Think of your death now. It is at arm’s length. It may tap you any moment,
so really you have no time for crappy thoughts and moods.
None of us have time for that. The only thing that counts is action,
acting instead of talking.
Journey to Ixtlan, Carlos Castanedas

An aesthetic debate with philosophical undertones could be found in the etsy forums a couple weeks back.  A photographer intrigued by the delicate and subtle appearance of rotting vegetation asked — “Would you buy this photograph?”  Many indicated that though they liked the pictures, they wouldn’t want the images on their walls.

I took this picture not long after reading this thread and am impressed with how much the skin of the rotting pumpkin looks like fabric.  It was wet from the rain and indistinct in a gross way — it almost could have been ANY dead thing.

I know a couple of quilters intrigued with rust.  I like rust, too.  The way rust eats at the edges of things is cool and its powdery residue can be interesting, too.  One of those quilters (when I remember her name, I’ll post it) actually ‘rusted’ her fabric — not unlike those surface designers busy with wax, dyes, fabric paints — except she would wrap fabric around rusted objects and bury them — to stain the fabric.  Hop on over to Kimberly Baxter Packwood‘s blog for instructions on how to rust fabric.

Beautiful abstractions are everywhere, of course.  The tarp pictured above is in service keeping my younger son’s mini-half-pipe free of snow and moisture.  The average sidewalk offers lots of opportunities to find abstractions.

I guess a little mold belongs in this discussion as well.