Just 30 more to 365 ...

I love wandering through thrift shops and second hand stores. Not because I like antiques, I don't. BUT I do like the stories or potential histories that different objects seem to impart that cause me to stop and linger.

I was reading an interview of a contemporary young artisan who makes handsome leather and fabric handbags and shoulder bags out of discarded yardage she gleans from thrift shops. She said unknown people had a specific purpose for buying that piece of fabric. So, when she finds and uses the yardage, she feels like she's giving it a second chance to become something finished, functional and beautiful. I really liked that thought process. That idea of a baton being passed, or creativity realized or manifested.

Oops! Got off on a tangent! But that, too, is another reason I wander thrift shops ... it makes me question things about myself, about others, about our connections.

I came across a couple of objects that "spoke" to me:



This bust was in a glass case, so I photographed
it through the glass. I was taken with
the exotic woman, the abacus, the brass bells.
Was there an actual woman who posed
for the carving? Did someone actually count
on the abacus? How were the brass bells used?




The French white wrought iron grate; did it adorn a home?
How old was it? Older than me?




This is a detail of a massive cut crystal chandelier.
What is its provenance?



Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread ...

I'm lingering still over images of Lima, Montana. I came across a tiny, tiny little house at 8 S. Harrison, with an American flag snapping in the wind, and all manner of antiques scattered over the yard. The sign proclaimed it as F/L Originals, Antiques and Collectibles. I am not a lover of antiques, but I am curious by nature and wanted to see what antiques were to be found in Lima, MT.

I walked up to the front door, and although there was a big OPEN sign, I felt compelled to knock. A woman's cheerful voice from within said to come in. Once inside I was almost pushed out again by all of the antiques and STUFF on display. There was hardly room to turn around. Tucked in the corner, like an antique herself ,barely seen behind the geegaws on the counter, was Lynn Aires--sorry, I neglected to get the correct spelling of her name. Lynn has a sturdy handshake and an unmistakably Wisconsin accent. We chatted a bit and then she invited me to wander through the rooms of the house, while she stayed put.

I wandered narrow pathways through saddles, glassware, furniture, dolls, duck decoys, stuffed bobcat, kitchenware, linens, clothing, mineral specimens, rifles ... oh my golly gosh ... you name it, it was probably there. Much to my delight she also had a mirrored vanity and chest of drawers that was EXACTLY the same as my mother owned decades ago! It brought back a flood of great memories of Mom.

I captured a few images, but as I said, I was there more out of curiousity than to get some great photographs. I went into the kitchen, which was covered floor to ceiling with all manner of pots, pans, rolling pins, trays, dishes. My eye was drawn particularly to some hand mixers in the window. I loved seeing them. I've uploaded one of the photographs today. I'm also including a photo of rolling pins, hence the title above, as there is a plate with that inscription in the background. I'm also including a very unfocused photograph of a pile of crocheted doilies and what naught. I thought about the women who spent hours making those lacy doilies, now piled unused in a dusty dark closet. I may be mistaken, but there didn't seem to be much else to do in Lima, MT but to crochet. I hadn't adjusted my camera to compensate for the lack of lighting in that closet, but I like the dreamy, another era feeling of being out of focus. Rationale? Perhaps.

So, here are today's selections.

July 13, 2011

Oh, I also wanted to mention the flurry of activity today on my Etsy site, http://www.kweststudio8.etsy.com/. I had photographs featured in two lovely Etsy Treasuries: Simple & Vertical by TheLavendarTree ... and Undulations by luluscreations1, and four other photographs of mine were added to viewers' lists of favorites. With all of this activity, someone is bound to make a purchase of one of my photographs sooner than later.

I just checked Etsy and my Fishing Nets n Bouys photograph was featured in Realfaery's treasury: Caught Up in the Fishing Net.

Check out those vendors and you'll be able to see their treasuries:

TheLavendarTree
Luluscreations1
Realfaery