7-Day Found Object Challenge for Composition Competence - read the blog entry

This exercise is useful for sharpening your observational skills as an artist and for practicing the many ways to achieve good composition. It requires collecting one found object a day for a week, then photographing them in various configurations, choosing your favorites, and uploading them here for inclusion in our online gallery.

Guidelines:
As you go about your daily walk or errands, keep on the lookout for small objects, preferably natural ones, that catch your attention in an unusual way. Pick one up and bring it to a collection spot in your home or studio.

Guidelines:

• Try not deliberately choose things that will “match” – just let the choices happen.
• Keep the scale small, no bigger than your hand.
• Try not to start arranging your found objects before you have collected all seven of them over the course of a week.
• When you start making compositions with your objects, it helps to put them on a neutral background like black or white or gray to enhance their natural qualities.
• Take a photo with your phone of every composition you like. Try to figure out why it works – is it balanced? Is it symmetrical?
• Look over your photos and pick one or two of the most successful ones, then fill out the form at the right to upload them to me (one, two or three photos). I will collect them and put them in an online digital catalog to share with everyone.
• We will see where we are on September 1st – I’ll keep you updated.
• Even if you don’t choose to upload your photos, it’s fun and good practice to observe and arrange these small found objects. You might even get inspired to use your found object compositions as the bases for a painting or a graphic design!