Beauty in Unexpected Places

Lumière is known for showing art in unconventional spaces. Art is created and then displayed where it normally wouldn’t be displayed. But art can also be found in unexpected places — like your kitchen sink.

Take this photo for instance.

Isn’t this neat? This was in my kitchen sink. Want to make this yourself? Ok! Here’s what I did:

I took out my big stock pot. It has a rounded handle on the side, like this:

Stock pot photo by midwestgrrl
Photo by midwestgrrl

I grabbed a dish cloth.

I added some dish soap…

Lemon dish soap photo by Bill Selak
Photo by Bill Selak

…and some water…

Water drops photo by s_fox
Photo by s_fox

…and swiped the soapy, sudsy dish cloth along the rounded handle of the stock pot, and a bubble formed in the handle.

I’m sure it’s obvious by now that I didn’t do this on purpose. For the umpteenth time, I created bubbles while washing the dishes. But this time I looked closely and saw the patterns in the soapy film. After just a moment the colors became vivid and the bubble surface swirled around like psychedelic art. So, I broke out my camera for a few macro shots.

Just goes to show you that art can be created with ordinary, everyday materials, and that beauty is never that far away. {:

6 Replies to “Beauty in Unexpected Places”

  1. That picture becomes all the more fascinating when you realize the amazing science behind it. The varying thickness of the soap film causes constructive interference at ever-changing wavelengths of light, resulting in an array of emphasized colors. As the soap flows, the thickness changes and the pattern of interference shifts, making it seem almost alive.

    Some people think that science is sterile, but here we can all see the beauty of it.

    You may now return to your previous art discussion 🙂

    1. That’s fascinating! Yes, it did seem almost alive. I’m SURE I had noticed it before as I’ve played with bubbles my whole life, but this time I was in possession of a DSLR with a macro lens. {: And now I know why it happens, which is awesome. Thanks for injecting some science knowledge into this art joint. 😀

  2. You have Aunt Jay floored!!! See beauty IS in the eye of the beholder. You know I am STILL and tye dye person and LOVE the colors. You amaze me.

    1. Thanks! It’s really just a matter of looking closely. On first look, bubbles seem transparent, but there’s a lot happening on the soapy surface. Sometimes it pays to take a closer look at familiar things. {:

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