Petite Étude
Pick a question
You don't need all of them. You need one.
A tiny research project is four things: a question you care about, a way of noticing, a record, and an end date. It runs for a while, and then it stops. It does not have to be useful — it is better if it is not.
Filter by the kind of attention a question asks for, or by how long you want to give it. Open one to read it properly, then start it. If none of them is your question, write your own at the bottom.
Process Studies
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The Line That Snagged
What catches, and does it keep catching the same way?
Read one poem each morning. Log the single line that snagged. One line. No commentary.
30 days · writing
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Copy It by Hand
What does the hand notice that the eye skipped?
Copy one beloved paragraph by hand, every day, for a month. The same one.
30 days · photographs
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Rewear
How many outfits are already in the wardrobe?
Wear only what you already own, in a combination you've never worn before, every day. Photograph each.
30 days · photographs
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One Corner, One Hour, One Season
What is the light doing while I'm busy?
Photograph the same corner of the same room at the same hour every day for a season. Never move the frame.
12 weeks · photographs
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One Sentence, Another Language
What does a language feel like in the hand?
Copy out one sentence by hand each day in a language you're learning. Don't translate it in the app.
6 weeks · photographs
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One Loaf, One Variable
What is actually doing the work?
Bake the same loaf every week. Change exactly one thing each time. Photograph the crumb.
10 weeks · photographs and notes
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Draw the Cup
What does the fiftieth drawing know that the first didn't?
Draw the same coffee cup every morning for two weeks. Keep all of them, including the bad ones.
2 weeks · photographs
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Mend It So It Shows
Why did I keep this?
Mend something visibly. Photograph every stage. Write down why this object and not another.
4 weeks · photographs and notes