This is last week’s challenge, so I’m late. But I love watching for texture in my environment. I am a “touchy” person, and have to feel something before I fully understand it. When buying clothing online, I have to know the composition of fabric, since how it feels and drapes is VERY important to me. In person, I always feel something before trying it on. My most memorable incident in my childhood, regarding texture, took place when my parents were building their new home in a better neighborhood. My mother made some horrible choices for that house, and both involved texture.

First, she decided that the deck out over the back yard would have a surface covered with tiny white stones, instead of wood planks like a normal deck. I could imagine right away what a nightmare that would be, and I objected. You can see that such a deck with loose rocks would mean that those little pieces of stone would get tracked everywhere in the house on peoples’ shoes, which is exactly what happened. We were constantly cleaning those rocks out of our shoes, off the kitchen floor, and everywhere else in the house. And no one could walk barefoot on the deck either, since it would be painful! The other big mistake she made was the carpeting in the house. My mother the Fiber Artist, decided that we would have a main floor carpeted in coir matting. This is a rough fiber to start with, woven into a herringbone-like pattern. Of course, that rough surface was impossible to walk on without shoes, and it was fiendishly difficult to clean, since rocks from the deck and all manner of dirt gets caught up in the rough fibers. When I had friends over, no one could sit on the rough floor. I’m sorry I have no photos, but you get the idea!

How about some rough texture to start with? This tree is at the park on the west side of Silver Lake. I was drawn to its rough, yet smooth at the same time, bark.

On the other hand, this tree in Anacortes has an entirely different kind of bark texture. Almost papery.

These two items at the Asian market have entirely different textures.

The “horned melon” on the left has spikes! The melons on the right are very smooth. Same general shape, very different textures.

Speaking of vegetables, one day I was cutting up a red pepper for my favorite salad, and I happened to notice that the sun was shining through it from the window behind the cutting board. I really liked the effect, and it emphasized its slick outside texture, and rougher insides with all the seeds. And the cutting board adds its own texture to the still life.

A very common phrase is “smooth as glass” to describe the surface of a lake or pond.

So, there’s the lake, and the glass. And below is both!

The texture of this very important part of my life is very soft, like a little mink. And that blanket is very soft, too!

Finally, this texture is extremely sharp, not to be handled with bare hands, only with a scoop, or heavy gloves.

Here is the link to the Original Post, and a couple of others, Here and Here.