(Re)Presentation prompts

Identify an object in your home, perhaps one in the room you’re in right now. Pick an object that has significance and resonance for you personally, whose significance may not readily be apparent without you telling a story. Bring it close or simply imagine it close by and engage all available senses with it, note its color and dimensions, its texture and smell, what sounds it makes or reminds you of, what taste it has or reminds you of.

Version 1: Write with this object in mind. You might even write directly to it, using one of the following prompts:

• You remind me of a time…
• When I’m around you…

Version 2: Do a rough sketch of the object in the center of a fresh sheet of paper. Do not worry about the sketch being “right” or proportional. Spend 1-2 minutes. Now use this sketch as a diagram where you point out and write on all the details you want, all its significations for you. Fill the page with words.