Working in the Cow Field

8x10 art journal page

Art Appreciation

10/24/13
11x14 Collage on Paper

“There is more to life than simply increasing its speed.” 

― Mahatma Gandhi

Art Appreciation

  

I've come to the conclusion that if a person is set on plastering TV monitors and iPad's all over a building, it's hard to convince them to appreciate Art for the value it can bring to the overall design of a space, providing a place for the eye to rest and the mind to contemplate... and elevating the soul in the process.  Van Gogh and Monet are becoming merely images in a quick-cycling slideshow, if they're present at all.  (Wonder how they'd embrace technology if they were around today?) 

Today's collage is about the role of Fine Art and technology in workplace design, and a few challenges I've been experiencing in my work lately.  The background of the collage represents the two-hour long commute I travel each day to get to a job where my better design judgment and personal feelings are many times shipwrecked by a clueless 'moose in the tundra' that happens to be higher up the organizational chart than I am.  The red stapler references the movie Office Space and its appreciation for many of same themes I encounter every day in corporate life. 

Day 162 Time the learning curve

Day 162 Time the learning curve

162:365

03/11/13

Louise Hay affirmation:   “There are people out there who are always looking for my services.  I am always in demand and can pick and choose what I want to do.”

Inspiration exercise from 365 Daily Creativity Journal:   Create a trap. 

Time to learn

Media:  Scrapbook paper, Magazine photos, Mod Podge

Time:  45M

Comments:  Toured the headquarters of a  major manufacturer of office furniture (Steelcase) today and learned about new concepts in office design and their research into how the nature of work is changing.  They've renovated their own space to "live" in the design ideas they are selling to their corporate clients.  

While most of the ideas I saw were refreshing, contemporary, new and inventive, I couldn't help wondering how large companies who can afford to apply the ideas full-scale are going to learn and respond quickly enough for the ideas we were seeing to be relevant in time to make a difference in today's ever-changing markets.  

Wholesale change to a traditional, cubicle-based work environment is a major real estate decision for a stable company in a mature or maturing industry.  It seems to take a long time for the right people to learn that new ways of working exist and understand ins and outs of what that means, to decide to pursue a physical change as corporate strategy, and then to secure funding, get buy-in from the people that will be most impacted, design at the facility level, and finally buy new furniture and implement new ideas in real work settings.  

My experience has been that many companies find it so complex and scary to make the leap to radical change that they simply decide to do nothing for another year.  It comes down to the classic battle between change vs. inertia, and time becomes a trap where creative and forward-thinking ideas get stuck. 

As far as today's affirmation goes, seems there will be a place for designers who can articulate the issues and possible solutions, and help companies navigate their way through the process of physical change. 

Link for more info:  

http://www.steelcase.com/en/Pages/Homepage.aspx

Day 147 Gratitude and red staplers

147:365

Day 147 Gratitude and red staplers

02/24/13

Louise Hay daily affirmation:   “My day begins with gratitude and joy.”

Inspiration exercise from Noah Scalin’s 365 Daily Creativity Journal:   Make something inspired by your favorite movie.

OFFICE SPACE

Media:  Office plan blueprint, Magazine photos, Mod Podge, Tissue paper, Sharpie, Watercolors, Button

Time:  55M

Comments:  Not sure if I have a 'favorite'  movie, but there is one that I can sit through whenever I run across it on rerun television.  Office Space.  The iconic red stapler, the waitress' buttons of flair on her vest, and the bleak, fluorescent, cubicle-dwelling existence of the office workers are poignant symbols of work and life in an age of low wage service jobs, open office environments, computers and broken laser printers. And, human cogs in the anonymous wheels of American mega-corporations.  

Feeling gratitude and joy at the beginning of each day on the treadmill that is modern day work/life can some days be challenging... But not impossible.  

Inspired  by this movie, I keep a red Swingline stapler in my drawer at work that reminds me to be grateful that I'm gainfully employed, and to help me keep a humorous perspective on things.  Besides, there is something inherently joyful about a bright red stapler in a drawer full of otherwise boring and bland office supplies.     

Link for more info:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151804/

http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/61b7/?rkgid=275668648&cpg=ogpla&source=google_pla&gclid=CLf54YPiz7UCFQPnnAodwUUA4w