Lots of people love the look of laundry on a clothesline, and I'm one of them, so of course I take pictures. I hope you enjoy some of my favourites here.
The colours and shapes seem to have the intentional unity of artwork, pastels with whites, dark tones with black, the visual harmony of the clothesline. The repetition of some shapes and the contrast of others. The same principles of design that are found in the art studio.
It doesn't hurt to have the gorgeous stonework and tile roofs of Dubrovnik, Croatia as a backdrop to make these urban clotheslines so irresistible.
Towels and shirts flapping in the breeze and warming in the sunshine are a symbol of domestic labour that's shared the world over. Maybe it's childhood nostalgia but I'm sure the smell of sunshine on your pillowcase does more for your psyche than the perfume of dryer papers.
Aside from aesthetics, the appeal of outdoor clotheslines is also in the beauty of allowing the sun and fresh air to assist us in such a practical way. They say dryers are among our most energy consuming appliances. Outdoor drying is gentle on clothing and the sun is a natural bleach for white fabrics.
I use my dryer as much as anyone, but maybe I'll haul the laundry basket up from the basement a bit more often this summer. I have a nice retractable line in the backyard which has had some use over the years. I think it's still there.
