How To Avoid The World’s Troubles and Other Annoying Things

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“Gordon” / @Patricia Saxton / Book of Dragons

You could, of course, live under a rock. That sounds uncomfortable though; so, no, that wouldn’t do. But with the world teetering on the brink of lord knows what evil, with clever actors paid to persuade us that we have all manner of ill-health and need to take X drug, with things like the disturbing reality that artist Damien Hirst is a really Big Deal and triple bacon cheeseburgers considered a healthy meal, with baseball heroes letting us down and the Kardashians worthy of conversation, avoidance becomes more and more attractive.

It helps to have a meaty project to get lost in. Say, an illustrated book about dragons :  ), or creating the world’s best bread. (I’m reading a book in which the main character is a baker, and it sounds rather yummy, all that dough and kneading and freshly baked bread smell.) You could, of course, read, and then just keep reading ~ since books have a marvelous way of taking you places, away from the here and now. You could take up sky-diving or some other sport where there’s no room for thought beyond your own life flashing before your eyes. You could tend puppies or fill your social calendar with bunco matches (I’ve never played bunco – not sure if this is good or bad to admit). You could build something with your own two hands. You could sail around the world.

If you’re serious about avoiding the world’s troubles and other annoying things, whatever you do, do not turn on the tv. Avoid over-indulgence in social media. Stay away from negative people. Then, focus on the good stuff, no matter how small. Practice gratitude. Be kind. Because life is precious and too short to be fretting over things we can’t control. And just maybe it’ll all go away. Maybe it’s all just a ruse. Maybe whatever happens will simply happen with or without inserting our personal energy. It’s very hard, life. Why make it harder.

It’s not that I don’t care. I do care, maybe too much. It’s not about sticking my head in the sand. Trust me, I get riled. But I’ve realized it’s not my calling to fix the world. A friend, sure. Even a whole bunch of them ~ but the entire world is just too much. If only the world at large would stop all the fussing and fighting. If only.

And so, hours spent creating a dragon that will be part of a book that one day soon may be enjoyed by a fresh-faced, bright-eyed little person – maybe a whole lot of bright-eyed little people – seems a good use of my time. Not only that, you can’t think about annoying things when you’re making art. Works for me.

 

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Stars & Stripes: A Visual Tribute to the American Flag

In May 1776, Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag. A year later in 1777, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act, establishing an official flag for the new nation:

“Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.”

However, between 1777 and 1960, Congress passed several acts that changed the shape, design and arrangement of the flag and allowed for additional stars and stripes to reflect each new state. This broad span of time without specific guidelines resulted in many design interpretations – which in a sense also reflects the deeply rooted sense of freedom so cherished by Americans. The expressions were rich and proud, eventually evolving into the flag we pledge allegiance to today.

Carrying that theme of evolvement forward, in 1986 I discovered a beautiful book by Kit Hinrichs, called “Stars and Stripes” – a compilation of exceptionally creative American Flag images created by some of the finest graphic artists of modern time. I found it absolutely delightful, and a great tribute to the creativity and talent that abounds amongst us – and the creative freedom we’re able to enjoy in this great land of the free and home of the brave.

Below are just 13 samples of the many ingenious designs from that book honoring our American flag.  Enjoy, and Happy Birthday USA!

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all images copyright of creator

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Tuesdays with Chris: “The Gift of Listening”

Chris Staley, early work

In his typically wise yet humble way, Chris covers another of my favorite subjects in this last video of the series ~ unobtrusively reminding us that the world could use quite a bit more good listening.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the series as much as I have. It’s been a pleasure filling our Tuesdays with the creative insights from a great teacher, a great person, a wonderful artist and an old friend. Thank you Chris, for the opportunity for more of us to listen to you.

(If you missed my introduction about Chris Staley, master potter, educator and Penn State Laureate 2012-2013, you can read that here.)  Enjoy!

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Some Doors I Have Known

There’s something about doors that makes me want to walk right on in, see what’s behind them, uncover a mystery, discover a history, a magical passageway, a hidden treasure. And the lavish architecture of Venice just intensifies that intrigue!

Of course, the truth is that sometimes (most of the time) I just have to use my imagination ~ but that’s not too hard with doors like these. ♥ Ah, what stories they could tell…

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Tuesdays with Chris: “Outside the Frame”

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As “Tuesdays with Chris” nears its inevitable end (sadly, all things must pass…), we’re given a glimpse of how these videos have been made. You’re going to like this a lot! It’s just as inspiring and well-done as all the rest, with a good measure of “informative” tossed in. For anyone thinking they’d like to whip up a quick 3-minute video, take note of the time and care involved. Kudos to Producer Cody Goddard (and his awesome mittens).

(If you missed my introduction about Chris Staley, master potter, educator and Penn State Laureate 2012-2013, you can read that here.) 

Next week will be the last in the series. Enjoy!

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Devaluing Design

Warning: My usual positive outlook took a wee turn this morning. I’m peeved.

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We’ve all heard of crowd-sourcing by now. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a way to get your job done as inexpensively as possible. Sounds good, right? Let’s say you need a logo for your new business. Some start-ups, especially individuals or very small businesses, just don’t have a budget to hire a graphic designer (much less a design firm or an ad agency). For cases like these, in the past you could ask your cousin Sally (who’s “good in art”) to create something for you for free, or maybe you know a student, or someone just starting out in the design field to create something on the cheap that’ll help build their portfolio.

But now you can go online to any number of websites that provide either a.) logos for $99, or b.) crowd-sourced options. In crowd-sourcing, you describe what you need, name your price, and in this world of high-high-tech, your project is seen overnight by thousands of graphic designers who have signed up with the crowd-source listing who can all submit any number of designs to you for consideration. This means you can potentially receive thousands of design options from all over the world ~ for a fee that is, by all professional standards, incredibly, ridiculously low. And I do understand that this can be the right, if not necessary, solution for many folks. It’s a way for everyone to get a logo, not just the “wealthy”, and I can’t argue with that. I’ve even made the suggestion to a few people myself. We all need to decide where to cut corners in today’s economy.

The downside is the devaluing of design. For myself and a world of other professionals, this can feel like the beginning of the end, because there’s no way to compete. We’ve honed our skills and sensibilities over many, many years, we are among the best and brightest, we are “thinking” designers who not only offer smart, creative solutions but provide ongoing service, becoming a key player in your business. This is how we put food on the table ~ by understanding where you’re coming from, what you want and need, what will best represent you and your business in a busy, noisy landscape by creating something uniquely yours, not cut from a cookie template, not one-size-fits-all. It’s not just talent, it’s experience and insight and labor. We are your visual voice.

So, in a way, there’s a quietly raging battle going on that we’re all kind of wading through, to see what happens. But this morning it got my ire up.

I’d dropped my daughter at the train station and turned on the radio for the drive home, figuring I’d catch up on some news. Apparently Sunday mornings are filled with financial shows, and I happened on WOR 710 with Ric Edelman and his show The Truth About Money. He was explaining crowd-sourcing, and how it’s changing our world. He explained it in terms of the recent Boston Marathon bombings, how police and other law enforcement were able to nab the suspects so much more easily because of the sheer volume of phones with cameras, the capability to instantly send images and videos over the internet, being able to information-gather from thousands – millions – of people via social media instead of the old, time-consuming way of person-to-person investigating. All good. Makes sense. Except I had this bad feeling about where he was taking this…

And sure enough, he went on to add another example. “Say you want a logo for your business…. before, you would hire a graphic designer, but now… (insert reiteration of what I said in second paragraph above)” And THEN he said, “Of course this spreads fear in the hearts of designers, because it means they’ll have to now work on spec, and they probably don’t want to do that…”

Excuse me? Do YOU work on spec Ric Edelman? Do you not get paid for your radio show, your lectures or client consultations? Does your producer wait and see if anybody tuned in that day before cutting your paycheck? What? You have years of experience behind you? Oh, that matters? That makes you worth more than, say, a beginner? How about this – do you go to a fine restaurant and ask for a few variations on your meal, name a low-ball price, then decide if you’ll pay for it or not? Do you have any understanding that a designer not “wanting” to work on spec might have something to do with the fact that this is how some of us keep a roof overhead? This isn’t just fun & games. Or wait! Maybe it is! Maybe we should all find different jobs, then possibly make a couple hundred dollars on the side every so often dabbling in logos for crowd-sourcing opportunities. You know, just for fun.

Funny how this harkens back to the notion that artists and writers do what they do no matter how poorly they are paid. The historical documentation of the poor artist, wearing hole-ridden shoes, driven by passion alone…unless fortunate enough to find a patron like the Medici’s or the Pope ….. to become wildly famous after death, cashed in on by hordes of wise art dealers. But I digress.

No thanks to you, sir, for stirring this pot. For not only sharing, but encouraging this demeaning insight with your audience. For degrading the time, effort, intelligence and talent of those who feed their families through their hard work in a creative field. Not to mention the individuals and business who have benefitted from the vision and fantastic work of many a gifted designer.

That the world is evolving, that we’re well on our way, that change is already here, embraced by many and on the move, I have no disagreement. And time, of course, will tell the final tale. But I am, frankly, appalled at your cavalier disregard for the creative professional. You’re basically saying “why call a pro when you can get it done for free by somebody else!”

So far there are still reasons why people call on us. One of them is called professionalism. Something that, at least for now, is still valued.

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Tuesdays with Chris: “Life & Death in Art”

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A wonderful examination of the concept of cave paintings and their possible purpose, intertwined with thought-provoking questions about our modern experience with the environment, our surroundings and asking ourselves what’s of real value.

(If you missed my introduction about Chris Staley, master potter, educator and Penn State Laureate 2012-2013, you can read that here.)  Enjoy!

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Tuesdays with Chris: “Advice for Young Artists”

A delightful spectrum of views from do what you love, to stay vulnerable, to never give up, to make friends, to don’t do it for free ~ you’re gonna love these snippets of advice for young artists. :  )

(If you missed my introduction about Chris Staley, master potter, educator and Penn State Laureate 2012-2013, you can read that here.)  Enjoy!

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Tuesdays with Chris: “Learning to Learn”

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How do we learn? In particular, how does someone who might be unfamiliar with art learn to express themselves through an art class setting? With the premise that art is about a sense of wonder and the asking of questions, Chris shares a number of fun exercises he’s used to help students find their own voice.

Whether experienced or beginning artists, I get the distinct impression that Chris has a talent, not only for clay, but for gently drawing out people’s creativity, allowing them to discover what may lie sleeping deep beneath the surface.

(If you missed my introduction about Chris Staley, master potter, educator and Penn State Laureate 2012-2013, you can read that here.)  Enjoy!

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Tuesdays with Chris: “Tight or Loose Pots”

Every art form has two distinct expressions on either side of the creative spectrum: the articulate and the free form. Like ballet to modern dance or abstract painting to realism, a potter’s work can be tight or loose. And what can set a piece apart is what Chris calls a “sense of gesture”.

There’s an ongoing process of being in control and out of control. There’s presentation, and there’s representation. Chris is a master of both.

(If you missed my introduction about Chris Staley, master potter, educator and Penn State Laureate 2012-2013, you can read that here.)  Enjoy!

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