this weekend we wandered the beach. the girls came home with pockets of found objects. this is all part of their daily haul of treasures, as they call them, which come from playgrounds, school, sidewalks, nature, and friends houses. jewels, tiny taped pieces of paper, shells, rocks, wood, flowers, stickers, and stuffed animals, all find their way here. on our last hike, sienna brought home a huge branch.
the family is quite used to opening the door to a rearranged house. sienna is starting to get the curating portion of the process. what still alludes them both, is the edit. they are attached to every little item they find, so i tend to "edit" when they are not home. i've started to talk to sienna about how to really look at a piece. roll it over in your hand, be discerning, ask yourself what about it speaks to you, and what do you plan to do with it. i had her watch this beautiful short selby film, we talked a little about the story that an object has, where it came from and what it means if it comes into her life. she wanted to watch the beginning of the film again. she loved the big display case and the look of the pieces lined up. she also wanted to know if she could have a zippered leather clutch for collecting her treasures, that way she wouldn't bring home too much. i think sienna's discerning eye is developing just fine. hopefully she doesn't move on to collecting beautiful bags anytime soon.
I really love this post Karina and definitely relate. Flora brings home sticks and leafs everyday. I like the idea of having her edit out her favorites and the ones that speak to her. I have the tendency to edit too much. Paring down a space that doesn't seem right-to almost nothing. Starting over is my default, but I think I would gain more from working within a space and building on my previous findings and collections.
ReplyDeleteI am really enjoying your new space to curate!
I used to be a collector. Finding bits here and there, collecting rocks and sticks and bringing them home. Then I started collecting dolls. Barbies and cabbage patch kids, bunnies and bears. My collections were neat until they got overwhelming. I remember hitting a point as a teenager when my mother had a similar discussion about pairing down the collections. She wanted me to find meaning in them because I had gotten to a point where it was more about collecting amasses instead of the actual collection itself. I still collect but I really do reflect on why I am keeping it etc. I loved the beginning of that clip as well. What an amazing home he has made for himself!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jen! It's fantastic that everything is so interesting to kids. It's hard for me to sometimes get rid of their stuff, simply out of respect because I know they value it. But I need the tendency to edit a bit more. As far as your space, I always like building on things that have personal meaning and memory. And creating a look that is assembled over time, not all one style, not all at once. And authenticity, surrounding yourself with what you love.
ReplyDelete