THE SIDEWALK: MY JOURNEY AROUND THE BLOCK

Project 2  •  No. 3

More than words.

I went for a walk, feeling a bit depressed, and I saw my mood reflected in the signs around me.  

Life is short. I better snap out of this!

THE SIDEWALK: MY JOURNEY AROUND THE BLOCK

Project 2  •  No. 2

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood?

The monkey is smiling because he knows he'll be around a lot longer than those decaying leaves.

Somehow I'm not feeling so welcome.

Ah... the good old box 'o' wine. I heard 2013 was a good year. Can I smell the cap?

Harry Houdini magic trick or shrubbery protection...you decide.

Happy Holidaaaaays! (Sing like Charles Nelson Reilly)

THE SIDEWALK: MY JOURNEY AROUND THE BLOCK

(project #2)

THE ASSIGNMENT: 

To create photographs that reflect my life in suburbia.

I will be seeking moments of beauty, humor, and irony from an environment that is often stagnant.

MY PURPOSE: 

To show that art can be lurking anywhere. You just have to look for it.

So here we go...

SW #1: Beauty and Decay

I find things that are dying or breaking down can have a  

poignancy that goes beyond words. 

This reminded me of the tenderness of an old married couple laying in bed.

Funny how a sewer grate can look like a shield from an ancient tribe.

HRT #50

I have completed my year long project of an illustration a week 

(give or take some vacation time). I now have a collection of 50 Hair-raising Thoughts. 

An artist's life can be a lonely one, so

I thank you for sharing this experience with me and giving life to my art. 

Stay tuned for my next series of thoughts called, 

The Sidewalk: My Journey Around the Block

I will be going underground as an artist in suburbia to capture 

photographic moments of unexpected beauty or irony in my own neighborhood. 

And now I am going out to have a celebratory brunch!

HRT #49

Wishing you sweet thoughts on Valentine's Day!

HRT #48

This didn't come out exactly the way I envisioned it, but I only had one shot to get it right.

Limited time and low temperatures stood in my way, but it was fun to feel like 

a kid again drawing with chalk. My neighbors must think I'm nuts.

Below is the initial rough sketch and a detail. I'll have to try this again when it's warmer!

Snow, rain — and the image remains. 

The metaphor doesn't seem to be holding up!

HRT #47: This time it's personal.

I was testing out a new ink pen after I sat down to create another HRT. I wrote my name in my journal, 

and it spawned this personal essay. I decided to indulge my creative muse and wander off on a tangent. 

In the 80's, Billy Idol sang,"Eyes without a Face." Today I create, "Thoughts without a Face."

Is that with a C or a K?

I love how my name looks written in script: C-a-t-h-r-y-n. The high arch of the C balanced five letters away by the descending Y, which grounds the the word—reaching deeply, as I do when confronted by my own fragility.

Seven letters long. The strong C sound in the beginning followed by the wide-mouthed A, swept along by the rushing air of TH across tongue and lip, caught in the gritty net of R, Y masquerading as a vowel, and then suddenly the N-ding.

My father is responsible for this unusual spelling. Thank you Daddy.
Perhaps in your mathematical mind you knew the best way to engineer the label that would represent me and be me. In your quiet way you made an artistic choice that captured who I am. I am no more Katherine with a K than I am a Sol or a Mort.

People have misspelled my name my whole life—quite fitting since I am not easily spelled out. I want to be quiet and daydream in a world that wants to go faster and faster. In my generation it was said, “Greed is good.” In this generation, “Speed is good,” but all I want to do is go slower and slower, ponder and think, and if I am lucky, very lucky...create.

In our rushed world, people will quickly ask, “Is that Catherine with a C or a K?”—not bothering to get the correct ending, only gaining information for half of the equation. Ultimately their calculations do not compute. But I smile to myself, knowing my secret. I am unique and not quickly understood. You need to slow down to get to know the real C-a-t-h-r-y-n. But if not, that’s okay. I’ve learned it is wonderful to be alone where it is quiet, where I can ponder and think, and if I am lucky, very lucky...create.