enJOY it

Had a really good talk with Paul last night.

We talked about this problem I have with, for lack of better cliche, "sweating the small stuff." I let the lamest things (like bad food court Chinese) make me angry. One theory could be that these occasional bursts are how I regenerate positive energy most of the time, but they are still very annoying. They still must calm down. They are very difficult to deal with, especially for those around me.

And I am working on it. I am blessed with Paul’s patience.

We also talked about inspiration. About teaching creativity. I cannot figure out how you could be a workshop teacher and communicate your own thoughts. I do not have a process in making something – I just stop when it "looks good" although I cannot even pinpoint why. Sometimes it is balance. Sometimes it is lack of it. Sometimes it is harmony of color. Sometimes it is the clash of color. I have no idea how you can explain art – as it is so subjective.

I think a powerful workshop would teach how to notice your own design "turn-ons." Paul had the idea that I write down the things that inspire me about designs that I am drawn to. I love this plan. I love the thought of "collecting" inspiration and then looking through it to find the parallels. Right now – just saved in my bloglines – I have this laptop case (poppytalk link), this envelope (Ali’s blog), this image (Sarah’s blog), and this tutorial (Kal’s blog). They are all similar in that I saw them and thought "YES!" and different in that THEY ARE NOT AT ALL THE SAME.

I do not expect to solve the puzzle to what turns me on to a design, but I am looking forward to exploring it.