For this photo, I wanted to capture something that symbolized beginnings but in a very subtle way. The ceramic piece in the middle is one that I sculpted last year during my ceramics course. I remember sculpting this, but feeling unsure of what I wanted it to turn into. I even painted the glaze on it myself. When I look at it now, it still feels incomplete. That imperfection is what inspired me to photograph it. The raw feeling that something is there, but it hasn’t quite become something yet.
As I was taking this photo, I thought about how beginnings are never perfect and often feel awkward. The texture is rough, the shape isn’t perfectly round, and you can see where the glaze was painted on– but that’s what makes it beautiful to me. By centering it, I felt as though I was giving it a space to be, a space to shine. Something that is there, but often goes unnoticed. I really liked this assignment because it opened my mind to storytelling in a new way. You do not always need people or action to create a story. Sometimes it’s about objects that carry personal history and the feeling of starting something without knowing exactly where it will lead.