PICTURE HOME
/
For the month of May in 2020, I participated in Tracey Clark’s communal photo project called PICTURE HOME. I had interviewed her about it on the podcast, and its premise spiked my curiosity. As an avid memory keeper, paper crafter, and planner girl, photos have always been a big part of what I do, but I was curious to see how shifting my focusing mainly on the photography in the moment - and NOT what project it'll be in the end - felt like in my body. Not to mention the fact that my one little word is HOME this year and this project seemed to fit right in.
Something that happened which was interesting was: I started off with the intention of making this project a collective portrait the physical space I call HOME. However, as the days went on, I shifted my perspective on it. Instead, I decided it would serve as a month-long collection of images of my HOME IN THIS SEASON OF LIFE right now, whatever that looks like. With that in mind, each of the images fit right the heck in. This is my PICTURE of HOME…during a worldwide pandemic…in May 2020…
MAY 01 | HOMECOMING - Tom & I walking into the lobby after going for a neighborhood stroll
MAY 02 | TIME WELL SPENT - made my coffee, crafted in my planner, & enjoyed some quiet me-time
MAY 03 | WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS - a caravan of cars for Nicole’s DRIVE-BY Baby Shower
MAY 04 | A LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN - through my 5th floor window blinds at the sun slowly setting
MAY 05 | A LOT ON YOUR PLATE - we ordered out Mexican at my sister’s Cinco de Mayo dinner
MAY 06 | WORD SEARCH - spotted these letterboard words on sister’s wild bathroom wallpaper
MAY 07 | THE LONG HALL - it’s been bittersweet to teach barefoot at home in my comfy clothes
MAY 08 | STIR CRAZY - all these water bottles next to my bed for no reason at all …crazy
MAY 09 | POWER TOOLS - This BED HEAD HOT AIR BRUSH has changed my life!
MAY 10 | LET LOVE BLOOM - spotted cardinal in the tree above us on one of our neighborhood walks
MAY 10 | LET LOVE BLOOM - as mine & Tom’s LOVE BLOOMS, so does the love I have for his family
MAY 11 | MAKE YOUR BED - make my bed?…but why when the cats don’t mind & it’s Monday?
MAY 12 | THE SHAPE OF WATER - in big pots on the stove, water bubbling & boiling healthier options
MAY 13 | FUN & GAMES - he showed my students how to spin a fidget-spinner on your nose
MAY 14 | GATHER TOGETHER - us strangers gathered outside of Trader Joe’s waiting to get in
MAY 14 | GATHER TOGETHER - items gathered inside the freezer / PS- Van Leeuwen ice cream OMG!
MAY 15 | SNAP HAPPY - I am both so much the same & so much different than that girl from 6 yrs ago
MAY 16 | DOOR AJAR - more and more, morphing this space from mine to ours (see this post)
MAY 17 | THE ROYAL TREATMENT - girls’ day sitting around Alyssa’s pool chatting about Dead To Me
MAY 18 | JOT IT DOWN - remote learning means jotting down notes and notes on those white boards
MAY 19 | HOW THINGS STACK UP - things stacking up nicely both in the foreground & background
MAY 20 | FACE TIME - seeing these faces out the window will always remind me of this home
MAY 21 | CHECK OUT A BOOK - journalling, poetry, and daily self-help passages are where it’s at for me
MAY 22 | OBJECT OF AFFECTION - so much love for my calendar clipboard I change every morning
MAY 23 | SIGN OF THE TIMES - an empty pizzeria on a Saturday night w/ these two in masks in the Hamptons
MAY 24 | DON’T DULL YOUR SPARKLE - at the windy Hamptons beach glowing with gratitude
MAY 25 | MANTLE PIECES - the mantle in the Hampton’s house & my MAN ‘TIL forever (I hope) wink/wink
MAY 26 | SIMPLE STUDY - my egg-slicer revealed this egg was a twin
MAY 27 | ARTIFICIAL LIGHT - this August marks 5 years in this home & I still remember hanging this swag light
MAY 28 | DON’T MISS IT - my dad popping up can get annoying, but GOSH, these are the days
MAY 29 | BUBBLE UP - excitement + nerves bubbled up this week as I start my new 3-month health plan
MAY 30 | SHOW YOUR WORK - it was lots of fun to pretend I was Elma de Jonge for a second
MAY 31 | A WHOLE NEW WORLD - I made it through to the whole new world of June…
The last prompt in the challenge was A WHOLE NEW WORLD. It feels like this month has made a major tectonic shift in my world. One major theme of this month has been my boyfriend and I living in the same space together. May smoothed us into the next phase of our relationship, and - for the most part - we’re thriving in it. I’m beyond the moon grateful.
I’m also coming out of this past month with a powerfully clear mind. It’s amazing what a good deal of rest, fresh air, and creativity will do for a gal. I’ve become zeroed-in on what I want to come out of the next few months, and short term and long term goals are taking shape - which is exciting.
Picture Home, I did it. CHALLENGE COMPLETE. I had forgotten how good it felt to focus on photography through prompting words every day for a month. I’m thrilled I decided to sign up. Tracey, it was lovely.
