Where We Sleep: Sacred Spaces

Marcus and Beer share this room at the Catholic Worker house in Denver, CO.  The room is filled with books, remains of various dead animals, and musical instruments.  On Tuesday nights Marcus gets together with friends to hand craft soap; in the right corner of the photo you can see some of the soap he has made.  Illuminating this space is an open door, which leads you down a staircase and out to the garden.

 

Eric's Brooklyn Loft, as he pointed out, is big enough to build a small boat in, but when he is home he spends most of his time in "Fort Wilson."  This dome like structure is where he keeps his bed, a space heater, a disco ball ornament,  and four lights of varying brightness and shapes.  He built Fort Wilson by himself in hopes of protecting from the chills of NYC winters.  In the summer he plans on transforming it into a cabana outside on the roof.

 As daylight fades and Christian turns on his bare bulb lamp, the wall to his left becomes the perfect setting for playful shadow puppets to dance about. 

Brooklyn, NY

Matthew's room in Queens, NY is filled with little treasures.  His ceiling sparkles with glow in the dark stars and on the other side of his bed there is a tabletop covered in sea glass, candles, a New Mexico license plate, and feathers.

 

   This is Luis.  He built a loft bed to make his tiny Brooklyn room feel a little more spacious.  Unfortunately he forgot to build a ladder, so on days he is too tired to monkey on up to bed he pulls his mattress down to the floor.  If you look closely you will find that most of the decorations in his room advocate social justice.

This self portrait is with my dog friend Beer.  I currently sleep on a twin mattress on my bedroom floor in Brooklyn, NY.  Lighting a candle once a day in my room helps me feel grounded and at home here.  I move around a lot and I am blessed with many visitors each place I go.  Beer is from Denver, and when he came to visit he stayed in my bed with me and cuddled up much like in this image.

"Where We Sleep: Sacred Spaces" is an ongoing project about people in the places they sleep, whether that be a room in a house, a car, a city bench, a friend's couch, this is the space we spend most of our time.  It is a place most of us go to feel safe, to cry, to get comfy, and spend time wandering around in dream world.  The idea of being welcomed in to such a special place and allowed to photograph really excites me.