passed around as we sat in one of the new plaza areas downtown.


our bike shadows were huge and this made us giggle.


a window i had never noticed before last night.


the air was filled with natural perfume.


we pedaled on and ended up at the james joyce for dinner. they were understaffed but the glow of the candles was nice. this is a photo of our friend joe who usually graces us with an annual birthday visit. :)

still playing catch up in a major way. hope you all are well! i have polaroids from yesterday to share and photos from the mountains too.

enjoy your day!
shari

twelve: missing

hi friends.

it's monday and that time again. hope your weekend was lovely.

lisa chose our twelfth word, missing.

first, LISA'S response:

Missing :: a gap, a space, not there, longing, not present, absent

This word came to mind while I was gone – I felt as though it was the counterpart to routine.... I was thinking about home and what I missed about it [even though I also enjoy being away from home]. As I’ve been thinking about it all week I’ve realized that this word holds both a favorable and a slightly melancholy connotation for me.



One of the first thing I thought of as a visual person was the notion of an absence of color {the above ceramic houses are by my friend shalene valenzuela } and how that can make something stand out. If color were missing from my life I think I’d be a bit sad. On the flip side of that I also think that something is not missing or lacking if it doesn’t have color.... I know that if I were to limit my palette severely I’d start to miss the colors I wasn’t “allowed” to use. Also in my own work I think a lot about “empty” space... How it may appear that something is missing.... But in actuality that nothingness has a presence. It can sometimes be that gap – the moment where you find something MISSING that you gain a new understanding.

Of course I then started thinking about the people and pets that I miss – on a grand scale – those that are no longer here... and on a smaller scale – the friends and family that aren’t near or that I don’t see very often. The missing can be bittersweet.... Absence can make the heart grow fonder but missing things can also ache.

I tried to think of non-trivial things that were “missing” from my life [is sushi trivial??]. This was hard to do. How to you qualify your values and determine what you need and don’t need. I have most everything I could ever need. I am very lucky. What I feel is missing most? Time. Time for my family. Time for my studio. Time for my students. I am missing the refusal gene. Even though I have struggled and learned how to say NO – I still find that there are many things that I just must say YES to. Perhaps I should say that I’m sometimes missing balance.

Of course I can wax nostalgic and think of all the things I miss from my childhood :: the exaltation of being picked up from school by grandma with ice cream <> learning how to ride a big bike [after stubbing my toe into a bloody mess] <> playing pool with my granpa <> climbing to the top of the monkey bars and feeling the wind <> winning at handball [with a red rubber ball] <> reading catcher in the rye and “getting” it – catching the nuances and structure before the teacher pointed it all out <> being excited about the children’s museums shadow catcher <> singing along to the beatles with my mom <> going to the roller rink with my dad <>

It’s funny how you can miss the feeling of firsts – the sense of newness – and then simultaneously not miss the sensation of fear of the unknown.

I also thought about at a moment in time you can feel as though you missed your chance. That something slipped through your fingers... But that later that miss turns out to be a blessing in disguise. It’s not that I think that it’s feasible to maintain a positive attitude at all times, but I do like the idea that failing or missing out might actually be the right path – the correct course.

I want to end with the counter to last weeks images [not my dog, not my bathroom, not my bed]. This is what I missed while we were away:



My bathroom [even though I hate our bathroom because it needs to be
remodeled – I missed taking baths & my fancy toothbrush]


Our bed.

MY response:

i think that as human beings we are often missing something or someone. it is just our nature. we give a part of ourselves to our families, friends, and pets and when they are with us, we don't notice it so much. their being, their words, their essence fill up the hole that is left in us. then we they are gone, we begin to notice the hole. we miss them.

this word definitely conjured up some sadness for me. i still miss my grandfather so much even though he passed away over ten years ago. i miss my best friend from elementary school; we are not in touch. missing and memory go hand in hand. when a memory is triggered, the sense of missing is greater. music often triggers memories for me and therefore music can fill me with a sense of longing,missing those i love.



i wondered how i could try to capture the word missing with my camera. i noticed that when exploring this idea i primarily focused on people, blurriness, and shadows. in this photo, i captured my reflection. it is not clear and you are able to see what is behind the glass doors of the cabinets. the blurriness somehow reminds me of memory or the past and as i said before, this brings to the surface the idea of missing.



this is a diptych of colorado (top) and charleston, sc (bottom). not only do i often find myself missing these open landscapes...the prairie lands and the coast...but it made me think of the irony of travel. we often travel because we are missing something: the landscape, a feeling of adventure, newness, pleasure. then we find somewhere in our travels (or maybe at the very end) that we begin to miss our home, the familiar.


this next photograph was a happy accident. t and i often go for a walk along the creek near our house. lisa had just told me the word for the week and i was processing the many swirling thoughts in my head. t looked down from the bridge we were standing on and pointed to a letter that was snagged on the rocks below. someone is missing this letter. who does it belong to? what did it say? i wanted to get closer so i could photograph details but i couldn't find a clear path down to the creek. i like to think of it as a love letter.

often when details are missing, we are forced to use our imaginations, which changes our perceptions of objects, photographs, people, etc.



and finally, a photo of our shadows. you must fill in the missing details in your mind as you cannot see us. our clothing, our expressions...all a mystery.

thanks so much for reading friends. i will be missing you this week as i'm traveling to see my family in the mountains. i should be back for a post on friday, though.

enjoy your week!
shari

dreaming of golden days

i love the golden glow in this photo, especially on a day like today. thunderstorms rolled in last night and it is very dark and rainy outside. every so often a bit of thunder claps in the distance. normally, i welcome rainy days but it seems like in the last week we've had more clouds than sun.

it's been a busy few days here. on thursday, i went to hear 2 authors read from their works. they couldn't be more different but i enjoyed both. joan didion read on the duke campus at 5pm. the reading was not well publicized, and i felt honored to be able to attend and have her sign my copy of the year of magical thinking. i will treasure this copy simply inscribed "for shari" in her compact script. then, a mere two hours later, i strolled down to ninth street with t to hear gary shytengart read from absurdistan.

it was so interesting to hear these readings back to back. the quietness of didion's reading, even keeled. shytengart's animated reading, bringing each character to life. didion's question and answer portion was so interesting, to hear her say that in college she was so discouraged by her writing. shytengart poked fun at himself and his past jobs and blamed his inclusion of a few real life events in his novel as a lack of imagination. it was like traveling to two different planets. two very wonderful literary planets. i really treasure the opportunity to hear authors read from their books and to listen to them describe their process, their thinking.

also in durham this week is the full frame documentary film festival.

m and i went to see two films on friday. metacarpus, a film shot in super 8, about people who use their hands. a magician, a sign language interpreter, and a pianist were all included. i was very excited to see this film especially since lisa and i explored hands in the documentary project. the second film was called nomadax tx. it was a beautifully shot film that followed two men from the basque region of spain (and their traditional instrument) around the world as they interacted with nomadic communities and recreated this instrument from wood, ice and stone. it is filled to the brim with gorgeous scenery and amazing music. it is a movie about sound and collecting different sounds around the world. it is also a movie about collaboration and how music can bridge cultural divides. my description does not do the film justice. it was one of those films that left you happy and dreaming of travels to foreign lands. as for me, well, i'm back on a mongolia kick. i think the mongolian countryside is so beautiful. watch mongolian ping pong for a dreamy experience. it is a simple, slow moving film but so so beautiful.


main street photos are still being accepted for the street project! please join in.

see you tomorrow right here for the documentary project.

enjoy your sunday friends. it's time for sunday brunch. yum.

red

we used a dash of this to make a marinade last night. :)

happy friday. cheers to julie for hosting this color week and cheers to each of you for visiting!

hope you have a lovely weekend.
xo
shari
ps: lots to catch you up on. will do so next week. for now, check out abigail's first post at ship.

yellow

lemon pancakes for dinner last night. the photo is dark and a bit blurry. it was rainy all day yesterday. sorry.


tomorrow is friday and we end color week with red.

cheers all!
shari

pink

speaking of pink, i'm sad to have missed out on this.

enjoying the quiet this week. see you tomorrow for yellow.

cheers!
shari

green

wednesday is pink.

hope your tuesday is delightful!
xo
s

turquoise

a quiet week of color. if you want to join in, tuesday is green.

have a great day!
shari

ps: the documentary project will be posted this evening on lisa's blog.

308: good things

fabulous treats from scotland including an angie lewin card and jasmine tea from paris!



maditi's polaroid postcards. thank you maditi. i love them!!



my curious bird obi. so beautiful.



the first few minutes of howard's end. loveliness.



a march card society card held up to the sunlight. beauty!




new underdog ink rings and other fabulous extras from lisa.


diana's tea bowls. mine is on its way! yippee!

i have started a little collection of white/off white teacups. paula, i need a raku cup from you! :)


hope you all have had a great weekend. we took an impromptu beach trip. more on that soon. xo
shari

307: a girl falls in love with her city again

happy friday!

yesterday i had what turned out to be a fantastic day. where should i start? well, i could start with delicious coconut soup and jasmine tea but let's start with something sweet.



torrone gelato, oh how i love you. gelato is even better when it is served in a cute yellow striped dish with a hot pink translucent spoon. despite the cooler weather, m and i enjoyed our gelato sitting outside in the sun.

this was, of course, after we spent about an hour inside of the rare book store next door. they have an amazing selection of old postcards; i like to browse the giant postcard selection and the bargain bin. i found three lovely giant yellowstone postcards that will be joining the golden charms and heading to gracia and louise in hopes of a little aussie collage magic. in addition, i picked up a paul revere patriot postcard, a petrified forest postcard by fred harvey, a "punching cattle on a jack rabbit" card, two black and white postcards from italy, and gibbon hanging in the trees of the new york zoological park. a good score for good friends.

when i walked up to the counter to purchase these cards, i mentioned to the quirky clerk that my friend liked to use postcards for collages. strangely she replied, "well, maybe your friend thinks she is the first person to do that, but others come to buy postcards for the same reason." ok. thanks for that news flash.



earlier, we spent some time traipsing around downtown durham where (gasp) we actually saw a bit of progress. less orange plastic cones and more completed projects including a bricked pavilion with chessboard tables.


if you live in the triangle, you know that this is the truth. i had to smile.


posters for the new street level exhibit. can you spot marsha and me?



in the evening, we met up with m & b to see this exhibit and i just loved it. i was completely charmed by robin rhode's video clips and series of photographs. william cordova...wow. that's all that needs to be said and mark bradford's use of posters and other found materials was just so so cool. i left the museum with such excitement and energy and it was at that moment that i realized i had fallen in love with my city all over again.

i can't even blame it on spring. :)

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4 newsy tidbits:

hammer and daisy is offering free shipping! yay!

if you love rose bakery and breakfast, lunch, tea, check out jolayne's photos.

a new STREET has been announced. go and see.

karen is posting at ship today!

enjoy your weekend. the farmer's market opens here, and we have good good friends visiting from san fran. this combo guarantees some fun. these friends have requested shrimp and grits so crook's corner here we come!

have a good one!
s

306: colors

julie is hosting a week of color next week and i'm really excited to play along! you can too! find more information here.

colors and my everyday life...

brown: warm pecan shortbread, weathered picnic table

blue: a spring sky, cropped blue jeans

green: seedlings in the garden, my vintage schwinn bicycle

yellow: dandelions, jasmine tea, golden morning light, pollen

cream: torrone gelato, my VW beetle

red: my favorite pair of campers, our dining room table and chairs

orange: mashed sweet potatoes, a vintage shirt i wanted to buy for t

gray: newspaper, soft pencil lead, rilke's fur


what are the colors of your everyday life?

see you tomorrow friends!
xo

305: spring green

good morning.

first, a new haiku by t.

i watch tall trees sway.
one, then another, then all.
the motion stills me.

we have our windows open today. the cats are enjoying some time on the windowsills and i am enjoying the cool breezes and the sweet perfume of spring blossoms.

thanks for your kind words yesterday. last night i decided i needed comfort food so i made baked macaroni and cheese, my mom's recipe, and a simple salad with pecans and vinegarette. so good.

we have a new early evening ritual, checking on the garden.


t's barley is really growing. he is planning to use this barley in a batch of his homebrew. extreme, i know. he has four different types of hops planted as well.




i have been finding much inspiration online in the past few days:

mav's gorgeous april cards. be sure to scroll down and read the story on etsy.

amisha's new project with melissa

jerusha's spring considerations post



i'm also looking forward to checking out the street level art exhibit at the nasher. love this piece by robin rhode.

hope you all have a great day!
shari

ps: on friday, we announce a new street.

304

my mood is one of black and white.

my drink of choice is dark roast without embellishments.

my music of choice is straight up instrumental. april in portugal by bert kaempfert.

so much on my mind these days.

words have been elusive; i have been frustrated. perhaps, this is why i am craving instrumental music. thinking music. music that carries you away and invites you to create your own narrative.

this morning it began with the crackling sound as needle is put to vinyl and then like magic, it's april in portugal, and i am warm and happy.

it doesn't matter that someone came dangerously close to backing right into me this morning or that i just knocked our stock pot into our glass cannisters and have a kitchen full of glass.

it is april in portugal and i let the music carry me where it will.

ten: blurry

well, here we are at the tenth week of our documentary project. lisa chose this week's word, blurry.

first, LISA's response:

This word came to mind after talking to someone about squinting [maybe it was a student?]. I was saying that sometimes you need to squint to really “see” something. To step out of your normal mode of looking. To change your view. Then I started thinking about how some of the artwork that I love the most is blurry. Gerhard Richter – and his blurry painterly landscapes. Sigh sigh. You can see SFMOMA’s documentation of his show here. Or Uta Barth.... Nice write up of her work here. Be sure and look at this photo

this photo by martha also caught my eye. I love the idea of a blurry reflection. What does a reflection – especially when unclear - really reveal? [the truth? The inner soul? A bit of fiction? Light?]. Shari’s photos through an amber beer bottle also came to mind [scroll down or go here] - the tinge of yellow – the skewed perspective – it’s like looking through fire.... There’s an energy that comes from the blur, through the blur. I don’t want them to be in focus.

I remember how excited I was when I got my D50 because FINALLY I could control the focus on my camera. It was so liberating to be able to choose how in or out of focus something was. I’m so used to it now that I don’t think I could ever go back... And of course we have to mention the slight [or sometimes] extreme blur of polaroids that make me love them so.


Then I thought about how I love chopping onions because it makes me teary eyed and I look around my kitchen in blurry goodness [OK sometimes that’s annoying too, but usually I try to enjoy looking through my tears]. There is something about BLURRY that immediately makes me think of the ethereal, the momentary, beauty, dreams, another time or place. I am intrigued how a blur can pull you in, or push you away simultaneously. It’s that space between again – a moment where you can strain to focus or go with the uncertainty. The space where you can insert your own little narrative... A bit of mystery. Something ordinary can become something other... Granted – you can take blurry too far I suppose... But for today I’m all about the haze.


Look how much nicer my laundry looks


What is the story behind my kitty in the window?


The buzz of spring


now for MY response:

a few weeks ago i grew more and more excited about shooting photos through an amber beer bottle. what was it about the distortion, the blur that captured my interest so?



i began to think about how both the past and future are blurry. the past becomes blurrier as the years go by. we forget tiny details;memories run together. the future is blurry because we cannot focus in on what will happen. this is a lesson that i am currently working on, remembering that only the present moment is clear. living in the past or in the future is like living in one of these blurry photographs.


for this photograph, i held my camera up to a steaming cup of tea and then quickly shot a picture of the trees above me. it reminds me of fog. i love seeing fog and think it's quite beautiful, but i am really scared to drive in the fog. there is an element of the unknown, and it is scares me to have my vision obscured. do you ever have dreams where you are driving but you cannot see? when i have this dream (and it is a reoccurring one), this is what my world looks like.

i like taking blurry photographs of nature, especially in black and white. it adds both an element of mystery to them as well as a softness.



sometimes, in order to focus in on detail, the background must be blurry.




photographing reflections often results in a blurry yet dreamy photograph. i love the mood of this one.



in fourth grade, i had to get glasses. i remember how it all happened. my family was vacationing in myrtle beach, sc. we were eating in a restaurant called haskins. my mom asked me to read something on the wall and i couldn't even see it. my mom was amazed that i had been able to cope with a blurry world for so long. i guess it happened gradually. now, i only remove my glasses right before i go to bed. i don't like to be surrounded by the blur. it makes me feel too vulnerable.

blurry: unclear: hazy: soft: blurred lines: mysterious: unfocused: dreamy:

thank you so much for reading friends and happy april!


shari