I’ve always been a storyteller. For the last two years, this blog has been a place where I combine words and photos to tell stories. I haven’t thought of my photos as creative or artistic, at least not consciously. First and foremost, my photos are storytelling tools.
Until now. A couple of weeks ago, I got an iPad and discovered Instagram. I’m slightly ashamed to be so enamored by this gimmick. But nonetheless, I am. Thanks to Instagram, I’ve started taking pictures just for the hell of it. Instagramming for art’s sake. And since taking photos in public with an iPad looks really dorky (I don’t want to be one of THOSE people), I’ve been doing most of my Instagram artwork at home, in and around the Lucky 5 Star.
I got out of the shower and saw light combining with water droplets in the air. I dried off quickly, grabbed the iPad, and viola.
I’m not going to abandon storytelling. That’s still who I am. But since I’m on a journey of self-discovery at the moment, and I’ve also discovered Instagram, it seems like a good time to turn the lens inward. So when the mood strikes me and I take an interesting Instagram photo around the house, I’m going to share it on the blog.
I asked my Facebook fans for feedback on this concept, and lots of people seem to think it’s a good idea. So, consider this my first installment of Instagram for Art’s Sake.
I call this, “Creepy gnome in perpetually half-dead bamboo”. Very Melville, don’t you think?
I’m setting two parameters around this experiment. Every photo that I share as part of Instagram for Art’s Sake will be taken with Instagram, and every photo will be taken at home.
I hope you enjoy my gimmicky, hipster-y, self-absorbed art project. It’s all about me.
This post wouldn’t be complete without a creepy Instagram self-portrait.
Read more Instagram for Art’s Sake posts.
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve been dreadfully uninspired lately, struggling to think of anything I want to blog about despite having a long list of great ideas (many of which you, my readers, provided in September). I’m finding it hard to feel positive about life at the moment. But on Saturday Thorsten and I got the chance to visit Indwe Park, an indigenous garden and sculpture park in Braamfontein, and I knew I had my topic for today.
Given this week’s political nuclear bomb blast, it feels like a weird time to publish a light-hearted post about my recent (pre-election) jaunt through the United States. But I’m hoping you’ve have had enough of the U.S. election horror show – I know I have – and are ready (at least temporarily) for some wholesome American travel adventures. If so, please read on about my four-day visit to Maine, the northeastern-most state in the lower 48, with my sister, Susanna.
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It makes me smile, when I see it.