fifteen :: window

hellow friends.... sorry this documentary post it a bit late - [but under the east coast wire] - mondays and wednesdays are my long teaching days.... and BTW the claufotis came out good - i'll share the recipie later this week!

shari chose our word this week.

SHARI'S RESPONSE

i decided to stick with lisa's idea of companion words this week so i chose window as we have already documented door.

i'm not sure i could live in a house without windows. there is something about looking outside, having a window to the world so to speak. with windows, there is light but there is also a feeling of expansiveness, a feeling that you are not boxed in. in the spring and summer, we love to open our windows and let in fresh air. maggie loves this too. she is a windowsill hog. poor rilke.

window 3

maggie

window 4

i think that photographing windows from the outside looking in is so much more interesting than vice versa. the focus immediately shifts from the subject to the point of view. in this photo i snapped of t, one may wonder why the photo was taken outside. the perspective might not be entirely clear. the roof line next door is being reflected in the windowpane but you are also able to see inside of the kitchen.
there is confusion, mystery, questions.

window 2

i also enjoy photographing what is immediately outside my windowpanes: the subtle changes of each season, how the colors change depending on the amount of sunshine, how the window acts as a viewfinder and frames the outside just so. it is these photos that never quite seem to capture what i was "seeing". i can take photo after photo after photo but the magic is just not there. i liked this next photo because i was finally able to capture the colors...the intense green outside (best captured it seems in low light) contrasted with the brick red curtains.

window 1

i realize this is turning into the photo documentary project so i'm going to try to move outside of my comfort zone next week. :) thanks for reading.

MY RESPONSE

ah windows. window of opportunity.... windows to the soul.... when a door closes a window opens.

what i noticed while observing windows this week :: i like old ones more than new ones [the wavy glass always gets to me]. odd shaped ones [circle, skinny] rather than "standard size" ones. it's not as easy to find stained glass windows as you might think/hope. i like windows with little decorative elements.

ultimately, though, i feel like in all my looking what i was most drawn to was the idea of the window as a framing device. a way to peek out into the world.and as a means to let light in.

i kept taking really minimal shots of windows. the window pared down to it's essential. i'm not sure why this is, but....

window :: to clouds
a peek at some clouds

window :: diffuse light
diffuse bright light

window :: closed
closed shades

window :: peek
if you stand on my stairway just right you can see the neighbor's house like this. you can also see that this window is VERY dirty. it's too high to reach [either inside or outside]. really it's a funny place for a window to be - but i love the light it lets onto our stairs.

window :: sketch
then i got inspired and wanted to do a very mini version of a drawing like Toba Khedoori . her drawings of windows take my breath away. mine is lame and retarded in comparison, but i like the idea of repeatative drawing - what happens when you repeat a window over and over....

and finally.... close your eyes and imagine the sound of rain on your window panes. i love that sound. always have... always will

until next week.... documentary project signing off. thanks for reading!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Another great word and much to think about....it would be pure hell living in a house without windows and i also love looking into other peoples houses - a great pasttime in Tel aviv - where people dont use AWFUL ugly net curtains as in the UK!!!..a glimpse into different lives...
I also LOVE the older windows rather than the new and the little details.
I often find myself standing at the window watching the world go by.
And i LOVE your drawings lisa..and the idea of repetitive drawings..
This project is so inspiring!!! xxx
wendy said…
I love windows...it is hard when you live in an apartment when you can't just open it all...proxcimity to other apartments and all...or in nyc where some low apartments get no light...but la has light abundent.
I love the different ways the two of you photographed the windows...
shari your stories & lisa your pieces of the stories...lovely
Anonymous said…
we have a giant window in our living room that looks out to the mountains that border quito and a soccer field of the school next door. sometimes we sit and watch soccer games for hours.
shari-i love that photo you took of T with the reflections of the house next door.
lisa-your drawing is lovely.
Tiffany said…
I'm a big fan of odd sized, decorative windows. Growing up in an old house, we always had weird windows. Most of them have been replaced with more energy efficient ones, but they aren't the same as those 5 foot high, single-paned ones that were slightly wavy but let in sooo much light...that you could easily climb through to get to the porch roof and sneak out!

Shari - I love that green glass ball!

Lisa - Those curtains rock!

Have a lovely day,
Tiff*
bugheart said…
first,
i totally sympathize
with late posts...
so don't feel bad!

second,
shari,
i think you
are constantly
pushing yourself
outside
your comfort zone
and trying new
things!

last,
what i think
is so interesting
about the
evolution
of this documentary project
is watching how
your process...

shari often
starts with personal
reflection
and then moves to
alternative
perspectives
and
lisa often reflects
on how the word
is used and
what it means
within alternative
contexts...
then images...

love this
process
and
grateful
that you share them
with us!
shari said…
lisa, i think your photos are wonderful. i also adore your drawings. i need to branch out in my representation/documentation of these words! xoxo
Anonymous said…
Dennis Hopper lives in a house without windows a few blocks away from me. Apparently there are a lot of skylights. I dunno, I still think it's creepy.

I love the words, photos and ideas of my two beautiful bloggy friends. this collaboration is such a joy.
Anonymous said…
it's funny but i have just been thinking about windows. we have until very recently stubbornly refused to cover our windows at home because we desperately wanted to cling to our light and our view (though it makes it so we mostly lived in a fishbowl).

then this weekend, i was staying at a friend's house in a garden apartment in brooklyn. because she lives under sidewalk level, her windows are her only connection to light. yet no one can see into her house during the day because it's so dark inside. i just loved sitting by her window, anonymously spying and eavesdropping on all the passerby.

is it selfish that YOUR documentary project always makes me think about myself?
Anonymous said…
Love today's word. The first thing that draws me to a house is always the windows, the natural light in the property is an important aspect.

Shari, I love that you thought about looking into a window and vice versa, it does give a different point of view and, adore that roof reflection.

Lisa, that skylight! 'Windows' give hope, there's a viewfinder to enable us to peek. The stairway window view reminds me of mav's. Love your cute window drawings and thanks for Toba's link. Love rain on window panes too.
Anonymous said…
thanks for the beautiful view!!!
you are so good with your project!!!
amisha said…
this project makes me SO happy each week. i love seeing the evolution of the project and your differing perspectives... the overlap and the difference... oh i love it.
i think about windows a LOT because my office doesn't have any. there is a lot of window fantasy going on here. windows are a hot thing in this building... really it's mostly super-senior profs who get them... you have to have published a couple of books to get one in e's department! because of the lack of windows people really fixate on natural light. i have long thought that i should take a photo of a window and blow it up really big and put it on my wall, but it seemed too depressing!
i was struck this week by shari's thoughts on looking out and looking in... something i hadn't considered before that now i am thinking about a lot. and lisa, your minimalist window photos... i was drawn to these kind of photos and the funny high hallway window, the oddly shaped window, when i visited providence last month. i kept taking photos of my friend's windows in her 3rd floor apt. because i was just so fascinated by this window style that was so different from anything that we have here, architecturally (these are in my flickr under 'providence')
thank you as always for sharing this wonderful project you two!!
xo
lisa solomon said…
i think that the best part of this project [other than doing something w/ shari] is the fact that i love the responses and what the word brings up for everyone else.

i love love love all the places you all take me w/ your own takes/remembrances/links to the word of the week. such a treat!

and shari - your thoughts on outside looking in have really resonated. i meant to respond to them in my post but forgot. i will never forget being in amsterdam and loving the fact that no one had curtains !!

xo
Anonymous said…
I love when people leave their blinds or curtains drawn open at dusk, allowing me to crane my neck as I walk past and peer momentarily inside. A small open crack into someones house, into another life much like or unlike my own.
I love the window open when I am inside and I love when either or both of my two cats, Omar & Olive, sit or lie in the sill.
Another great word documentary project L & S... bravo!
see you, g
Louise said…
Well done guys, oh how I've missed this project over the last month or so.

I'm now sitting here imagining the sound of rain on the window. As a result I'm starting to get a little sleepy, I just love when it rains at night and you can listen to it pitter-patter as you fall asleep.
andrea said…
I am telling you, I love this project. love it. so brilliant.
ChiGirl said…
I am new to your blog, and think this project with a "word of inspiration" is so interesting. Also, your window drawings are not retarded at all! I really love them, and am wondering if I might use your drawing (and credit you of course) on my blog, because I found Toda Khedoori through you and would like to post on this artist. I love finding artists and trying my hand at their technique, as you've done, and think it's a great example.

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