A. Catherine Noon here, continuing my theme of Valentine’s Day on a shoestring – this time, with found objects.  I love the term “found objects,” because it sounds so upscale.  It’s much more attractive than saying “junk.”  But really, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, right?  Right.

What’s a found object?

It’s an object that you, um, found…  ~hides~  No, seriously.  It can be making an ojo de Dios out of sticks you find in the back yard.  It could be a selection of pretty rocks you found along a riverbed.  Sea glass from the shore.  A collage made from catalogs you found in the mail room.  It’s anything that you find, made into something by your own creativity and unique eye.

Want to try it?

Set aside about an hour and go to a park.  If it’s freezing outside, dress warmly – being outside is good for you, even when it’s yucky out.  (Unless you have the bug that’s going around, in which case, why aren’t you in bed?  ~mom glare~)  Wander – not walk! – wander around the park, looking for stuff.  Interesting branches, rocks, leaves, whatever you find.  (I shouldn’t have to say, make sure you’re at a park and not a nature preserve; don’t take stuff from the latter because it’s meant to be, well, preserved.)  Make it a family event, if you have kids, and have everyone meet up afterwards for a hot drink and show-and-share.  If you have a date, why not wander with them?  Two dates for the price of one – a wander date, and a date to mull over what you found.  If you’re flying solo this year, that’s awesome – a chance to spend some time and get to know yourself better.  Our inner eye is always changing and alert for cool new stuff.  One way to feed that is to go out and look for new stuff!  Seems obvious once we say it out loud, but it’s startling how often we forget it in our day-to-day slog.

What about you, Dear Reader?  What are some of your favorite finds?

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