Natural Treasures

The contents of a kid’s pockets after a day of play become works of art.

For Mary Jo Hoffman ’87, morning walks aren’t times to zone out, but rather to pay attention. In Still: The Art of Noticing, Hoffman compiles more than a decade’s worth of found objects and keen observations in a volume that invites readers to stop and stay a while in its pages, and to do some noticing of their own.

Still began on January 1, 2012. After leaving her 17-year career in aerospace engineering, Hoffman committed to capturing one image per day of an object in nature, which she shared on her blog, stillblog.net. Her photos celebrate the varied ecosystems of her Shoreview, Minnesota, home: a radiant ladder of sumac branches, a summer windowsill’s worth of dead insects, a gradient of dried flowers, and a mesmerizing arrangement of fruit pits.

“Dear Universe,” the pit post begins, “I’ve got a lot on my plate right now. And you seem to want to keep adding more. Please know that I will do my best, but that [at] the moment my plate [is] full. … If your needs are urgent, you may want to find another solution.”

Over 12 years, Hoffman’s blog has garnered the attention of Martha Stewart, Better Homes & Gardens, and Midwest Living. It has inspired collaborations with Target, West Elm, the United States Botanic Garden, and the Scottish National Opera. Now in print, Still brings Hoffman’s sharp eye and earthy wisdom to home libraries.

“What four thousand images (and counting) have shown me is that the daily discipline of looking at the world eventually becomes the habit of living in the world,” Hoffman writes.

In Still’s insightful essays, topics range from the philosophies behind her work to “The 72 Microseasons of the North,” based on a concept from an ancient Japanese seasonal calendar.

“The images are stunning. … But don’t skip past the words,” writes Hannah Agran of Midwest Living. “Hoffman’s intimate, engaging essays opened my mind to new ways of thinking about the natural world and the creative process.”

Published in the Winter 2024 issue