Chairs and more chairs by Doris Salcedo

"1550 Chairs Stacked Between Two City Buildings" location based installation by artist Doris Salcedo (2003) for the Istanbul Biennial. 

I have been asking for bread bag tags from friends and family and I routinely get little bundles in the mail.  Sometimes I get 4 or 5 tags and sometimes, like at the restaurant the other night with friends, I am handed a bag stuffed to the gills with them.  The joy of receiving things in the mail is incredible!  I hope to start sending out more snail mail this year to spread the JOY of real physical mail.

Back to the bread bag tags.

My requests for the tags is always followed by, "What are you going to do with them?"

Well, I can now tell you what I'm NOT going to do.  I will not toss them all between two buildings to make an art installation.  I cannot even begin to imagine how many chairs it would take to make a pile that size**, but what I can tell you, is that the number of bread bags tags to make a pile that size would be in the hundreds of millions if not hundreds of trillions.

I have several hundred tags now, so I'm really pleased that at some point in the very near future I can start using them in art projects.  I'm thinking the first project will be fairly small - maybe filling an art canvas.  If you are saving bread bag tags for me, don't stop!  My ultimate goal is to be able to fill an entire wall in my house with the tags.  I still need thousands more tags and I, personally, only come across one or two a month.  I'm finding that it takes a village to collect bread bag tags.  I bet it took more than a village for Doris Salcedo to collect all of those chairs!

**I guess I didn't even read the photo caption - there are 1550 chairs in this installation!  (where is that V8 when you need it?)

More on Doris Salcedo here

Have a wonderful day!!
Kristin

POTD - Vintage Lighting

POTD - Vintage Lighting

©2012 Kristin Corlett

Please enjoy another view of the Tampa, FL Amtrak station.  The other day I used the train stops as my photo of the day and today it's the lighting.  I cannot determine if the lighting is original.  The steel poles probably are, but I'm assuming the glass globes are not, or at least not all of them.  What intrigues me about this specific viewpoint are all of the different shapes you can see.  Round, square, triangle, semi-circle, and rectangles just to name a few.  You'd think with all that going on that it would look cluttered and busy, like my livingroom, but it doesn't.  My livingroom is a totally different story.

The history of the Tampa Amtrak station is glorious, sad and glorious once again!
You can use the Amtrak station history as a jumping off point to read more - here.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Straight from the auction block

I've got a new adventure going in my life right now - I'm part owner in a 6' x 6' booth space at an antique mall.  Since that space is pretty small to display furniture, I've been looking for another place to rent.  I found a really cool spot, but I'm not sure.  It's just a corner of someone else's business and sigh.  It just seems wonderful, but they've never done this type of renting before.  I'm not sure I want to be the guinea pig!

However, I keep buying furniture! and I keep seeing the FABULOUS things I can do with it!

For Example --

I purchased this yesterday at auction.

It's little bench with two shelves.  In the olden days when we had telephones that actually attached to the wall and cords that were famously short, people actually sat in chair or on a bench when they talked on the phone.  I had a vision for this little sad piece of furniture, so I bought it.


Then when I came home to see if I could find some good ideas on paint colors or fabrics, I found this...

Do you think my homely little bench will be transformed to look something like the inspiration piece??(The inspiration photo is from here -- Kanibal Home)


I think it can, I think it can, I think it can, I think it can...




For more Sundays in my City and around the world, please visit Unknown Mami and all the other participants.

Have a wonderful day!
Kristin

POTD - Saint

POTD - Saint

©2012 Kristin Corlett

I've been going to nearly every thrift market, antique shop, and resale shop in a 30 mile radius of my house.  I'm trying to learn what's for sale, for how much and what really is selling.  I'm making it known that I have a booth at a local antique mall and I'm trying to make sure that I'm realistic with my buying and pricing strategies.

So I walk into this brand new antique place - they'd been open a week.  A 10-12 year old girl comes bounding out from the other room and asks if I need any help.  Nope, I'm just walking around.  I get to the gorgeous deep oval frame and I don't see a price.  I ask the girl if she could find out the price on it.  I decide that the frame is indeed the bees knees, but that saint is spectacular too.  It was just a great pairing.  The Dad comes out and sighs.  His wife didn't price this before she left.  Another big sigh.  He's beginning to sound like my husband!  He calls the wife.  No answer.  Finally he says - $25 for the frame and $40 on the saint.   Good for him, they had a lot of carved saints and they were all $40, so he didn't have to guess on that.

If you know anything at all about picture frames - the oval ones are the most prized and the deep ones are prized even more.  This photo was taken at my house where the oval frame and the saint are happily living on a dark burgundy wall in my living room.

A few hours later I saw that same man at an auction.  He said that his wife was not at all pleased that he had given away the frame.  I told him I knew he was going to get into trouble, but I couldn't help myself.  I wasn't at all sure on the going rate for a 17" x 14" x 4.5"  vintage oval frame but I knew that $25 was a steal.  I have since learned that the oval frame could have fetched a hundred dollars or more.

Not everything that I discover goes into my booth.  Some stuff just has to be mine.

Enjoy!
Kristin

POTD - Track Five

POTD - Track Five

©2012 Kristin Corlett

The Tampa Amtrak Station was so much fun to photograph.  I spent nearly the entire layover time wandering around looking for more shots.  These are the train stops, emergency stops, in case the train doesn't come to a complete stop before this time.  They are giant concrete slabs and from the looks of them and the undamaged building behind them, they have done their job well!

Bob, I photographed this just for you - the number five :)

Enjoy!
Kristin

POTD - Sparty

POTD - Sparty 

©2012 Kristin Corlett

On January 2nd I was fortunate enough to be able to go tp the Outback Bowl at the Tampa Bay Buccaneer's stadium.  Michigan State v Georgia.   At one point the mascot for MSU, our very own Sparty, was seen hanging out with the Cheerleaders.  He had some pretty great moves!  I just wish he would have had some pom poms!  Michigan State ended up winning that game in triple overtime.  I was elated!

Enjoy!
Kristin

POTD - Sing!

POTD - Sing!

©2012 Kristin Corlett

I gathered up all the animals in my house one day for a little sing along.  The entire group was a little too much to photograph, but the cow and the bisque head worked perfectly together.  Can you hear them?  They are perfectly in tune.  My friend Bob said that they are singing "Pop Goes My Heart" by the movie band, POP.  (Movie - Music and Lyrics)

Enjoy!
Kristin

Yawn, Stretch!

Goodness, that was quite a sleep.
I certainly did need it.
Of course I didn't sleep for the entire month, but boy oh boy, that really might have been nice!

Actually I could probably use another month or two off, but I have really missed my blogging friends and I've missed posting every day!  It's like exercising, or so I'm told.  You miss it when you don't do it for awhile!   I have decided to come back on a limited basis this week.  I will post a Photo of the Day each day and then hopefully by next week I'll be back into the swing of things enough to start writing real blog posts.

I've been in a depressed mood for the past few months according to my self diagnosis and when I finally realized it, I kicked myself in the ass and got with the program.  (If only it were that simple!)  I'm feeling MUCH better the past two weeks, but I'm also keeping my eyes open for that malaise that crept over me before.  I'm sure that's the reason why I got so overwhelmed and had to put my blogging on pause.  And to think, it all started because my kitty passed away.  That's the day I can pinpoint, but I'm sure that not having all of that abundant sunshine helped the Sunlight Affectedness Disorder (SAD) come over me.  I used to feel that when I lived in Michigan but geez, never like I felt the past few months.  I may talk more about this at a later date or not.  I haven't yet decided but I did want to mention it at least.

Anyway -- the photo of the day is coming up in about three hours (or is already posted if you aren't an early riser that lives on the East Coast.)  I'm feeling much better.  I am excited to find new and interesting things to photograph and talk about, so let's get the show on the road!

Have a wonderful day!
Kristin