2 June

Portrait Of Us. A Still Life Of Life

by Jon Katz
Portrait Of Us

I think creativity isn’t just external, but internal. We have to look at the color and light in ourselves as well as the world beyond, I try to stretch the boundaries of what it is that people define as creativity, we each have the right to define it.

Taking a shower this morning, I stopped to look at our bathroom sink, and the almost perfect symmetry of the morning ritual – the toothbrush and shaver in their holders, the blue in cup, the glass soap dish, the flower in the old toothbrush holder.

This is a portrait of us. I’m sure Maria got the cup, and put the flower i the old holder. The 50’s sink has perfect lines and balance forthe things above it, the colored tiles add their own dimension.

I’ve shifted from big commercial stories. I buy all of my shaving tools from Harry’s, a new company that presents alternative ways to buy shaving supplies, and my brush from quip.com which makes battery-powered brushes that vibrate and have been great for my teeth.

To The right, Maria has hung her earrings and jewelry where the old toothbrushes use to hang.

Harry’s blades last twice as long as commercial blades behind glass cases in pharmacies and are half as expensive.

New ways to shop and do personal things. And they each have their own aesthetic, like the simple shaver holder and the simple brush. I’m not touring products, just explaining I like the care and look of these things, shaving used to be much duller. And I never liked looking at a toothbrush.

Quip also sells toothpaste that lasts about four months a tube because there is a thickener in it that keeps the past from squirting out of the tube, the reason commercial toothpaste lasts about a month. Now that I am responsible for my money, I don’t wish to be carelessly exploited and ripped off.

The balance is all nature, I didn’t pose or arrange it.

Maria has added color to the bathroom with her tile design and painting. So it was a portrait of us, the two of us, each adding our own mark to a mundane, daily ritual that has somehow become pleasing to look at as well as efficient.

So this is a portrait of us. A simple bathroom sink and shelf. A still life in it’s own right.

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