TIF March

For the month of March, Sharon B has asked us to do as piece using the above palette or the following theme : "Do you ever notice the little things, the small moments, the details in life? This months challenge is to do just that, pay attention to the tiny details. Sometimes the small things become emblematic for something larger."

For me details are linked to spirituality, sense of humour and life itself. To notice details, you have to be aware of what is going on around you and inside you, you have to practice attention, which is a classic spiritual/meditative exercise.

It is life and fun, because often a detail is something you notice because it is unusual, unpredictable. For instance a plant growing in a pavement crack, an weird cloud, a strange insect. Or, as in the classic Robert Frost poem, a grassy road. On gloomy days I have often had my spirits lifted by tiny details, I even used to visit open air markets just to get a whiff of life as a teenager.

Details for me are also representations of the individual against the group, something that stands out, something that you use to stand out too, as in fashion... and art. Detail is probably what transforms something into art.

(c) Yayoi Kusama 2004, Naoshima Island, Japan

The other night I was watching a documentary about fashion icon Marc Jacobs (VOD available here), and they were talking about japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. She has been fascinated by dots since she was ten, and has made dotted art ever since. It's wonderful and I think she illustrated well the theme of details taken to a very large scope, have a look at her biographic slide show on her website here to judge by yourself.

So my piece will probably be around fashion...