Heirlooms, Ornaments, and Treasures

William Morris wrote, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” These items belong in the latter category, the ones that Marie Kondo allows us to keep in our homes because they “spark joy” (ときめく tokimeku in Japanese). These are our heirlooms, ornaments and treasures; they are reminders and they all have a story to tell. Many of us are spending a great deal of time in our own homes during this unusual time, so let’s look around us and take inspiration from the beauty and joy that we find. Perhaps it is an heirloom: an item full of memories that helps us to escape the present into a nostalgic past or remember loved ones at a time when those we love are out of reach. Or maybe it’s an ornament: the accessories, embellishments and decorations that, though they have no practical purpose, bring charm to our daily lives. It could be simply the things we treasure: the pieces in our material stash that we haven’t brought ourselves to use because they are too precious, or the things we collect purely because they delight us. These words will have meanings unique to each of us and will inspire our artwork in uniquely personal ways. With this challenge we are asking you to return to these objects and let them spark something new, or to look ahead and create the heirlooms, ornaments and treasures of the future.