Exploring the Details

I do not travel to follow itineraries. I travel to see whatever I happen to see. All it takes is a willingness to wander, to make mistakes, to ask for help, to observe, to follow my instincts, to face fears and step outside my comfort zone. -Ordinary Sparkling Moments

Whenever anyone asks me what I do for a living, I always smile and say, “I am an artist”. Questions then follow about the kind of work I do and what inspires me, and while all of these exchanges are among the most pleasant for me (I mean really, I get to say I’m an artist...an artist!) I have lately been wondering if I should toss all formalities aside and try to express the more fundamental truth of what I do. More than being an artist, a writer or anything else, I am a wanderer, a dreamer, and an explorer. Whether I am on a journey across the Pacific or sitting in my studio pondering my place in the world, my fierce passion for explorations of any kind is what feeds my creative work more than anything else, and it is the tiniest of details in these wanderings that give me the deepest sense of delight.

I have been incredibly blessed to have traveled to many beautiful parts of the world, and on every excursion, there are two items that are always with me: my journal and my camera. I have been known to write journal entries as I’m walking down cracked sidewalks in Havana and as a woman obsessed with graffiti art in Buenos Aires. I am constantly writing, sketching, photographing and observing, trying to capture all the minutiae of new cities, unfamiliar neighborhoods and foreign cultures. Then when I arrive back home, notes, images and doodles in hand, I let all these bits and pieces spill forth so that I can re-assemble them in an entirely new way. I use my photography to express all the subtleties I saw, sensed and experienced in places where I could not understand the language yet still perhaps felt strangely at home.

To allow yourself to dive deep into the tiniest of details in any environment is to open yourself up to colors, images and textures that might go unnoticed if you’re always looking up at the skyscrapers, so to speak. There is so much to see and admire on the ground, in a drugstore window, in the layers of paint on an old building. I find that the more I let my eyes stay focused on one small area, the more I comprehend the real flavor of a city and a culture. In Tokyo, the artful details of their manhole covers helped me understand their appreciation for beauty. In Havana, the peeled paint, broken windows and piles of rubble let any visitor know this was a city lost in time. In Buenos Aires, the political nature of their graffiti gave me a glimpse of the tension still deeply felt by a city with a dark, complicated past. The personality, history and passions of any city, town or neighborhood can be found in its details, by looking in the most minuscule of spaces and letting that take up your entire field of vision.

You don’t need to travel across the globe to explore life’s details. This is a technique you can use anywhere, anytime, even in your own home. What if you took an afternoon to explore the details of your home with your camera? What would those images say about you, your family, your routines, your likes and dislikes? Giving time and attention to the smaller corners of your own living space with your camera can help hone the muscle that notices tiny sparkles in unexpected places. Then you can use those skills to capture all the peculiar, radiant, mysterious charms of any location, near or far, at any time of the year in any part of the world.

Take your time. Observe. Look closer. Let yourself get lost in the details.

Photo and guest post courtesy of artist extraordinaire Christine Mason Miller (aka Swirly Girl). Christine has graciously offered a copy of her book Ordinary Sparkling Moments to one lucky reader. If you want in on the action leave a comment here to be included in the drawing. 

Congratulations to Bridge of Ride the Waves of Life the winner of the wonderful offerings from Jen Lemen.

Comments

[mel]

I love those kimonos!

(smiling)

[Steph Wiese]

This post reminded me of some of my favorite quotes:

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not" Emerson

" A real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes"

"Eventually I realized that my home is within me and I can take it with me wherever I go, leaving me much freer than before"

[Lindy]

Oh WOW, the opportunity to win her book?!?!?! I'm in!

[Kristin]

Sounds like a really neat book! Sometimes you have to slow down and just pay attention.

[Star]

I would love a copy of this wonderful book. Full of inspiration!

[Diane Schuller]

I won't have time to blog about this today but I'm pleased to share two visuals.

Details I captured on my last visit to the city:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27458974@N00/3081762174/

Details in my own home: something I brought back from summer vacation sitting in my kitchen:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27458974@N00/3081810609/

Another really lovely post.
Diane

[Cis]

Getting a camera combined with blogging sure has made a difference to me ... in noticing details. On walks, my husband notices the big things ... while I'm always looking for the little things.

Sure and I'd be most pleased to get that book so count me in!

[donna]

Wonderful advice...we are headed off for a vacation this Christmas so I'll have to make sure and use some of the tips you suggest.
- Donna

[Carol]

love that first quote!

[Diane]

I would love to win!

[ange]

I can feel it in my bones.....

[carriefaith]

I trust, therefore I am.

[Jenna]

the title of the book alone is enough to make me NEED to read it.

[Tracy]

Inspiring post. I hope I'm the lucky winner!

[Leslie]

Ooh! That book has been on my "covet list" since I first saw it! Thanks for the chance!

I enjoyed your perspective on noticing the details of everyday life. I have a tendency to be so hyper-focused on my incessant To Do list that I forget to do that. Thanks for the reminder!

[Jodyangel]

I don't know about the rest of you; but I'm so loving reading thru and looking at everyone's photo's. Incredible stuff out there.

I have learned to really love the details esp since I've become one of the sisters. I am patiently..ok Not so patiently waiting for a macro lens =)

But for now, I do what I can. Here are some of the precious details I love in my life.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jodyangel/3062602794/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jodyangel/3057043936/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jodyangel/3056198091/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jodyangel/3053254602/

[whitney]

just last night i explored the details of my daughter's room, her fear of the dark and her sleep experience.

wwaddellphoto.com

[Erin]

Beautiful post!! I am crossing my fingers for that book!

[Alicia]

I love the quote, I love the moments when that is how I live, and long for more of them. Thank you.

[Michelle S.]

I never conisdered myself creative or artistic. ;) I'm type A. I like label makers and filing systems. When I got my camera I discovered that I really enjoyed taking pictures. However, when I got my 50mm f1.8 lens... that's when I discovered the DETAILS. That's when I felt the creative side of myself begin to emerge for the first time in my life, at age 33! It has changed the way I look at everything... even when my camera isn't in my hands. :)

Thanks for a great post!!

[Amy]

Thank you for the radiant post. It is always thrilling for me to discover that others share my passions in life (travel and art being my top two as well). I spent two weeks in India last year shooting every second of my adventures and breathlessly scribbling them down in shorthand in my journal. How reassuring to know I have kindred spirits doing the same!

[Jeanne]

I especially love the details of nature....how all the leaves on a tree move together in the wind...like a dance. How the flowers turn their petals towards the sun. So many more....

[Tracie]

Oh the colors and the beauty in this picture...I'm aching to travel!

[phyllis]

what a gorgeous photo.

[Mod Girl]

I am learning to observe, notice, and enjoy... would love to be inspired by this book.

http://modobjectathome.blogspot.com/2008/12/homework.html

[Lucy]

We are often so busy with the life we forget to see the little things....thanks for the reminder.

[kristin]

thank you for this challenge! it has been hard adjusting to winter shooting. this look inward was much needed. thanks.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/3081727997/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/3081726959/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/3082569484/in/photostream/

[Sandra]

Beautiful....and I love ordinary sparkling moments ;)

[Betsy]

Love this post, and am so excited about the giveaway!

[mary]

to be thankful for the "everyday" blessings. . .that's one of the basic concepts I tried to instill in my children.
taking a picture a day has really made me look at the "sparkle in the ordinary moments"

[CarrieJ]

I tried to get lost in the details ... but they were too dusty :)

[Angie]

What a lovely post, and so true. Details are all, sometimes.

[Emily]

Wonderful post!

[JachiCue]

Oooh, yes please!

[Shalet]

Sometimes when I'm looking through the viewfinder on my camera I think I'm seeing things for the first time. Great post!

[nikkole!]

again so inspireing
thank you!

[Sharon]

Count me in for the drawing. Details are endlessly fascinating!

[Alli]

I usually think my photographs are the details... I don't usually pose people, but catch them in the moment. Or I might get a part of their hands doing some work or playing.

This is one of my fave detail pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumleydotorg/2725423113/in/set-72157606506857549/

[Kelly]

life really is all the little details....

[Kathryn]

Great post.. another opportunity to think about what exactly the important things are in life! (as found in the little things)

[Bonny]

Awesome post!!! I too, am very lucky to be able to travel. My camera and journal are always with me. Sometimes I'll draw something that inspires me, more often I take a photo. You can do so much with a photo!! Blog about it, share it with family and friends, make prints or posters or other giftware featuring the image, you can collage it, journal it, scrapbook it, write a story about the photo.... :)

Details are fun to capture and so are close-ups and macros.

This is a book I have to read :)) Thanks for sharing and writing such a fabulous Blog.

[Kate Baumert]

:)

[Rachelle]

details indeed

[Bria]

You rock my world. Count me in for the giveaway!

[Juli]

I am just beginning to step into what it means for me to be an artist. Thank you for your words and inspiration.

I love Christine's art and how she sees the sacred in the ordinary.

[Katy]

When people ask me what I do, I'm starting to say that I am a musician...that's a very scary thing for me to do. I am no longer just a student who sings a lot, I have chosen my career, and it is as a musician. And it's letting me explore so many new things: my voice, myself, my colleagues, my world. And, like you, my journal and my camera are not far away while I do my exploration.

[Silvia]

Your book has been on my wishlist for so long.
Have no clue as to why it is still on the list and not yet
in my book case. If this comment isn't changing anything to that
situation i will have to do something about it soon :)

[Kristina Tence]

Thanks for the inspiring post. I find the best events happen in the small ordinary moments. It would be a joy to win this book.

[jacky]

fingers crossed!

[Shawna]

Especially now that it's winter, I'm trying to expand my perspective, while staying within my little block here at home. At first it seemed like a limitation, now I find it's expanding my creativity. I love how you travel, though I'm not as good at meandering that way. There are stay at home dads who have business cards that say "gentleman of leisure", so why not have one for yourself that says "wanderer extraordinaire". That sounds wonderful!