The shadows caught my attention first, then the textures that filled in the spaces of light. I notice things like this all the time, ever since art school when we were asked to create a piece of work focusing on the ordinary and executing it with extraordinary media.

The concept is simple. It means looking for patterns of interest in seemingly mundane subjects – things you would never ordinarily think to photograph or paint. Then, instead of rendering the subject in traditional materials, choose something completely different. Sounds simple enough, but wrapping your brain around the actual creation of it is a little more challenging in the beginning. As you start to experiment, interesting things happen. One particular piece that stands out in my memory was done by a student who, after becoming thoroughly frustrated with the assignment, decided to work with whatever was in front of her at the time. The result was a drawing of her cutting board filled with sliced beets and rendered in their own juice. Suddenly there was focus and clarity from something completely random – and it was spectacular!