Things I’m Afraid to Tell You
Several days ago I was perusing Twitter and became interested in a conversation between a few bloggers whose work I admire. They were discussing this post where Jess Constable of MakeUnderMyLife.com became frustrated with the synthetic perfection in the design blog community and decided to openly discuss the things she feared sharing with her readers in the name of being more genuine and transparent. So many were inspired by her bravery, and a blog challenge was born.
I don’t write about design in the same way these bloggers do, but much of my journey over the past year has been discovering what I want and how to go after it – including when and how to get out of my own way. So okay, I’m up for a new challenge, I’ll bite. I talk a lot about great design and how to be creative, but here are the things about my daily life that I’m afraid to tell you:
| Last night I slept on my sofa spooning my 60-pound pit bull because her stomach was upset and it was the only thing that would make her stop crying in her crate. If you tell me she’s a vicious breed, I’ll let her lick your face until you change your mind. | |
| I forget anything I don’t write down. | |
| Panic attacks get in the way of living my best life. I dream of traveling through India and Thailand, (and to Alt Summit) but have paralyzing fear of airplanes. | |
| This week marked the 18th anniversary of the death of a dear friend. As I’ve gotten older, the way I remember and celebrate him has changed, but the day is never easy. Our friendship gave me courage to follow my heart and be different, and that courage is what drives my success today. Is there a way to show gratitude for such a bittersweet gift? | |
| I eat, sleep and breathe design, but am too shy to introduce myself to designers and bloggers I admire online. | |
| Every day I sit down with a blank document or sketchbook page and worry I won’t be able to fill it. | |
| I’ve been trying to lose the same 10 pounds and break the same career boundaries for the past three years. | |
| I hate cleaning bathrooms more than any other adult responsibility. | |
| I must set my alarm for 7:00 to (barely) make it to work by 9:30. I cannot explain where all that time goes. | |
| I spent nearly twelve exhausting and expensive years to get to this place in my career, and now I am tortured by the thought that maybe I am meant to do (and want to do) something completely different. The student loan people find this neither ironic nor funny. | |
| I regularly work fifteen hours a day while simultaneously encouraging those around me to pursue work-life balance. | |
| I can become quite jealous of other designers’ insightful and beautiful work. Even though I do not like this trait in myself, I let it drive me to work harder. | |
| I’m afraid to tell anyone the business idea I’m cooking up – even though I think it’s amazing – because once I let the word out, there will be opinions and changes and stakeholders to answer to. | |
| If I chase my dreams of becoming an entrepreneur, I may wait too long and not be able to also have a child. It scares me that this does not deter me from pursuing my company. |
So there you have it – the things I’m afraid to say – many of which have nothing to do with design. Please be kind.
Many thanks to Ez and Jess for inspiring this post. I’m trying to remember that opening yourself up to others is more often a reward than a risk, but my stomach is in knots hovering over the “publish” button.
What about you? What are you afraid to say to the world?
4×6 Exchange: Inbound
At last, the mail I’ve been waiting for has arrived!
In March, I posted about creating a piece of original art for the Art House Co-Op 4×6 Exchange.
The project’s premise was simple:
“Sign up for the project and mail us a flat, 4” x 6” original artwork and a USPS self-addressed, stamped envelope. We’ll exchange your work with another artist’s submission and surprise both of you with the results! Keep your eyes on your mailbox…”
I sent my art away in March, and today I received the loveliest gift from a talented Illustrator named Tiffany Patterson. Tiffany says of her work, “I’m an artist, lover of glitter, and pet chicken raiser. I dabble in painting, illustration, poster art, and murals…All of which can be found in the nooks and crannies around Spokane,WA. My work celebrates tiny moments, happiness and humor. Each piece offers a single snapshot into my fabricated land of whimsy.”
I love the detail and attitude in the drawing, striking an interesting and tense balance between tough and delicate. I love the idea of receiving something so personal from a stranger on the other side of the country, and I know just where I’ll display the drawing in my home.
From start to finish, I LOVED being a part of the 4×6 Exchange and will definitely participate in more Art House Co-Op projects in the future. If you want to try one of their many projects, check out the open opportunities here.
RIC/RVA: 400 Years of Revolution Innovation & Change
I’ve been away from the blog a lot lately, and I’ll try to catch you up on a few of the design projects that have been keeping me so busy.
A few months ago, I got an email asking to create a logo (above) for RIC/RVA, a new event series designed rediscover the history of my home town of Richmond, Virginia.
Richmond is a vibrant small city with a young culture, diverse creative economy and a PR problem. The city has 400 years of history, but is known for being the capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War. But many things began and flourished here. By exploring lesser-known pockets of Richmond history – the stuff NOT about the Civil War – the event series aims to discover and share a different legacy for the city.
The first session was titled “Signs of the Times,” where ”Participants will be led through an exploration of the varied and oft untouched parts of Richmond’s 400 year history; from the well known to the never heard of. Attendees will then divide into groups, and with the help of nine local creative advertising gurus will develop visual propaganda celebrating moments of transformation and change in RVA.”
I was among the designers asked to lead group discussions and create propaganda posters to change perception of Richmond’s history. My team was wonderful team and I left with a lot of notes and a visual analogy to base our poster on. I had a week on my own to develop a piece celebrating transformation and change in Richmond.
My team asked me to use a visual garden metaphor to represent Richmond as a garden for growing our collective, creative future, and a place that tests the status quo. With the help of a copywriter friend, I designed the poster below, which will be displayed along with those created by the other teams and designers. I’m looking forward to seeing the results of all the creative projects in the series, including a crowdsourced tourism video to be presented at the finale!
If you’re local, check out the series and register for the FREE events here!
On the Radar: Antiques in Manchester
To my fellow Richmonders, this weekend marks the return of Antiques in Manchester for the 2012 season!
Antiques in Manchester (or AIM) is an upscale, open-air antiques market every Saturday from 9 am – 4 pm in the covered walkway adjacent to 205 Hull Street just across the 14th Street bridge from downtown. There is free parking, and the event occurs weekly through December, rain or shine.
This is not just any old flea market. Co-sponsored by Micheal Sparks Design, Ghostprint Gallery and Maurice Beane Studios.The items offered are carefully curated with an emphasis on design and a heavy dose of quality mid-century items. Guaranteed to be a nice day of fun shopping for anyone who loves interior design.
Learn more and see photos and a vendor list at the AIM website or Facebook page. Hope to see you there!
4×6 Exchange: Outbound
I’m always looking for fun, quick ways to inspire my creative process, so I was excited a few years ago to discover the Art House Co-Op, an Brooklyn organization whose mission is to create and support global collaborative art projects.
Since founding in 2006 with the now-famous Sketchbook Project, the Art House community has grown to include over 60,000 contributors from all corners of the world, and multiple projects running at all times. Last month I was one of 2,000 folks to sign up for their 4×6 Exchange, which was designed to share the thrill the co-op experiences by receiving deliveries of handmade creative goodness in the mail.
The premise is simple:
“Sign up for the project and mail us a flat, 4” x 6” original artwork and a USPS self-addressed, stamped envelope. We’ll exchange your work with another artist’s submission and surprise both of you with the results! Keep your eyes on your mailbox…”
I love sending and receiving old-fashioned mail, so this project was inspiring to me from the first moment. As I sat down to think about what to send, and I determined immediately that since the purpose for me was to shake up my creative rut, my submission couldn’t be in any of my familiar media (no graphic design or photography!) I was inspired by the idea of sharing something intimately hand made with an anonymous stranger I’d never meet, and that’s what inspired the little painting I made (above).
I’m sending it off tomorrow and will let you know what I receive in return!
In the meantime, I challenge you all to sign up for one of the Art House Co-Op’s upcoming projects and share the results. DOUBLE-DOG dare you!
