Every photographer has their favorite camera, every painter their favorite brush. I go through phases of using my Epson scanner, my Pentax camera, Ilford fiber matte paper. For a long time, it was cigarette breaks I relied on. Artists use a variety of tools to do what they need to do.
Since starting graduate school, I’ve realized the only indispensable tool within my practice is the shower. It’s the perfect ten-minute break—taking me from head down blindness to gushing epiphany. I am pretty sure scientists have studied the effects and even The Huffington Post has something to say about it.
[Here I broke for a shower, where I intended to think about the direction of this post, but instead thought a lot about my semester long project and plastic model cars.]
The beauty of the shower is the isolation—the freedom from visual stimulation and distraction. It’s a healthy and hygienic way to step back from my work—to consider the decisions that need to be made and imagine their resolutions.
The shower has also been the sight for making many of my images. In college, I soaked painted canvases in baths or worked with bleach in the tub. Just this past weekend, I made a large photochemical drawing and used the bathtub for the stop, fix and wash.
Lately, I’ve been shooting with a Konica MG, printing with fujicolor, painting with pink gouache and showering, sometimes twice a night.
