Wednesday, July 27, 2011

All the Red Soldiers

I use to play with tin soldiers. A surprising revelation from a girly-girl. 
I loved the feel of the cold metal, the shiny uniforms
painted red and blue.
Line them up STRAIGHT, no slouching, no convex/concave lines.
This is perhaps my first memory of 
symmetry.

"...beauty resulting from structure.... objects divided into equal shape, size or length.... repetition of similar parts."
Oxford Dictionary

I haven't thought much about straight lines past those childhood years. (Well, unless cutting a child's bangs STRAIGHT counts.)

I actually like RANDOM. SPONTANEOUS. UNUSUAL.
Then I discovered a special website devoted to photography and writing. 
Kat's   Exploring with a Camera

Every few weeks Kat posts an informative article meant to enhance our photographic skills, see things in a new way, be open, spontaneous. 

And this is how I came to think about "things that are similar, equally divided, matching and repetitious."

(The equivalent of my tin soldiers.)



 Being a painter by profession I use many mediums and materials. I would like to think that my studio would have some orderliness, some semblance of uniformity allowing easy access.



Neat and Tidy would be a Magical Word.

Taking a Bird's Eye View of things


I do see symmetry, but in bits and pieces, on my own terms one might say.


Running my hand along the cold limestone, thinking about the similarities in structure but the individuality of each piece.



A carousel can't function without equal parts, each strong and symmetrical. 

But to fly with the crow is also very appealing.



It has been a pleasure to explore this concept with Kat. 
But now it is time to run barefoot 
across the sand 
 every which way.

3 comments:

  1. I love it! Run barefoot with the wind on your face. Enjoy the repeating patterns for a little while and then break free of them. So glad to have you linking in to Exploring with a Camera! You did it perfect. :)

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  2. how lovely. I have been capturing a lot of juxtaposition in our home. Woody riding next to the hydrangeas was most recent :) You are just too much fun, sharon.

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Thank you for taking your time to drop by and leave a note. Warmly, Sharon