The quality that we call beauty… must always grow from the realities of life.
-Jun’ichiro Tanizaki from In Praise of Shadows
In my home, several heavy shoe molds and irons stand perched to catch doors before they slam shut in the summer breezes. Blue Ball canning jars hold sugar and spices. Old wire forks hang on the wall as art while a lovely rusty box holds newspaper and cardboard that we use to start fires on chilly days. A tin skimmer catches my jewelry as I collapse into bed at night.
Living among these beautifully worn objects, enriches my daily life. I admire their rare beauty, simplicity in line, elegance in form and purity in material. And they hold a mysterious history that sparks my curiosity each time I encounter them.
Recollect means to remember. These objects are from a time before my memory. They are curious objects, fashioned and used when daily life bore little resemblance to our own. But through them I can sense an intangible past.
Recollect has a second meaning, to re-collect. Individuals and families first collected these objects in a time gone by. I have since re-collected them for my own home and to present here.
-Prairie