So...I've been thinking a lot lately about the fact that choosing to live life as a creative person means constantly seeking inspiration. Not just when you feel like it...but always and everywhere.
I started gathering together some design images that I liked so we could start up a dialogue about modern design. But somehow it just wasn't turning out....I kept thinking about what it is about design in 2010 that excites me the most. Its the eclecticism. There has never been a better time to push the envelope, there has never been a better time to throw all the rules out the window, and there has never been a better time to start expressing yourself, personally, and fearlessly.
This week I'm looking for inspiration for a shoot I'm doing and I've ended up amongst the indie-est of indie. Graffiti art.
Fashion and design have been intimidating, in large part, to those who don't have the cash to finance perfection. Magazines and television have told us that we should be surrounded by brand new/brand name and flawless interiors that we could realistically never afford. It can be defeating and discouraging. A bad economy will streamline priorities in a number of ways. It pushes us to think about whats really important, to be more creative with what we have, and when you get to the point that you have little to lose, you are often free to make choices you wouldn't have otherwise risked. This industriousness can show up in your life in a variety of ways - a more practical budget,an awareness of those less fortunate, a healthier diet, a new career, more time spent with loved ones,paring down of unnecessary, rat race induced stress, a new found do-it-yourself vibe around the house....good old fashioned pioneering. The environmental issues we are facing have also caused trends to move toward recycling and re-using what you have, or what is available in your community, which promotes inventiveness. Conspicuous consumption has become somewhat despicable. Quality has become rare and prized. Homemade has become the exotic. A wild swing from the old days when having pale skin meant you were rich enough not to have to spend time in the fields, a status symbol, and having store bought goods was the ultimate luxury.
Graffiti art is an interesting example of doing what you can with what you have. Creating beauty for its own sake, or an opportunity to speak where none was offered. It has also less rules than your average canvas, just in terms of the artist that may find his or herself concerned mostly with aesthetics, and being illegal it smacks of anarchy. What could be more liberating?












Art is a medium....like music it speaks to everyone, no matter who or where or in what language. This week I encourage us both to find art in unlikely places and unlikely things. To re-think and re-arrange. To make beauty out of the industrial ( the corporate! ) or the mundane. To say things we can't say with spoken words. To stretch out and be a little bolder!

the spring of my discombobulation.

Spring is apparent on The Island...there are little blooms and budding trees and birdies chirping. The days are longer.
My feelings are mixed.
I crave the light as much as any animal does after a long, hard winter. Unfortunately, after a death defying first trimester in my pregnancy four years ago, this time of year always makes me feel nauseous. Associative illess I guess.
I've thrown myself into a business venture that I may or may not be able to support, both Steven and I having been laid off from our respective jobs in the same week. I'm thinking of changing the name from The Meritocracy to The Garage Sale.
And as of today I have re-scheduled predictive testing for Huntington's disease for the second time. Legitimately as a result of Steven going out of town for work we desperately need and I without a babysitter....illegitimately because I have finally approached the precipice and its a lot further down than I intitially thought. A lot. Further. Down.
I've been having nightmares and generally feeling tired and sludgey brained. My diet has been reprehensible over the past 6 months. Its time for a cleansing.

Wilder, Jenn and I went to Chemainus yesterday for a poke around, collecting goodies for the store, and scouting out great local business. Its an important task of modern living to thrive in and become part of the community around you. Its ecologically friendly and easier on everyone's resources. It also builds relationships and quality of life. Living on The Island has sometimes been a challenge for me, because I crave the things readily available in the city. The truth is however, that its been years and years since I was familiar with everything thats going on in the surrounding communities. The area has developed tremendously in the past 15 or 20 years and there is far more going on than I ever gave it credit for. Thats what I'm here to prove, to myself. I would like to weave together a network of independent business, art, design, music and culture making its home on Vancouver Island.
One of the places I noticed right away in Chemainus was The Dancing Bean Cafe, a cozy little storefront with a great atmosphere,roomy seating arrangement, delicious in-house baked goods and licensed to accomodate the live music events they regularly host. Enthusiastically supporting the local music scene - they give 100 percent of ticket sales to the performing artist.


We also found a fantastic little soap shop called Willow Street Soap. Tiny and chic, with every luxury body care line you could hope to find and a few you've never heard of, including local product of the highest calibre. Highly recommended!

So then we may or may not have ended up at the candy store.




And after choosing a few cool items from the local antique store Chemainus shut down completely, and it had gotten oddly dark and cold, so we raced for the car. Noticing this in the nearest window I had to take a picture of it, because it reminded me so much of my husband:



It was printed on an apron. I laughed. I don't know if Jenn thought it was funny but I did. Maybe its because she's not married yet.


Picks of the day.





Quote of the day:
" It's for Steverino." Wilder to the countergirl, while buying a lolly for her Daddy.