l2r: Laura Hopper calligraphy kit to expand my creativity in the new year, sugar in my late nana's baking container, my bathroom, fresh lavender from my garden in a terrain vase, photographs from my wedding, a dried lavender wreath above my desk, my kitchen window display featuring a gift from one of my closest friends and a jade plant from my late step-mother <3
Last year I read a book that changed my life. I have always been a compulsive organizer so the title, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, resonated with me to the nth degree. But this book doesn't talk about the typical magazine suggestions of using over the door shoe racks to store wrapping paper and magnetizing your spice rack. Instead, at the heart of it, it tells you to hold every possession you own and ask yourself, "Does thing bring me joy?" You literally take everything out of its place, hold it in your hands, decide what it brings to you and then find a "home" for it in your home. It sounds simple but then you do it and it's like the best cleanse you've ever done.
So, when I saw the information come out about funaday, an annual January project that fellow photographer Cara Brostrom spearheaded and shared with me a few years back, it didn't take me long to figure out my subject. I wanted to focus on my home. And all of the little bits and pieces that make it a place of joy for me. I love the way the golden hour light hits my kitchen table, the way both of my grandmothers' trinkets and homemade gems have their place now in my home, and, yes, every single one of my snuggly West Elm throws. And if this is starting to sound materialistic, I promise you, it's the opposite. It has actually encouraged me to become more minimalistic, and to appreciate every teaspoon and tank top I own.
The funaday project encourages artists to literally do something every day. At the end of each week, I will share an update of the images I have captured so far. Today is my first post for this project.
Enjoy.