On puppies and bears, and light (oh my!)

I was looking back at the words I wrote in my sketchbook to describe my theme, and I'm a little surprised at how natural it feels that I would be attracted to these things. I guess it's like how all roads lead to the Duomo -- it feels like I'm coming back to the same thing every time. Summarizing what was written there, I came up with these words:

intimate
mysterious
personal
ominous
secret
sad

When I'm walking around Florence, I love finding personal details that stand out from the everyday scenery of the city. I found this stuffed animal puppy next to some dumpsters, and I quickly shot a picture. I assumed it was being thrown out, and that actually made me a little sad. But later on in the day, I saw a man carrying it under his arm down a different street! That pretty much made my day. I mean, a rainy, dirty sidewalk next to the dumpsters is no place for a child's toy!

I also found a little orange bear on top of a bicycle. Personal touches like that seem to make things more personal, less anonymous. More human.

Looking back at the pictures I took at Chiesa dell'Autostrada, I also see that I was really interested in the light coming in through the windows. The contrast of dark and light seems mysterious, almost holy.

I still don't have an idea for my work, but I feel like I'm onto something now. What we've been doing for the past three weeks is really coming together for me, and my theme feels right. Talk about slow reveal!

-Grace