November 19, 2012 In appreciation, art, books, books & stuff, children's books, creativity, design, illustration, imagination, inspiration, life and the universe By Patricia Saxton

Reading Ditty

As a voracious reader myself, I firmly believe that reading is truly one of the most worthwhile, elevating things we can do at any age.

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ps: my marketing muse tells me I should plug my own books, too, so here they are … a click on the image below will take you to my amazon author page, or you can see all my loot at my shop (left menu on this page). :  )

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November 7, 2012 In art, creativity, design, graphic design, life and the universe, words and language, work and play By Patricia Saxton

Nonsense Makes Sense

“My alphabet starts with this letter called yuzz.  It’s the letter I use to spell yuzz-a-ma-tuzz.  You’ll be sort of surprised what there is to be found once you go beyond ‘Z’ and start poking around!”  ~Dr. Seuss

We’ve had a rough go on the east coast in recent weeks, and as I write this, the predicted Nor’easter is bringing down the temperature a whole lot more. What the snow will do remains to be seen, but the whole affair adds insult to injury for thousands of still-out-of-power or displaced folks.

Within all this, schools and towns are in various states of open or closed throughout the area, the election happened, and “the show must go on” with work to be tended. (yes, dear clients, I am working!)

So I decided to lighten up a bit, with a little nonsense borrowed from the great Dr. Seuss ~ which seems to make as much if not more sense than “real life”. (And I’ve a feeling there will be more installments of nonsense down the pike …)

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Here’s wishing you a bit of nonsense in your day. 🙂

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October 21, 2012 In art, craftsmanship, creativity, design, drawing, fine art, painting By Patricia Saxton

Creative Duet: The Prolific William Morris

Perhaps the grand lord of the decorative arts, one could think of William Morris as the craftsman’s craftsman. His uncompromising  belief that the best things in life were hand-made using natural materials combined with his exquisite drawing and watercolor skills to produce a vast collection of wallpaper and fabric design still widely used today.

Early on he was dedicated to creating beautiful, hand-crafted furnishings, which led to fabric printing and then to excelling in the arts of carving, dying, embroidery, stained glass and weaving.  A prolific individual, to be sure.

But ~ yes  ~ there was more to this inspired man than textile design. Throughout his life he wrote and published poetry, fiction, and translations of ancient and medieval texts. As author, illustrator and medievalist, he helped establish the fantasy genre, and was a direct influence on authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien.

Morris was born into a well-to-do family on March 24, 1834 in Essex, England, educated at Exeter College in Oxford, and was married to Jane Burden until his death in October, 1896.

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October 18, 2012 In art, communication, creativity, design, graphic design, imagination, inspiration, words and language By Patricia Saxton

A Plethora of P’s / #64: Paisley

proactively punctuating life with the plausible, powerful possibilities of positive thought presented through a plethora of “P’s”.

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According to Wikipedia, paisley is a droplet-shaped vegetable motif of Persian origin, but its western name derives from the town of Paisley, in central Scotland.

Well, you learn something new every day.

What I’d already known was that paisley seems to have an almost immortal popularity that’s been used heavily by the likes of the equally immortal designer William Morris and fashion giants Gucci and D&G (Dolce & Gabbana).

I think of it as a happy print; happiest when used sparingly and elegantly. Of course, for those who like to shout it out more boldly, that works too. Either way, wear it in good cheer. There’s quite a bit of history in a piece of paisley print!

(see our growing, ongoing Plethora of P’s here)

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October 5, 2012 In appreciation, art, communication, creativity, design, graphic design, imagination, inspiration, life and the universe, philosophy, words and language By Patricia Saxton

A Plethora of P’s / #63: Pink Flamingo

proactively punctuating life with the plausible, powerful possibilities of positive thought presented through a plethora of “P’s”.

– ♥ –

I’ve always been enchanted by flamingos. I think most people are. Maybe it’s their color we find so stunning ~ their sheer pink-ness! ~ ranging from pale and soft to deep corals and brilliant pink-tinged scarlets.

Then you see them standing on those incredibly skinny legs that go every which way (often standing on just one leg; go figure…), making them both awkward and fluid, beautiful and strange, and there’s a sense of awe at their very design.

I like the “awe” of flamingos. I like the way their form almost contradicts itself. I like their grace and their gentleness, and how they hang out in groups like one big happy family and don’t cause any trouble. They eat, swim, and fly (sounds good to me). They mate for life.  And they’ve got that amazing plumage.

You know, just thinking about them has brightened my day. Heck, I hope it’s brightened yours too.

(see our growing, ongoing Plethora of P’s here)

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October 3, 2012 In appreciation, art, branding, communication, design, graphic design, presentation By Patricia Saxton

Girl Scout Cookie Conundrum

Girl Scouts are many worthy things, but they should probably stick to being positive citizens of the universe and not mess with their cookie box design!

I should apologize, as it seems the Girl Scout organization is very pleased with their new design. But, you who know me, know that if I think something is good, I’ll be the first to applaud. If not, I’ll find some nice way to speak the truth, and look for the positive, but honesty prevails. (This is probably a good Girl Scout trait, this being true to your word business. It earns trust, I believe.)

In any event, to the point, which is: “Why change the box”?

Yes, I understand it’s a 100th anniversary of the Girl Scout organization, and as we all know, everyone (except me) loves Girl Scout cookies. So that’s a sensible enough reason to re-design the box ~ to celebrate the milestone.

Maybe the question then isn’t so much “why”, as “why this design”? It accomplishes its goal of honoring the girls themselves, but the cookies (the beloved cookies, and the main reason for the box) feel lost. The prior box, in my opinion, did a better job of honoring both girl and cookie. They could have infused something celebratory into the existing design, rather than re-invent. In my opinion. Which wasn’t asked for. So there you go, for what it’s worth.

What I really don’t “get” is why some companies feel a need to fix things that aren’t broken. That’s time and money spent for an overhaul that in the end, doesn’t necessarily justify the means. Some businesses really DO need brand makeovers, and I’m all for those upgrades. But if it’s just because you can, then it really ought to be fairly spectacular.

Bottom line, I wanted to care and applaud their venture, but I’m unmoved. The good news though, for all you Girl Scout cookie lovers, is that they haven’t changed the number of cookies per box.

old box

new box

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