The Shed

We drove from the house to the Pet Cemetery in Eden where we explored a little bit and looked at each of the pet grave stones. After that, we climbed into the back of the van with the seats down and ate our lunch. Once we had finished, I hopped into the driver’s seat and just started driving. We had no destination in mind and no real sense of where we were. As we went down the dirt road I would call out to my friends asking which way to go every time we came across another road; remain straight, turn left or right? For the next 3 hours, this was the way we traveled. Eventually we were driving past a wooded area when M yelled out “Stop!” and told me to pull over.

We pulled onto the side of a desolate road and filed out of the van. We walked across the snow-covered field to the building. As we approached it, we thought it was a small house, but then wondered if it was a shed. We walked around to the side of it where we were shocked to see the roof and some walls had completely collapsed. We continued moving forward and started exploring behind and under the wooden panels that had fallen over.

There was a collection of jars clustered together on a table. This immediately attracted my attention. I do not know exactly what it is about them, but I have always been fascinated with jars and bottles. I started collecting vintage jars and pop bottles when I was 14 and continue to do now. Seeing these bottles left on the table brought a lot of questions. Who left these jars? What used to be kept in them? Where did they come from? What will be made of my jars I am collecting at home in the years to come? The nostalgia I hold regarding jars is where I find the aesthetic in this photo. The discovery of these jars has added more significance to my own collection. As many of the jars I have are from friends, family, and second-hand stores, I wonder about the stories my jars held before coming into my possession and what it will mean to whoever finds them after I am gone?