eleven :: routine

hello there. i'm sorry for such a late post... but i bring you shari and my documentary project today. the word this week was ROUTINE and picked by shari .

SHARI's response:

routine: a part of the everyday, ordinary, a schedule.

i started thinking about this word several months ago when i thought up the idea of dishwashing portraits. i wanted to take an activity that was routine and occurred everyday and create art. i wanted to document this part of my daily routine because i spend so much time cleaning the kitchen each day. what interests me about this idea is that there are so many everyday activities that go completely undocumented, unexamined and are often thought of as tedious, boring, uninteresting. i'm thinking of doing a series of these for other routine activities, specifically involving household chores.

routine 1

a part of my daily routine now is taking a few photos of my backyard. this started as the backyard challenge as i wanted to see my yard with new eyes. each day, i take my camera outside to my backyard and try to see my world differently. i choose to make this activity part of my daily routine.

routine 2

the word routine also conjures up something that it a regular part of my weekly schedule. one such thing is volunteer work at the co-op.

routine 3

capturing a moment from my everyday life, one that is routine but is often left undocumented....traveling as a passenger in the car. i wanted to think of parts of my life that often go undocumented because they are so routine that i don't even really think about them. traveling as a passenger is one of those things, though i do often
document this when i travel.

routine 4

finally, coffee and a book. these two things are without a doubt a part of my everyday routine. this particular image captures my daily ritual in another place (wrightsville beach). i like that these 2 elements of my day are the same no matter if i'm home or traveling. coffee and a good book can turn any day around. :)

routine 5

i loved examining my daily and weekly routine with this project. what stands out in your mind about your routine?

MY response:

shari must have had e.s.p. when she picked this week's word. i fixated on the thought that i'd be out of my element - away from my routine for a part of this past week. there is nothing like being away from home - from your day to day to make you reflect on your personal routines.

the first thing i thought of was routine :: repetition :: daily :: ritual :: a practice of some sort.

i then started thinking about how you can have several "brands" of routine: the ordinary - get up, shower, get dressed, brush teeth. in the ordinary it's the order - the subtle that differentiates you from me. perhaps your order is hit snooze, get up, brush teeth, get coffee, workout, shower, get dressed. [work out is NEVER part of my routine]

then there's the weekend routine, a mon. wed. fri. routine... i have a studio/art making routine [which always involves leaving something slightly unfinished so i can pick up where i left off]. for awhile i had a daily drawing routine [remember?]....

you can get superstitious about your routine - if you don't follow the precise order at the precise time it's all over. or you feel unsure/shakey. you can be loosey goosey with it - not have it, defy it.

in my life my routine changes every 10 to 15 weeks. depending on what i'm teaching, where i'm teaching it, and what time i'm supposed to be at school. with me - the grass always seems greener regarding routine. if i don't have it i crave it, if i have too much of it - too many responsibilities - i want less.

my favorite routine? sunday morning. sleep in a bit. make a big big latte with foamy milk, get the new york times, read the styles section first, then the week in review, then the arts & leisure, and then thumb through the rest of the paper for things of interest.

i also really was interested in thinking about the mundane.... how normalcy and habits can feed into it. how you can play with yourself by altering your routine... shifting small things [start with putting your right shoe on instead of your left]. how being stuck in a routine can be both good and bad.

and so photos you ask? here are things that are not part of my routine, but were part of my life this weekend:

eleven :: routine :: 3

not my dog [having pets/kids exposes you to all kinds of routines - time to be walked, time to be fed...]

eleven :: routine :: 2

not my bathroom or my shampoo

eleven :: routine :: 3

not my bed

and that my friends is it for now. i have photos of my show, and a million polaroids - that was part of my routine this trip [i took 3 packs worth!!] all of this i hope to start to share later this week....

be well....

Comments

Marieke said…
Lovely girls! I recognize that paper routine, in terms of order ;-)
bugheart said…
good morning girls!
lovely to reflect
on routine
this morning.
much like lisa
my routine
changes
often...
i about to start
the routine
of summer...
out in the filed
all morning...
then setting up
caterpillars
all afternoon.
. . . . .
sometimes
it feels
so mundane
to follow
routine
and
i feel like
the most
boring
person
in the world.
xo
Anonymous said…
I agree that one both seeks comfort in one's routines and at times wants to rebel against them...a real love/hate relationship. So, which ones do I want to alter and which do I want to keep the same??????
Anonymous said…
Wonderful - again! Quite the dynamic duo you are becoming!
I love your coffee and book routine, Shari. I love that your routines and daily patterns seem to embrace the positive element of the word... from one passenger in the car to another (I love that too!)
And, Lisa, how I love that trio of somewhat forlorn items and beings... not my dog, not my shampoo, not my bed... brilliant!
Bring on number 12... see you, g xo
Anonymous said…
Thanks for sharing guys, wonderful as per usual.

Routine, I'm consumed by it at the moment, no that's not strictly true (unless you count eating Easter eggs), it's responsibilities really, which I guess is quite different.

My biggest, must not break from, routine is to have a coffee as soon as I wake up. This is usually followed by another one within an hour or two at the most. Every other routine I can get by without (almost).
shari said…
hi there lisa.

we are so on the same page again...exploring different types of routine and our routines in a new setting. i didn't really even formulate my thoughts until i returned from a spontaneous trip to the beach. thank you lisa for doing this project with me. xoxo shari
Anonymous said…
I'm a creature of routine, thriving on it. I love the fact I have so many animals that it throws the routine aspect directly into my life. Must feed animals. No matter what. Even if I have to drag myself to the food bins because it's so late, I must do it. This keeps the ebs and flows of my life somewhat under control, softening the crashes and sustaining the peeks.
Anonymous said…
Oh Routine. This word makes me think of one of those words, that a fantastical Creole woman may have merged using the words Route and Thing. I am en route, to do this thing...My Routine...
I have a superstitious routine way sometimes. Especially if I am in a bad mood...If the things do not match up, I do not play easy. As for dishes. Oh dishes. Why do two people create sooo many? And why do little children love playing, "doing the dishes?" Shower routine...Hair, ears, face exfoliate, legs exfoliate, shave, rinse hair, condition, scrub, ears, face, body diligently, legs again, pumice feet, rinse conditioner, scrub again. The whole thing is so exhausting. Why do we do this again???
Fab Post!!
amisha said…
oh how i love this project! this week's word is really resonating with me. i have been thinking a lot about my routines recently... the ones that sustain me and the ones that are becoming a rut or an impediment. quitting smoking is all about examining routines and figuring out how to change them, to alter the pattern of the day so that the stimulus is no longer there (or no longer craved). i identify with this love/hate feeling about routine... i'm also very grass is greener... sometimes i fantasize that no routine would be the best, free to do as i please each day, but there are these moments when my little daily rounds, my puttering at home in the morning and evening, makes me happy and i feel comforted. returning from a trip, i slip back into my routines and know that i am home. (home... the place where i know where the coffee is...) and my routines are so different now than e's... his are determined by the academic calendar and mine by 9 to 5... for now! xo to both of you...
Zana Fauzi said…
I agree on the relaxing Sunday morning and making yourself a huge cup of latte of with loads foamy milk. Yum !
Cally said…
you got me really thinking about routines, and how I am a different person onnholiday, with entirely different routines.

i feel so glad to be away from my old ones, yet when i return there is a comfort in hte familiar, like knowing the gas lighter will only work on the 3rd click and that the front burner will flare up and singe my eyebrows if i don't automatically lean back.

my routine is all out of whack just now with this damn neuralgia keeping me bedbound, and it makes me really aware of routines i didn't know i had, but which i will appreciate more when i return to them.
Anonymous said…
you make routine look and feel really good!!
lisa, love your bed and bathroom photos, even if this not your bed and bathroom ;)
Anonymous said…
I never realized how important my routine is to getting things done until it changed.
love the thoughts though...and lisa I wonder how much changing your routine so often puts things in a funk for a bit...or if that part is now a part of your routine.
shari - I love your look at the everyday...the ordinary that can be quite spectacular.
lovelyl.
Tiffany said…
ah, routines! I love a good routine, but I understand the need to break it up, too. Right now, my work routine for when my office-mate Marcia is not at work is shot. Normally, I get the office to myself - do a little work, read a little blog, relax, listen to my music. This week, one of my co-workers has decided to take up residence at Marcia's desk and has thrown my routine off. I kinda wish he'd go back to his own office and let me get back to my routine.

Can't wait to see the photos from the show!

:^) Tiff*
julie said…
Fantastic discussion again..

I also have a love/hate relationship with routine..hate it when theres too much but also need it...especially with the girls :) i crave change/challenges but it usually takes me a while to get into a new routine...
Anonymous said…
I recently watched the movie 'Stranger than Fiction' which is all about routine, I recommend it for the meaning behind the storyline, but that's all I will say about it (if you haven't yet seen it).

Shari: I like the idea of documenting the mundane, it helps make you realise and appreciate everyday life more and I imagine the daily yard photos can be turned into a short movie highlighting how things change.

Lisa: I agree that we need a routine, if something is different, one can get disoriented and not knowing what to do. Routines can be good or bad, I think being too comfortable can also be bad, sometimes, something cries out for change, a fresh perspective. I am in want of change right now...
lisa solomon said…
hello friends :: i have SO enjoyed your thoughts on this word too. i love how everyone has their own take - their own life to reflect on. it's amazing how things ebb, flow, cross and weave about. this project has become so much more than i could have imagined. thank you guys for sharing your thoughts with us!
XO

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