2/04 Weekly creativity contest winner & new prompt
A quiet week on the creativity contest front. Perhaps the prompt “clock” didn’t set off many bells among Creative Construction readers — or perhaps some of you were hard at work in the February Finish-a-thon. Our winner is Kelly Warren, who sent in a stunning photo, with a lovely explanatory bit. Congratulations, Kelly! Your $10 amazon.com gift certificate is on its way.
Clock’s Tickin’
Heading south out of Tallahassee on US 319/98 towards the coast, there’s a gathering of old trucks just off the side of the road. Being the intrepid traveler around Tallahassee and its environs, I’ve wondered about this “gathering” for years. They sit there as if on the starting line of some long ago race, all lined up waiting for some invisible spandex-clad starlet to throw down her scarf as the signal to go.
After some recent research, I found finally their origins. They’re are owned by Mr. Homer R. Harvey. He and his father Riley A. Harvey were in the timber, crosstie and turpentine business. They also farmed and raised some cattle and hogs, and the trucks were used in their business operations over the years. Riley died in 1957, and Homer carried the business on into the 1970s. The home on the curve near the trucks is where Homer raised his family. He and his wife Yvonne McLaughlin had four children: Pat, Mike, Dennis and Ouida. Pat now lives in the home on “Homer Harvey Curve.” A few years back Pat and Homer decided to move the old trucks out of the woods and place them closer to the road where they are now. Homer is now 92 and lives with his daughter Ouida just a few miles from the curve. Mike and Dennis both live close by.
The woman at the Wakulla County Chamber of Commerce who helped me with the research, Petra Shuff, told me that there’s a ’54 Ford amongst the gathering that was the first car she remembers steering, sitting in an uncle’s lap. Like Petra’s dream to drive, these old trucks are also a photographer’s dream. I took a series of pictures there recently and played around with a few to great effect, including that ’54 Ford. Clock’s tickin’, Ms. Petra. Been drivin’ lately?
From Jen Johnson, a photograph. Jen writes: “A very impromptu submission this week: a photo of our mantle, titled ‘Time and the River’ (yes that is the Wolfe title in the background).”
From Cathy Coley, a poem and photo pairing. Cathy says, “very silly, i was coming up empty.” Hey, your consistency is always impressive, Cathy!
Clocks
Always ticking
Never sticking
Slowly creeping
Suddenly speeding
Morning in
Evening out
What the heck
Is that all about?
From me (Miranda), a haiku:
Clock
The metronome of
life and all I know, music
of our nothingness
This week’s prompt: “Cookies”
Use the prompt however you like — literally, or a tangential theme. All media are welcome. Please e-mail your entries to creativereality@live.com by 10:00 p.m. eastern time (GMT -5) on Tuesday, February 10, 2009. The winning entry receives a $10 gift certificate to amazon.com. Writers should include their submission directly in the body text of their e-mail. Visual artists and photographers should attach an image of their work as a jpeg. Enter as often as you like; multiple submissions for a single prompt are welcome. There is no limit to how many times you can win the weekly contest, either. (You do not have to be a contributor to this blog in order to enter. All are invited to participate.) All submissions are acknowledged when received; if you do not receive e-mail confirmation of receipt within 24 hours, please post a comment here. Remember, the point here is to stimulate your output, not to create a masterpiece. Keep the bar low and see what happens. Dusting off work you created previously is OK too. For more info, read the original contest blog post.
Studio Mothers: Life & Art 
congrats, kelly! great story, isn’t it amazing what will catch your attention and pull you in? good for you that you followed through!
jen, just wondering if the book and clock placement are happenstance, if so, brilliant discovery! if you placed on purpose, very clever!
miranda, like the move to metranome. i always ‘played’ with the one on my mother’s piano – very meditative.
congratulations, Kelly! Great submission and fascinating story!
Cathy, loved your poem — as you’ve noticed, I’m sure, I’m a sucker for rhyme. Miranda, “music of our nothingness” is lovely, definitely a line to remember.
To answer your question, Cathy: after I took the first attempt at this picture and uploaded it on the computer, I noticed the title in the background, but it wasn’t entirely visible. So I went back, moved the clock just a wee bit, and took it again. Not the most thorough of attempts, since it was all done in the 10 minutes while hubby was giving the kids their bath! I’d meant to get to it earlier in the day and use natural light, but you know how it goes.
a remarkable chance of circumstance! clever woman, jen!
yeah, thank you! i was stuck on this one too until i let go of “clock” and thought more about “time”, and then i remembered these pictures. they were fun to play around with. i need to get back out there in some early morning light since the gathering faces east.
i like rhymes too, and i’m sucker in general for clocks, so cath and jen, i love both of yours. but i have to admit, i’m most partial this week to miranda’s! beautiful!