The theme for this week of My Home is a Museum project is Balance. The author of the idea is Anuja Jayasekara, he is a PhD student in Physics at Tufts. As many of us try to maintain a healthy balance of work, academic studies, self-care and social lives, I thought this theme idea was a perfect fit. Therefore, I encourage all readers to share the pictures and stories of objects which embody a sense of balance for you. Send a picture (or 2) of your object along with a short description tosayyara.huseynli@tufts.edu.
If you need a little inspiration, read Anuja’s story.
“I collected these rocks when I took a walk in the National Seashore in Cape Cod. I keep them on the top of my dresser and I try to balance them on top of each other. They stay balanced for a while and whenever I open my dresser to get something, they crumble down and I would have to balance them again. However, I can never get the same orientation of the rocks as before. But they stay balanced in this whole different way too. And the process repeats. It resembles the way of life. Doesn’t it? We try to balance everything but one thing changes everything then we try to balance it again. But it is never the way it was before.”
The theme for Week 4 of My Home is a Museum project is “Secrets from Childhood”. This topic is in line with some of the controversial thoughts of our modern world, specifically those concerning the origin of Covid 19. Some theories assert it as a biological weapon, others refer to it as a result of political collisions there are also people believing that it is a sign of an alien invasion. As the society is still debating over the genuine emerge of this virus, we can look at this situation from a different perspective. Namely, let’s use the aspect of mystery as a point of departure to think about our childhood secrets. As always we will need to find an object/s in our living environments which can tell the unveil those secrets. This prompt was kindly offered by Olga Seleznyova who responded to the theme of Week 3.
How to respond?
Choose an object what fits the theme
Take 1-3 pictures of the object
How does the object exemplify what matters to you?
What experience in your life made this object matter to you?
Please include the answers to the following information when submitting your entry:
What it your name?
Where do you live?
What do you do?
P.S. Please note that by submitting your response for this project you give permission to share it later on the blog.
The theme for week 3 was “Masks”. I was excited about this theme as it refers to one of the most common items in our daily lives during these tumultuous times.
I am pleased to share a thrilling response to the aforementioned prompt below.
Olga Seleznyova Baku,Azerbaijan Artist Manager at Faig Ahmed Studio
“This mask was made by my grandfather in the early 80s. In addition to the talent for creating beautiful things from wood and plaster, grandpa has a talent for finding beautiful things on the street. He still brings some little treasures from the Boulevard and stores them carefully. One of these windfalls was a brooch that completed the look of this wooden mask.
A wooden mask with a brooch on the forehead.
When I was a little girl, I thought it was the Snow Queen and she comes alive at night. The fears in my childish conscious were strengthened on the day grandpa showed me the secret of this mask. If you turn the mask over, you will see special stands for small candles. At night, under the cover of darkness and the action of the magical flickering light of candles, she revived. I never slept in that room again 🙂 “ What a story! Do you also have mysterious found objects in your homes? Share your finds in the comment section.
As we are entering into the third week of My Home is a Museum, it is time to announce the new theme. For week 3 our theme will be “Masks”. According to the author of the idea, people can share with any kind of mask from artistic to the medical ones since we all have to wear face coverings right now. The new prompt was proposed by Abigail Lynn, who suggested it when she submitted her response to the prompt of Week 2. Let me remind that everyone who sends a submission has a chance to propose a theme. Those themes will be communicated in this blog in order of receiving.
How to respond?
Choose an object what fits the theme
Take 1-3 pictures of the object
How does the object exemplify what matters to you?
What experience in your life made this object matter to you?
Please include the answers to the following information when submitting your entry:
What it your name?
Where do you live?
What do you do?
P.S. Please note that by submitting your response for this project you give permission to share it later on the blog.
The second week of My Home is a Museum project has come to an end. The time passed by really quickly, didn’t it? For this past week, I received two significantly different and yet really captivating submissions.
Interestingly both objects are connected with close family members. What are other connections that you spot?
Mahammad Kekalov Baku, Azerbaijan Bachelors student at Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC)
“I got this laminated calendar for my 15th birthday. I was in 10th grade and preparing for university, and my mom was talking about this secret gift she got me. She wouldn’t tell me what that was until it was time. I was surprised when I got this gift. I didn’t understand it. It is my grandmother, my aunt (her daughter) and I sitting down in our casual outfits. We were chatting and mom decided to take this picture. I didn’t know she would later use it to gift it to me. I understand now what this gift means and why it’s important. It depicts the deep and valuable relationship I have with these people. We’re family here and the calendar is a celebration of our good family. My grandmother and my aunt both have helped me so much in my life and I’m grateful for that. I’m glad I have this calendar to remind me that every time I see it. Connecting that with the theme, what really matters is our relationships and connections we have with people. We surround ourselves with people we value and we establish a thriving relationship with them that keeps us safe and sane. For me, the connection is important. I’ve had friends over the past years that at times we couldn’t really get along. But we keep coming back to each other, even after days of stress, disagreements, arguments, judgments and broken hearts because connections don’t fade away easily and connections are strong. When you have that link with someone, be it a friend, a relative, a close family member, things come and go, and the two of you stay.”
Abigail Lynn Massachusetts, USA Masters Student of Art History and Museum Studies at Tufts University
“My object is a blanket which my grandmother made for me when I was about four years old. A couple years after making the blanket my grandmother died and so the blanket became the strongest connection I had to her memory. Now that I am older, I still have this blanket and it continues to serve as a connection to my family. It is in times of struggle that we need our connections to our loved ones most. At times this connection is all that matters.”
