Creative Sunday Practice #20

A cute monkey in a Japanese zoo called Punch made headlines this week for bonding with an IKEA stuffed orangutan toy. But it got me thinking: some IKEA items, while far less newsworthy, can quietly offer amazing opportunities for creativity. One of my favorites? A simple bath rug.

For this week’s Creative Sunday Practice, I invite you to explore rugs with your smartphone camera.

Why Rugs?

Rugs are everywhere in our homes, but how often do we actually notice them? Most of the time, they serve a practical purpose: soft underfoot, decorative on the floor, but rarely a subject for the eye. That’s exactly what makes them such great material for training your creative vision. When you photograph a rug, you can focus on:

Texture – the weave, fibers, and threads suddenly become a rich visual language.

Light and shadow – even subtle folds cast dramatic shadows when viewed at a low angle.

Pattern and repetition – rug designs can feel like abstract compositions if framed thoughtfully.

Perspective – changing your viewpoint transforms a familiar object into something new.

My Home Experiment

When I tried this at home, I used a low-angle close-up technique. I crouched down with my iPhone, bringing the camera almost to the surface. The simple bath rug became a landscape of fibers and light. Shadows lengthened and softened depending on how I angled the phone and moved the light around. Some areas appeared almost sculptural.

It’s also a reminder that the fun of smartphone photography comes less from the object itself and more from the decisions we make while observing it. Moving the phone slightly, shifting focus, or cropping tightly can completely change the story the image tells.

How to Get Started

Here are a few ways to explore rugs with your phone:

🧶 Look for side lighting
Natural or lamp light hitting from the side accentuates texture and depth.

🧶 Crop tightly
Remove context and isolate fibers, patterns, or folds.

🧶 Fold or layer
Play with shapes and shadows by folding or overlapping the rug.

🧶 Explore patterns and symmetry
Zoom in on repeating motifs or contrast colors.

🧶 Change your perspective
Move your phone closer, lower, or even tilt it to see the rug differently.

Even simple decisions like adjusting the angle of the phone or lighting can dramatically transform your shot. When you bring your eye closer and slow down, ordinary textures turn into abstract landscapes.

Your Turn

Set aside 10 minutes this Sunday (or any day that works). Don’t rush. Observe the rug, its folds, its threads, and the way light interacts with it. Let your eye wander and follow what feels interesting. Snap a few frames, adjust slightly, and notice the changes.

The goal is to train your eye, build confidence in seeing the everyday differently, and have fun experimenting with composition and perspective.

I’ll be back next Sunday with another everyday object to help keep your creative eye sharp.

P.S. If this is your first post from this series, welcome! Creative Sunday Practice is a weekly ritual I share to help you improve your smartphone photography, train your eye, and discover new ways of seeing ordinary objects. Tap the category tag in the post to explore previous prompts and join any time.