The life of the creative man is lead, directed and controlled by boredom. Avoiding boredom is one of our most important purposes.”
~ Susan Sontag, (1933–2004)
Stayin' on a Path
Sigh… After a few weeks I’m back to learning the JavaScript syntax. I know I read some of the chapters before. I see my underlines and notes in the margin but I feel that I’ve never been here before. So I took a break and looked over some of the photos I took on our trip out west. Happy I did, now back to work.
There is no dishonor in losing the race. There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose.”
~ Garth Stein, The Art of Racing in the Rain
Finishing off the summer... Wonderful Evening
The last two weeks have been very productive even if I haven’t been online nor posting to my blog. I have found and read some terrific books and re-read one too. The Prince as you know from my previous post but also Chip Kidd’s Cheese Monkeys and another titled, My So-Called Freelance Life by Michelle Goodman. I’ve been reviewing a few books too for the Layout and Design course I will be teaching. I haven’t fell on the right text yet but might be leaning towards only requiring the Presentation Zen: simple ideas on presentation design and delivery by Garr Reynolds and then filling in with lectures.
I have been doing some photography every day but no scripting work. Plan to get back to that next week. I am at least at the computer again and posting. One step at a time. My eyes are still on the ball.
God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us.”
~ Niccolo Machiavelli
Dusk on Lake Harriet
My sabbatical allowed me to to visit my past. I had a chance to visit my alma mater, California State University Dominguez Hills and thought back to my senior year in college and the capstone course of marketing program. Thinking back we had two choices for that course either a doing a case study for as a volunteer for the Small Business Administration or reading the Prince. I chose the case study and worked developing a marketing/business plan for Gumbo’s Market. The market was located in south central Los Angeles and this individual wasn’t what the owner of Gumbo’s market needed nor that community but I did my best. It wasn’t until years later after my experience at Ford Motor Company that I picked up that book. Now looking back I think, I should have picked reading the Prince by Machiavelli.
After re-reading the book again and reading a few reviews I’ve decided to assign it to my freelance business class to read. To my mind’s eye, Machiavelli was a realist and anyone stepping into business today should have an opportunity to discuss and consider some of the advice that Machiavelli gave to the “new” prince. I sold art on Christopher Street in NYC for a couple years art at All State Art and other later I was a gallery manager at Circle Fine Art for two more years. During that time there is one statement that stands out more than any other, that was a statement made to me by Artie, the owner of All State Art, one day when we were talking about the pieces in the gallery and he said, “It’s only paper, my boy, only paper.”
His meaning was that the only real value the art had was the value that people gave it. It in itself was ink on only paper. People gave it value, the influence of the market, and the culture that surrounded that “paper” gave it value. I know there will be many people that will be upset with that remark but bottomline, it is the marketplace and society that gives the artist, the art, the politician, or “piece of paper” value… Nothing more. Understanding how people think, act, and do… is key to the artist or designers success.
That being said, I do think that the artist has a duty to “thine own self be true” and not play for the marketplace. The graphic designer on the other hand best know the marketplace. That’s their job.
Leaving San Francisco is like saying goodbye to an old sweetheart. You want to linger as long as possible.”
~ Walter Kronkite
Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CA
Met the artists and folks at the Creativity Explored yesterday. The gallery was impressive and full of work that was created both from the heart and intellectually sound. The prices of the work featured in the main gallery was reasonable for the quality of the work. I was thrilled that I was invited into the studio space where the artists were hard at work using a wide assortment of media. The artists were undaunted by the close quarters and privileged to be able to visit with two or three that were working. Each spoke to me about their inspiration and process in articulate terms and excited me about their work.
As I thought, this organization both inspires and provides the essential material for these individual to produce their work. Creativity Explored changed their clients lives and inspired me to locate their sister organization in the Twin Cites when I get home to Minneapolis.
I am the spirit of the morning sea,
I am the awakening and the glad surprise.
~ Richard Watson Gilder
Last Evening's Walk in Hermosa Beach
Knowing your palette is essential. Working with a new medium, a surprise can come from the adventure of the exploration but once adept at using it can comes a surprise created by the freedom of knowing. I read an article about using quick-keys or short-cut keys not too long ago and the artist explained that an individual should use keyboard short-cuts not to work faster but in order not to interrupt the work flow. It shed a new light on this for me and makes sense to me, a spontaneous and creative thought has a way to slip away searching for an unknown function.
I’ve been so busy with family the last few day since we arrived in San Francisco, I haven’t been thinking too much about the blog. Happy to get this post in at least today. Yesterday as we walked along the shoreline south of the Golden Gate I found an unexpected surprise a the labyrinth at Land’s End. The walk was amazing in itself but can’t imagine having time to walk the labyrinth in a slow and peaceful manner with sun on your face and the sound of the ocean in your ears. The possibility speaks to my Quaker soul.
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Dance, when you’re broken open. Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you’re perfectly free.” ~ Rumi
The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within - strength, courage, dignity.” ~ Ruby Dee
I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now?” ~ John Lennon
