top of page
Welcome to The Beauty Project
Though difficult to define, we know when we’ve experienced beauty,
and that it can make a positive difference to how we feel.
I’d like to know more about what people have found beautiful since the start of the pandemic,
about what that experience was like and what difference it made to people’s lives.
I’d like this website to be a place where people can come and find beauty
even at times when chaos and loss seem overwhelming.
I wonder where you have found beauty in these past few months?
Do you have a story to share?
Some of our stories...
go to 'Collection' to see more
I am usually one to walk quickly, keep my head down, and mind my own business; especially since on a previous visit to London I had my fair share of "interesting encounters."
As I was rushing about my business one day I bypassed an elderly gentleman struggling to make his way out of a restaurant, his hands full with his walking stick, bags of shopping, his take out and the heavy door. After going on a few steps I looked back and realised that he still had not exited to the pavement, so I turned around, pushed and held open the door and helped him to step out. He thanked me quietly, and although he was wearing a face covering, his smile was evident in the warmth and brightness of his eyes, and there was a beauty in the moment that arrested me.
I carried the look of his eyes with me for several days after, and smiled at the thought each time. The pandemic has perhaps given us more excuses to avoid these simple, helpful interactions; but people who are isolated need them more than ever; and their responses prove this.
As I was rushing about my business one day I bypassed an elderly gentleman struggling to make his way out of a restaurant, his hands full with his walking stick, bags of shopping, his take out and the heavy door. After going on a few steps I looked back and realised that he still had not exited to the pavement, so I turned around, pushed and held open the door and helped him to step out. He thanked me quietly, and although he was wearing a face covering, his smile was evident in the warmth and brightness of his eyes, and there was a beauty in the moment that arrested me.
I carried the look of his eyes with me for several days after, and smiled at the thought each time. The pandemic has perhaps given us more excuses to avoid these simple, helpful interactions; but people who are isolated need them more than ever; and their responses prove this.
I'm not really the kind of person who takes pictures of nature but I found the light on the beach that day so strange and beautiful that I was moved to try and photograph it. Although I ended up with such a dramatic photograph I love this picture more because it conjures a memory of the light and the beach that day. The pebbles were all turned pink and were damp from condensation, the sky and the air were so heavy.
I'm sure that the pandemic contributed to my experience that day. I had spent the majority of the lockdown inside, working towards my finals. Like most people I spent the lockdown self-evaluating, thinking about what I'd done so far with my life, what had made me happy and what hadn't and what I was going to do next. Perhaps I was moved by the beauty of that day of the beach because, for a time, I was freed from this kind of worrying. My sense of self dissolved into the scene.
Looking at it now it reminds me of Jim Ede's spiral of stones at Kettles Yard.
http://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/handfulofobjects/spiral-of-stones/
I'm sure that the pandemic contributed to my experience that day. I had spent the majority of the lockdown inside, working towards my finals. Like most people I spent the lockdown self-evaluating, thinking about what I'd done so far with my life, what had made me happy and what hadn't and what I was going to do next. Perhaps I was moved by the beauty of that day of the beach because, for a time, I was freed from this kind of worrying. My sense of self dissolved into the scene.
Looking at it now it reminds me of Jim Ede's spiral of stones at Kettles Yard.
http://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/handfulofobjects/spiral-of-stones/
I rarely have time for what a consider as 'real' creativity - painting, drawing, making etc. However, I love the fact that if I have my iphone with me then I am carrying a virtual art studio.
After putting my Christmas tree up this week I reached for an app I downloaded a few years ago called 'Slow Camera'. As it sounds, the app enables you to take long exposure photographs on your smartphone. After a bit of tinkering I achieved the following result. I was quite pleased, but the real joy for me was the fun I had playing around with the app and trying achieve the desired effect.
Due to extra stresses of lockdown I now look for any opportunity to unwind after or during a busy day. I can recommend the app if you have time to play - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/slow-shutter-cam/id357404131
After putting my Christmas tree up this week I reached for an app I downloaded a few years ago called 'Slow Camera'. As it sounds, the app enables you to take long exposure photographs on your smartphone. After a bit of tinkering I achieved the following result. I was quite pleased, but the real joy for me was the fun I had playing around with the app and trying achieve the desired effect.
Due to extra stresses of lockdown I now look for any opportunity to unwind after or during a busy day. I can recommend the app if you have time to play - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/slow-shutter-cam/id357404131
Although I am a cloud gazer by nature, the isolation and loneliness brought on by the pandemic has led me to connect with the sky on an even more profound level. Throughout the different lockdowns I have found myself almost immersing with the formations above. On this particular day, I was especially taken away by the angel-like shape of the clouds and found it hard to look away. It felt almost as if I were being called from above, and that all of us down here on earth were being graced by the presence of this large, beautiful artwork from up there. The peace induced by such beauty brought tears to my eyes and made my heart sing.
I live in supported living and spent lots of time this year stuck in my room. Not much has been good this year but I have my beautiful budgie, Peter, and he keeps me company and talks to me when I’m feeling fed up.
Continuing to work throughout the pandemic in a busy hospital, I found peace commuting through the streets of an emptied South London. Riding a motorbike is a visceral and exhilarating experience; however, the inherent singular concentration allows my mind to empty of other worries and thoughts. The beauty of these snatched moments of inner calm and the empty south circular were certain but they could never compete with the swept downpipes and anodised engine casings of a Honda CB650r.
Most days I find myself slipping back into a pattern of depression which I’ve experienced my whole life, of course since Covid it’s been a little more regular on account of being so locked away from the world. I used to look out of my bedroom window and think how miserable it all seemed in the rain, under grey storm clouds. These days I still do the same thing, however I’m now able to focus on the beauty of the moment more often. I find myself wondering who walked these streets before I did? how many people have looked out of this window into my neighbours house and wondered exactly the same thought... this is what I find beautiful - a moment frozen in time that only I will ever experience (at least in this exact way). How beautiful it all is.
I found my birthday cake this year absolutely beautiful ! Hand made by my youngest daughter a complete and wonderful surprise !
We live in South Wales just outside Cardiff and our lockdown restrictions have been governed by our First Minister.
It’s been challenging to say the least however this time has given us I believe reflection time to put a break pedal down on our normal comings and goings and to actually have time to spend doing things we would not normally do
like make exceptional surprise cakes !
We live in South Wales just outside Cardiff and our lockdown restrictions have been governed by our First Minister.
It’s been challenging to say the least however this time has given us I believe reflection time to put a break pedal down on our normal comings and goings and to actually have time to spend doing things we would not normally do
like make exceptional surprise cakes !
Whilst beginning the pandemic with the view that my bedroom was a place of confinement, as the months passed I increasingly found myself enjoying my own company. With this I've come to find beauty in my room, a deeper enjoyment of the books on my shelf, a greater intimacy with the paintings propped up against my wall. A place that has served me as concert hall, art studio and wine bar, my bedroom has at many points throughout quarantine been my "world" - a space which I also happen to find beautiful.
I'm a college chaplain and I've been coming to work at London Bridge almost every week since lockdown began. I regularly take walks around the campus to alleviate the stress of PC-based admin and email, and decided to take a prayer walk one day. I decided to look for things that weren't stereotypically beautiful or photogenic, and created this composite image as I couldn't decide on just one photograph. I feel an immediate sense of peace when I'm training my eyes to slow down and enjoy the simple (but beautiful) things around me. I'm inspired by the following quote from Browning - 'We're made so that we love first when we see them painted, things we have passed perhaps a hundred times nor cared to see.' The pandemic has afforded me the time to reconnect with my creativity, which was such a large part of my life before moving to London.
So beautiful to see this new family of swans in the spring and the protectiveness of the parents. I saw them again the other day, almost full grown now, still in the same formation. Feels such a privilege to come so close to nature. I wouldn’t have seen them if I hadn’t been forced to stay home.
This is one of the pages of the scrapbook that I started half way through the first lockdown. It is my favorite page as it is a page dedicated to my family. The pandemic, as it has to many other families, has separated us from being together. This page would have been beautiful to me before the pandemic, but it resonates with me so much more having gone through it. Not to mention that I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to express my creativity without the pandemic forcing us indoors with not much else to do!
Family and art are a timeless beauty to me.
Family and art are a timeless beauty to me.
Every day in lockdown I collected a feather the ducks had left behind on the banks of our local pond. They are so delicate and beautiful – each engineered for a special purpose. It felt like I’d found a piece of treasure every time.
I felt quite stressed when lockdown started. I work as a photographer and I knew I wouldn't be able to work for quite some time. The weather however was beautiful and I spent a lot of time in my garden. We have a trough just outside our kitchen window and the tulips that were planted last year started to bloom in early April. The tulips were orange and because the garden is south facing, the sunshine shone through them, so they looked like they were on fire. I have always loved tulips - we had a bed of red tulips in the front of the house I grew up in and every year I looked forward to seeing them. Seeing the beauty of the tulips this year reminded me of the happy times of my childhood. They also gave me something to photograph and I ended up taking over 2000 photos of them. Sitting in my garden during lockdown and marvelling at my tulips gave me a sense of peace. I find beauty can be almost overwhelming sometimes. A beautiful view, or a beautiful face, or in this case a beautiful flower, can produce a sense of wonder and heightened emotion, verging on euphoria. The tulips and the sunshine together completely changed my view of lockdown. I felt a sense of inner peace I normally only experience on holiday. I thought about people who were stuck in a small flat without outside space, perhaps with young children to care for, and who may have lost their job and been worried about their future. I realised how incredibly lucky I was to have a garden, and that sometimes we forget to appreciate what we have, rather than worry about what we don't have. In the future when I think back to lockdown, I will always remember the tulips and the joy they brought me.
'Gift' by RS Thomas speaks to me into these days of confinement and constraint. Its simple beauty helps me realign my perceptions - and feel at peace.
'Gift' is copyright © Elodie Thomas
with thanks for permission to publish.
'Gift' is copyright © Elodie Thomas
with thanks for permission to publish.
bottom of page