Everyday Beauty

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I’ve often found that the answer, for me, to curbing impulse purchases and unnecessary spending is rooted in a perspective shift. If I truly noticed and appreciated and celebrated the things I already own, how could I possibly want more? If I paused to look at the sculptural lines of the fruit bowl resting on our dining room table, the pendant above – would I see more than an object? Would I see a work of art?

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I think so. Actually, after spotting the work of Corey Bartle Sanderson on This is Paper, I know so. “At the heart of my work is a fascination with the mundaneness of the everyday,” Corey writes. “Objects are overlooked, they become invisible in this blur of overfamiliarity with the daily inattention. When we look at the everyday objects we don’t stop to think about them, in ways of colour, shape and form, we just accept what they are, no questions are asked.”

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It’s true. As I glance around the very office I’m writing this from, I see a collection of artifacts from past lives – souvenirs and thrift store treasures. Items I swore I’d love forever, but that have lost their luster as they become part of my daily repertoire. They’re no longer associated with adventure and meaning and experience, and instead, are sandwiched between to do lists and laundry piles and junk mail.

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Corey challenges this idea in his series of elevated, everyday objects styled, photographed and manipulated in the most artistic of fashions. “With Supermarket Simulacrum, I wanted the objects to [camouflage] into the background, however at the same time, making us more aware of them, making us think about the objects more,” he writes.

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So today, here’s to celebrating the design that surrounds us daily. The pencil shavings and bruised fruit, uniquely marked and branded for the moment. The beauty in the everyday.

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Happy weekend, friends.

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Image Credit: Corey Bartle-Sanderson

p.s. More everyday beauty.

  • I don’t know why but my first thoughts went to how a lot of those fruits would actually etch/stain the marble they were resting on. Many homeowners (I work as an interior designer) want the look of pristine marble and are annoyed when they have to go to great lengths to prevent or fix etching that occurs. What gets me is that we all have this obsession with things that are old and European, the French country side villa comes to mind, where marble would have been used as a countertop but etching would have been the least of their concerns. THAT is embracing the beauty of everyday!! I love these types of posts, so also, thank you!

    • Ooooh, this is such an excellent perspective, Megan – thank you for sharing! I hadn’t thought of it that way. :)

  • so Beautiful,I love the seocond image of the pomegranate. I love these types of posts, thank you!

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