Abandoned, Like an Empty House

Abandoned

Abandoned © 2012 Bo Mackison

Someone, and no matter who, inhabits my head like it’s an empty house, he enters, he leaves, he bangs each door behind him, powerless I put up with this ruckus.
Someone, and maybe it’s me, palms my most private thoughts, he crumples them, returns them to dust.
Someone, and it’s much later now, slowly walks across the room and, not seeing me, stops to contemplate the havoc.
Someone, and no matter where, collects the pieces of my shadow.

~ Claude Estaban, translated from the French by Joanie Mackowski

I am not in a minority when it comes to photographers, and perhaps other 2D artists as well, who have an affinity and passion for capturing doors as the main subject in some of their art. Doors are a popular subject, their metaphorical power captures our imagination and sense of discovery, too.

“What is behind that door? Why was it abandoned? Is it locked?” So many questions starts the imagination engines churning in the mind.

And the symbolism. I think in almost every culture, there is meaning in doors. As a transition, as a passage, entering from light into dark, or the opposite, leaving by way of a door, and entering into light from a dark interior. The bride once was carried across the threshold of her new home by her new husband. There are doors guarded by fierce creatures – temples come to mind, but I have seen many a library graced with twin, growling lions, or even scarier creatures.

I found this door on an abandoned farmstead in eastern Pennsylvania a few years ago. I catalogued and labeled it, but only recently pulled it out for a serious look. I immediately feel in love with the greens and reds, with the combination of the parallel slats and the vertical panels on the door. And I liked the way nature is gradually taking over the man-made structure, and adding to its abandoned feeling. Even in a color-coordinated way!

Do you photograph doors, or notice doors, or use doors in your art? Do you focus on other passages or transition architecture — gates, windows, tunnels, stairs?

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She loves photographing doors, windows, stairways, gates, and other places that lead to other spaces.

Waterlilies on the Mississippi

Waterlilies on The Mississippi River

Waterlilies on The Mississippi River © 2012 Bo Mackison

In mid to late July and early August, the backwater lakes and sloughs are full of floating white water lilies. This waterlily grows in thick patches of lily pads. The flowers of the Fragrant Water Lily are only open three days every year, however a patch of water lilies will have blooms at slightly different times thus extending the bloom viewing season.

This patch of water lilies was in the Stoddard, Wisconsin area of the Upper Mississippi. Three hundred foot high bluffs are on the Minnesota side of the river.

I have quite a few photographs from this trip that have strong horizontal lines, and so I am working on a series of photos with a vintage look. The new series is called “Paper Placemats”, because they remind me of the decorated paper mats so often seen in the tiny diners and cafes along the route. This is #2 in the series. The first photo in the series was  “Tugboat Docked on the Mississippi” posted yesterday.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is no longer wondering how the Mississippi River as subject will fit the Seeded Earth theme. Thinking of all the seeds watered by its muddy waters, including these water lilies!

On the Mississippi

Barge Docked on the Mississippi

Barge and Tugboat Docked on the Mississippi © 2012 Bo Mackison

While the river of life glides along smoothly, it remains the same river; only the landscape on either bank seems to change. ~ Max Muller

I have traveled along the river roads running next to the Mississippi all of my life.

I was born in a river town in the middle Mississippi River region and I knew no other life except living near the river. My family home was less than a mile from the bluffs overlooking the river, and I spent many hours watching the river traffic. Yes, we watched the river traffic glide up and down the Mississippi for entertainment. (Obviously before the days of hand held electronic entertainment devices!)

Sundays were special occasions if there was fine weather, although rainy weather didn’t always deter us either. Those tugs pushed the barges no matter the weather. Only a frozen river stopped barge traffic. For Sunday-after-church-family-entertainment we would drive to Lock and Dam #21 (now on the National Register of Historic Places!) and watch the boats and barges navigate the locks. There was a small picnic area and for a real treat we would stop at the only fast food place in town, a Sandy’s drive-thru, a small town predecessor to the McDonald’s franchise.

Or I would walk the three blocks from my high school to the Riverside Park and wait for the barges to pass, tug boats maneuvering the long heavy storage containers through the narrow channel. I’d carry my art book and do quick pencil or charcoal sketches, or write in my journal. (Even as a high-schooler, my life revolved around my art and my writing.)

When I thought about the Mississippi River and its significance as a place in my life, I decided to explore more of the river. I have traveled the river extensively from Dubuque, Iowa to St. Louis, Missouri, and I know the Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri river towns quite well.

This past weekend I headed north on the Great River Road on the Upper Mississippi River. I traveled roads on both sides of the river –  in Wisconsin on the east banks and in Iowa and Minnesota on its western shores. There was so much to see and photograph. Sure I’ll be back for many more visits.

The photograph was taken in Winona, Minnesota, near the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. The museum was closed when I was there, but it looks like a fascinating place to visit. Another reason for a return visit.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is vaguely wondering how the Mississippi River as a subject will fit into the Seeded Earth theme.

Sunday Series – Minimalist Summer

Cornfield in Iowa County, Wisconsin

Iowa County, Wisconsin © 2012 Bo Mackison

Summer has set in with its usual severity. ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Stripes - Iowa County, Wisconsin

Stripes in Iowa County © 2012 Bo Mackison

Summertime, summertime, summertime, summertime. ~ From Porgy and Bess by Ira Gershwin

Queen Anne's Lace - Lost in Iowa County, Wisconsin

Queen Anne’s Lace © 2012 Bo Mackison

Love is to the heart what the summer is to the farmer’s year – it brings to harvest all the loveliest flowers of the soul.  ~ Author Unknown

Telephone Wires in Iowa County, Wisconsin

Telephone Wires © 2012 Bo Mackison

We need society, and we need solitude also, as we need summer and winter, day and night, exercise and rest.
–  Philip Gilbert Hamerton

Iowa County, Wisconsin

Horizon © 2012 Bo Mackison

In summer, the song sings itself. – William Carlos Williams

Beans, Corn, Sky -- Iowa County, Wisconsin

Beans, Corn, Sky © 2012 Bo Mackison

People take pictures of the Summer, just in case someone thought they had missed it, and to prove that it really existed.
~ Ray Davies

Converging Fields - Iowa County, Wisconsin

Converging Fields © 2012 Bo Mackison

Anything one does every day is important and imposing and anywhere one lives is interesting and beautiful. ~ Gertrude Stein

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Bo takes photographs every day, even on days when the temperature is breaking all the heat records, and she finds beauty in the patterns of Wisconsin’s fields. Each Sunday, she shares a series of photographs and quotes she finds meaningful.

Wall Garden

NYBG

Vertical Gardening © 2012 Bo Mackison

Do not judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

When we visited the New York Botanical Gardens in early June, several vertical gardens decorated one of the seating areas. I was fascinated with the many textures and colors that the gardeners fit into such a small footprint. A wonderful example of the seeded earth, created with the gardeners’ vision and love of plants.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Bo is always happy to find wonderful examples of the seeded earth!