Project Inspiration

Edward Steichen: The Flatiron, 1904

"The camera is a witness of objects, places, and events ...

The technical process simply serves as a vehicle of transcription and not as the art."--Edward Steichen

A photographer that inspires me is Edward J. Steichen (1879 - 1973). In particular, I have been fascinated by the above photo of New York's famed Flatiron Building since it was part of an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in the early 1990's. It's a dark photo, but it conveys a lot of emotion and color. It was shot over 100 years ago, but still has a modern feel to it. Some people dread the rainy days like the one shown in the photo; but, for us urban dwellers, our city can become a beautifully lit place of wonder. I guess that Steichen's photo of the Flatiron Building has always done that for me. Years ago, I tracked down a print of the photo from the The Metropolitan Museum of Art and had it framed ... and inspiration is never far away. Learn more about Edward Steichen here.

Things I Do ... Don't Do

My fellow blogger, Wayfaring Wanderer, is running a "Green" Giveway in which you have to create a blog post listing five things that you currently do right now that can be considered eco-friendly and five things that you don't do, but could easily start doing. Here is my contribution:

5 Things I Do That I Consider To Be Eco-friendly:

• I have blue bins throughout our home in which we recycle all of paper, glass and plastic products;
• I've made the switch to CFL bulbs;
• I've purchased recyclable cloth bags to use at the grocery store, rather than using plastic bags (besides, the cloth bags hold much more than plastic and are sturdier);
• I don't throw used batteries in the garbage, but I bring them to a proper recycling place so that they don't end up in a landfill; and
• We invested in new windows for our home this fall which our energy efficient.

5 Things I Don't Do, But Could Easily Start Doing:

• I could finally get around to starting that composting bin that I've been planning for the back of my yard (I'd like to start a mini-composting bin for underneath our kitchen sink for table scraps, too);
• Invest in a digital thermostat for our heating system so that we can program the temperature setting more efficiently;
• To encourage the family to be more mindful about leaving lights on;
• Use more eco-friendly household cleaners; and
• Less food waste (our family is terrible with leftovers).

No, that wasn't so hard :-)

REDUCE. REUSE. RECYCLE ... be a good steward of God's green earth.

Happy Birthday, Alexandra!

A few hours ago ... at 8:32 p.m. (I'm such a stickler for detail), my youngest daughter turned 13-years-old. I am now officially the mother of two teenagers. Alex tumbled into the world on a cold, Tuesday evening in a hospital room overlooking Lake Michigan. She is still full of energy and fills our lives and home with her laughter and craftiness; but, will always be daddy's little sweet pea and my little monkey.