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

[Shannon B.]

Looks like a beautiful book!!

[Carmen Torbus]

I'm dying to read this and haven't gotten a copy yet. Excellent giveaway!!! How exciting.

[lisa]

Love this!

[ELK]

this post is
perfect for me
thank you for
the chance to
receive this book

[sperlygirl]

beautiful post!

[Chris]

oh, am I happy Hanna shared your site with me! pretty pretty. real real.

I was just noticing something the other day that's around me all the time. And it is a beautiful thing. And recently I got a timeshare, and have been planning trips, so I'm starting a travel journal. But even while loving to travel and loving the anticipation, I am starting to train myself to practice seeing what's Here and Now, because attentiveness is a behavior, and it can only benefit us in travel and in home. Attentiveness and listening.

Thanks for a cool message, that's come at a pivotal time.

[Jackie]

I've always been a detail noticer sometimes this causes me to miss the forest, but ohhh I get to really see the trees! And am so grateful that i see the bark, and the gnarls and knot holes, and the way the branches criss cross, and the gradient color of the leaves.
The details of a fork and a brussel sprout:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22609510@N03/3067929021/

[Cheryl]

Love the colors in the picture. Gorgeous..

[Busymomma66]

I love Swirly Girl!! I'm definitely in!!

[Nancy]

Ah, the universe provides synchronicity to me in marvelous ways...I was considering the kinds of ideas Christine has written about while driving to work this morning. I think the meaning of life is, after all, about all the ordinary moments which sparkle if we look at them in the right light.

I'd love to win the book, but if not, it's on my list of "must buys" for inspirational reading.

[tasha]

I'm feeling lucky today....

[liz]

Great post. I would love to win that book.

[Chocolate on my Cranium]

Living on a farm in the middle of the desert (that's sounds like a juxtaposition right there) we notice colors more htan ever because of the "beige country" we live in. Here are two examples from this past week. The first is a beautiful sunset over the mountains on the edge of our farm.

http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/2008/12/view-off-my-deck-on-monday.html

In the second my daughter was very quick to catch me giving a kiss to my husband while we were trying to take photos in front of the only colorful backdrop around - our red horse barn.

http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/2008/12/he-hates-kissing-pictures.html

[kristine]

pick me, pick me!

[Karyn]

Beautiful post. Details are where it's at.

A few of mine around this place.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kayak57/3082374519/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kayak57/3083122668/
and the ever present detail...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kayak57/3083208742/

[Zom]

thank you for the opportunity to win Ordinary Sparkling Moments.

[McKenzie]

i would love a good book. always do.

[laura]

What a great idea! I think I may have to do this at home. I love looking at common things in new ways. Maybe it's a good way to practice using my new 70-200mm lens. I love the photo at the top of the post!

[jeanne]

i would love a chance to win her book, please!

[Jamie]

I'm enjoying discovering new things to photograph around my house.
http://umbrellablog.com/holidays/missing-ingredient/

[Geralyn S.]

Great giveaway! I would love to win this book; it sounds awesome.

[Kristy]

Would love it!

[patricia]

isn't there an expression "God is in the details?"

[annamaren]

What a beautiful reminder! : )

[The Other Laura]

I've had a day that seemed like nothing but details, trying to look closely and appreciate them...

[Nerdy Renegade]

Feeling depleted at the moment - and like I could use a double dose of SPARKLE :-)

[AscenderRisesAbove]

It has been a few weeks since I visited; and what a sweet idea for the daily give away. You are an artist... wishing all people would create...


My heart is an apple tree, my heart is a nest... http://ascenderrisesabove.com/?p=4998

[Cayden]

such a beautiful sage woman! so inspired by her words.

[maya]

i've got all sorts of details going on today:

http://springtreeroad.typepad.com/springtreeroad/2008/12/things-youll-find-in-our-new-yard.html

great giveaway, y'all!

[Lily]

I would really love to get a copy.
Ordinary moments are the moments most of us have each day - let us try to get them sparkling!

[Lori]

I would love the chance to win a book! Thanks!

[victoria winters]

I'd love to be entered.

While it doesn't exactly fit the theme of detail (or maybe it does in an internal, rather than external, sense), I've been doing some self photography as I deal with the emotions from my recent cancer diagnosis.

Please visit and tell me what you think!

http://tmlens.blogspot.com

[Bridge]

http://ridethewavesoflife.blogspot.com/2008/12/love-thursday-observing-sparkles.html

Thanks for your guest post, it was lovely. Thanks for my amazing Jen Lemon cards, I cannot wait to see them!

[tricia]

I have been wanting this book! It would be so wonderful to win it:)

[Marina]

When I travelled the globe, barefoot (years ago), I snapped and snapped and laughed. It's only now when I look back at those photos (in my memory, I lost them all when my harddrive sang a final swansong) that I see those details: the political graffiti lining the buildings of Serbia, and the computer cables still dangling along the obliterated wall of a bombed building across the road. The teenagers dancing and sipping beer on the outskirts of the Red Square, with the old man hunched in the corner of the frame, clutching a bottle of vodka and covering his face from the wild whisky wind. Photos capturing those unseen details of a country resonate long after the visa stamp expires and fades.

[Janine]

Thanks for the reminder to pay attention to the small stuff.

[Julie Alvarez]

I loved this post.
Sometimes I think that I am too much in the details, always noticing the small stuff. Not only, but still more than the big picture. But it's a matter of phases. I was a big picture girl before...
A small peek here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/3064129890/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/3050926643/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/3064114834/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/3062482520/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/3055636037/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/3045143691/

[Doolisey]

Dipping my toes back into the creative arena and would love this kick start.

[Kristina]

powerful words!
thanks so much.

[Rachel Dallaire]

Would love to have a copy of her book-she is so inspiring! :-)

[Traci]

just starting to delve into the details through my own lens ... it's about time as i approach the big 4.0! :)

http://flickr.com/photos/tracimeyer/3083246232/

[darlene]

i am so enjoying her ~ would love to win her book ... i also love getting lost in the details :)

[stacey / create a balance]

I used to have rigorous itineraries when I traveled. Now I just enjoy each discovery along the way.

[Elaine]

I still don't know what to call myself. Maybe looking at the details would help me figure it out!

[Jennifer]

oh beautiful

[samantha b.]

excellent! love her!

[Wanda]

This is wonderful! Here's some Thanksgiving detail....
http://whatwouldwandado.blogspot.com/2008/12/thanksgiving-retrospective.html

[smallbluebird]

Seems that when I get lost in the details, I find a new self, or a facet of myself that I'd overlooked. Rather like lifting something up to find something misplaced just waiting underneath.

[marty]

This would be such a wonderful Christmas gift...for myself :-)
Seriously, learning to see is not as easy as it sounds...but there is beauty in the ordinary...

[Rebecca F.]

I saw her book on Boho (Denise's) blog. I would soooo love to have a copy.