Yes

This is "leveraged" blog content from 37 Days, but so beautiful and so perfect for. right. now.

Yes

It could happen any time, tornado,
earthquake, Armageddon. It could happen.
Or sunshine, love, salvation.

It could, you know. That's why we wake
and look out - no guarantees
in this life.

But some bonuses, like morning,
like right now, like noon,
like evening.

- William Stafford

New Painting.

Here is a new painting I am working on....it may be finished....I'm not sure. Hope you like!

incredible.

This is amazing! The human form is absolutely incredible and these brothers from Poland (I think?!) do things I did not think were humanly possible.

Lauren Greenfield

Wasting time on the internet, I came across this site today: Lauren Greenfield Photography.. A very happy find and VERY relevant to my previous post. Here is a little bit about Ms. Greenfield:

"Acclaimed photographer Lauren Greenfield is considered a preeminent chronicler of youth culture as a result of her groundbreaking projects Girl Culture and Fast Forward. Her photographs have been widely exhibited and are in many museum collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the International Center of Photography. She was named by American Photo as one of the 25 most influential photographers working today."

what?

I am, by no means, a prude. I think human form is beautiful. I paint it, I photograph it, I don't have any freaky-weird hang-ups about nudity, but I have a serious problem with this company. (No offense, Lonny....my friend who works for Abercrombie and Fitch and has launched this new sub-brand). The first glimpse we get at this new arm of Abercrombie and Fitch is a "promotional" video on their website which, by the way, you have to submit your age in order to view. The video is a montage of naked, anorexic-looking young women and buffed, tan men swimming, dancing, flirting and hanging up laundry in the great outdoors. My problem with this is that the target audience for A&F consumers is usually 18 and under (partially because of the style and partially because no one with an actual ass or thighs could wear their clothes otherwise)...the women featured in this video could not be older than 18, IF they were even that "old." What I want to know is WHY do we need to use sex to sell to girls that are 14? I mean, seriously, that is so ridiculously unimaginative and lame. 14 year old girls have neither the ability nor the maturity to understand these messages or make informed choices regarding what this brand is telling them. Do I think they should be banned? Absolutely NOT, but I don't think A&F supports or endorses healthy, substantive role-models for young women and uses ideas and images that send inappropriate and confusing messages to young women (and men). I just wonder who makes decisions to put these images and messages out there and why. It is not smart, it is not anything new, and it feeds a social beast that eats away at the self-esteem of so many women. Where is ANY sense of responsibility?

Life Lessons.

I have learned something VERY important in the past 3 months. I will never be a "suit." I'm curious and interested in what happens in the "world of business" and I completely understand that it directly relates to what we do as designers and consultants, but my strengths are definitely in the realm of creativity, innovation, putting things together in new and different ways, aesthetics, and visual communication. That is where I find joy, meaning and purpose. I find myself, at times, feeling inadequate....like I don't know enough (not that one ever really does) or that my skills are less important than those of us more skilled in business. That is a tough one for me because I never want to be perceived as "not smart enough" and, honestly, I feel that more than not these days, but you can't be EVERYTHING in this world. Maybe some people can, but in that race to be first in everything, I will probably expire from exhaustion and frustration. I suppose as a curious person, I will go down the rabbit hole from time to time, get lost in worlds I know very little about and then start to question how I got there in the first place...perhaps that is where I am now and it is just a matter of finding my way back to MY home. Maybe it is really just as important to know who you are NOT as it is to know who you are. Alas, you will not find me at Talbots shopping for a new navy blue business suit anytime soon.

So true.

This is a hilarious parody of what would happen if Microsoft were to design the iPod packaing...further proof that the best design is reductive in nature and reason #3490 that Mac will always be the designer's tool of choice.