You are currently browsing the monthly archive for May, 2008.
I spent the majority of my day relocating my office a total of about 50 feet. I’m now seated in a much larger space which I will eventually be sharing with my assistant (oooh, I like the ring of that). From my perch on the 8th floor, I can look directly out the window toward trees and other office buildings without turning my chair. This is something I’ve never had the luxury of. While I’ve worked in offices with windows for most of my time with the company, I’ve never really been able to just stare longingly at the outside world. I fear this may be a blessing and a curse as I can get sidetracked fairly easily. In any event, I’m rather enjoying my change of scenery, although I’m rather exhausted from all of the bending and lifting and moving and rearranging of my work life. It was quite amazing to realize how much crap I’ve amassed in my time in this particular office. . .5 years in this position, 1.5 in this office, and 4 office-sized trashcans full of debris. I’m apparently a bit of a pack rat when it comes to my office environment. I don’t think I ever realized how much the various parts of my life overlap and how much of that I keep in my office. Seriously. It was a little overwhelming.
Today is my mother’s birthday. I’m looking to escape here in the near future to be able to take her and my father out to dinner at Vegetate. Not that any of us are vegetarian, but I think a meatless meal is something we can all deal with from time to time. So here’s to my mother, another glorious year on this earth, and a wonderful weekend. Cheers.
I’m currently charged with reviewing a coworkers work. With constantly giving feedback, suggestions, hints and tips. . .trying very hard to dig down deep within myself and not tell them how to achieve results, just give them direction to figure it out on their own. This is very difficult for me, being critical. I always start off with something positive to say. . .because there’s almost always something positive to say about someone’s work. I like your color choice or the layout really works or great tagline. . .and then I delve into how I would best solve the visual problem. . .moving this here or there, selecting a different font, being careful to phrase it as ” have you considered doing this” or “are there other images that you think would work here”. . .not trying to fill in the blanks, just offer suggestions. Be constructive, helpfully critical, serve my purpose.
What I’m beginning to wonder, however, is am I actually helping this person grow as an artist.
Teaching has never been my bag. I have a really short fuse (which I’m learning to bring under control as far as work is concerned) and I have always had a hard time understanding why some people just don’t get it. Yet here I am, presented with a situation where I can really reach out to someone. . .someone whose shoes I’ve been in. I’ve needed someone to pick me up by the bootstraps and point me in the right direction, creatively, in the recent past. ..and I’m eternally greatful to that person for reconnecting me with the part of my brain that I know is capable of seeing things, solving problems, making the world more beautiful from a designerly perspective. I want to be that person for the one I’m charged with helping. I guess I really need to ask her if what I’m providing is helping her. Give her a call and say “hey, am I getting through to you at all, because I feel like I’m not sure if you’re taking what I’m giving and thinking of using it beyond this ad or that ad. . .” I’m trying to provide tools to help her grow as an artist, and I’m not sure if she’s wanting to use them or if she’s just applying my suggestions as duct tape to the current problem at hand and moving on to the next problem as a clean slate, completely forgetting that she’s got a shelf full of tools at her disposal. It’s beginning to frustrate me a bit, but it’s making me realize that creativity isn’t necessarily something that can be taught. It’s something that can definitely be sparked, though, and that’s why I’m not giving up in my quest to really get through to this individual . . .who I know has it in her to achieve more and move onto the next level with her work. Maybe I have it in me to teach after all. . .I just need the right pupil to prove it to me.
I had a beautiful, handcrafted piece of bloggery, fully intending to write it all down and hit publish…
And then the headache set in, and the dizziness, and the lack of balance in yoga class that made me fall over onto my beautiful red-orange mat – not my greatest moment of zen, let me tell you. I’m feeling quite pathetic about the fact that I’ve actually written three lovely and entertaining blog posts in the last few days but haven’t managed to get them from my head, through my fingers to the keyboard to the internet. I suppose we’re all entitled to a down day here and there. . .mine just happen to be back to back to back. Rough week for it being as short as it is. Good thing tomorrow’s Friday.
