Accidental art: The mold is the medium

A week ago, while preparing for a garage sale at my in-laws, I came across these objects. One is a stretched canvas, and the other is the back of a base for a previously framed decorative object. On both pieces mold, scratches and other damage created really nice abstract images. The flowing horizontal (I preferred that orientation) design on the canvas is subtle but strong. On the second piece analogous colors are created by the dots of mold. A twisted wire stuck to the surface creates a linear counterpoint to the dots' geometry. The dots, though geometric in shape, are actually organic life, while the more free-form wire is man-made metal.

These objects had to be discarded, of course, given the health risks to having mold around. But it was nice to see something beautiful among junk and trash and to have the opportunity to record it. How the objects may have continued to change over time would have been an interesting thing to watch.