Rusty Distraction

Distraction arranged

I have to admit that when I’m working outside I’m easily distracted. This is probably because I have so much junk around, and I have a tendency to want to stack, arrange and set things up in tableaux. In fact, today, it was while breaking down another arrangement that I got distracted by a pair of now-petrified lock cutters (above, center-left) and their rusted surface. See, my original plan was to do some much-needed cleanup outside before a forecasted rain began falling. But, after picking up the cutters I suddenly had the urge to see them in the presence of other rusted artifacts. The result of this impulse is above: displayed against an array of wooden cubbyholes are the cutters, a large rusty circular tray, a very old scoop of some sort, a wire basket, a ceramic vase, an urn-like lamp base and a stylized terra-cotta figure. I also added a complementary-colored echeveria rosette and star-shaped succulent sprigs. Near the figure’s head, very small, is one of my all-time favorite objects …

My favorite type

… a collection of type elements in a box so rusted that they’ve now become one solid piece of red-orange-rusted metal. Although small, this piece is amazingly heavy and I love how it fits in my hand … it’s resting on a collection of rusted barrel bands lashed together by rusted wire. By the time I’d finished this photo, what had been light sprinkles was now falling with wet, noisy plops. I had to hurry if I was going to take a picture of some other rainy day rust I’d noticed in the garden …

Aloes and rust

… the aloes on our back slope that have flowered beautifully — rustily — in the last week. Spears of rusty red in the gray of the afternoon, they stand out like torches. A full-on rain had begun falling, and since I didn’t have time to put anything away, future rusty distraction is a certainty …