Dance to Inspire, Inspire to Dance

Creativity From Without

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder You get your fill to eat

But always keep that hunger May you never take one single breath for granted

God forbid love ever leave you empty handed I hope you still feel small

When you stand by the ocean

Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens

Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance Never settle for the path of least resistance  Living might mean taking chances But they're worth taking

Lovin' might be a mistake But it's worth making Don't let some hell bent heart Leave you bitter

When you come close to selling out Reconsider

Give the heavens above More than just a passing glance And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance I hope you dance

Time is real and in constant motion always

I hope you dance

Rolling us along

I hope you dance

Tell me who wants to look back on their youth and wonder,

where those years have gone…

            These words sung by the lips of Lee Ann Womack have become a classic inspiration and cherished memory in the hearts of music lovers worldwide. Written by Tia Sillers, in an interview with Songwriter Universe magazine, she explains that she was going through a painful divorce when she wrote this song. Said Sillers: "For 'I Hope You Dance,' I had written the opening line, 'I hope you never lose your sense of wonder. I had just broken up with someone, going through a brutal divorce. I needed to get away, so I went to a beach on the Florida Gulf Coast. Sitting on the beach and reflecting about the break-up, I felt so small and inconsequential. But out of this difficult time came the inspiration to write 'I Hope You Dance.' As I was leaving the beach, I remember thinking that things weren't really so bad, that I would get through it. That's when I came up with the line, 'I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean.'”

            Time itself, can inspire an art or spark a creative thought, just like the aesthetic beauty of Tia Sillers lyrics. Because she doesn’t obviously go right out and say what she means, this song has a greater effect. Her use of indirect semantics creates a deeper emotional effect toward the song. Her word choice sets a specific mood all because of the organization and design of the lyrics.

            Tia is a great example of an artist who finds creativity outside her self.

                                                                     (alvinslaughter.net)

Simply strolling along the beach and finding the beauty of life through nature can be more inspiring then one’s own thoughts, which are mostly bits and pieces of appropriated ideas. This song is about taking chances and not being afraid to try something new. The way she puts her music together makes me feel a certain way and design is all about feeling inspiration. The simple chorus line, “I hope you dance” made it a memorable classic. As an artist who found creativity outside her self, just sitting on the ocean inspired her art. To find creativity from without and then connect it to the bigger picture like Tia does, can make a change. If someone is also going through similar problems, listening to this song will suddenly change their mood because of her words. And because of their changed mood, their desire to take action is created. A woman has been inspired by the world, a song has been crafted, listeners have been moved by the art form, and a call to action has taken place.  I know when I hear this song, the lyrics and sound inspires me because it is also a work of art, an expressive metaphor. Like Tia, Eddie Uehara uses his artform as a motivational metaphor. Eddie Uehara, "Dance to Inspire, Inspire to Dance"         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ALtIwy77RU 

         “I hope you dance.” Music is everywhere: the sound of falling water, the rustle of leaves, the call of wild birds, even the sound of rush-hour traffic is a kind of soundtrack to your life. Life is a “dance” from one stage to the next. You dance through life and you are the choreographer to plan and design that dance.

          Words put to sound and rhythm can inspire, dancing is an art form that can express what words cannot, and (painting, sculpting...) tangible art is a design, which music and dance cannot. No matter what type of artistic form used, each is a magical tool that has created the past and will design the future. Creativity around us is reality-changing.

         

Stone Soup for the Creative Soul

         This past Tuesday was a day for Stone Soup! What used to be a folk tale laid in my hands as a group challenge to transform a melting pot of materials into a whole. My group and I set out to nature and became inspired not by our individual materials, but by our natural surroundings. We each laid out our materials on the grass. Looking around, every item looked random and diverse. We all immediately got out our sketchbooks and each came up with some ideas for our intended creation. Little did we know that our minds would all gravitate towards a tree as the centerpiece.

            So we all became stimulated and inspired by this tree and in turn gathered our materials and ran with our concepts.  It was interesting to note that the ideas formed from the start of the challenge changed to be totally different in the end. In the end, we merged our ideas into the electricity of a tree. How there is so much energy and creativity in the structure and underneath the bark. This stone soup challenge tested our abilities to work as a team while staying true to our individual designers’ at heart. I believe we succeeded in creating a solid concept in addition to using each and everyone’s ideas combined to one ephemeral piece of art.

            Stone soup to me, started as a challenge, but ended as inspiration. It wasn’t the end, but the process. It was the little bit of unintentional spark within the process that created a design, an innovative indulgence.  I believe the ideas behind “stone soup” can give any designer that extra muse. Since it is so important to observe design from all different angles, obtaining inspiration from outside one’s mind can unlock new forms of creativity. And like the saying goes, “Two minds are greater then one.” 

Intentional Design in Front of Your Windshield

                                                                                (google images)

     

     American Apparel might be the hot fashion craze on the market, but their excessive spending on advertising and marketing have cost them their preservation of success in the near future. When you’re driving down the highway and passing all those obnoxious billboards, all of a sudden you see the erotic female figure of an American Apparel Ad; How unforgettable! While American Apparel openly exploits sexuality, it is constantly challenging the boundaries of the fashion industry with their controversial tactics for advertising and marketing their brand. However, while American Apparel is a fashion craze among many, with them being over $91 million in debt, they were facing the very real possibility that its 280 stores would be shuttered within the next few months. Now, however, British firm Lion Capital has changed the terms of its lending policy so that American Apparel can stay in the game. According to the terms of the new agreement, American Apparel must make a pre-tax profit of $20 million over the 12 months ending Jan. 31, and must earn $80 million by September 2013. This does not sound like an easy task.

 "Retail is hard right now," American Apparel's controversial CEO Dov Charney says, "I'm not alone in this. You have to work for every dollar, you have to work on the merchandise, make sure the product mix is perfect and the allocation is right. It's a tough market right now."

     On the positive, I hope they can rekindle their flame because their products can easily be articulated and allow much subjectivity for its consumers, in the creative aspect of style and everyday fashion. While they sell basic underwear and basic commodities, their sexualized marketing strategies make American Apparel a walking contradiction. Yet, it is this provocative imagery and racy advertisements that are intentionally designed, which make consumers remember their name. With their wide range of colors and cuts, their promotion of domestically produced and sweatshop free image, American Apparel aims to cater to numerous types of consumers, aiming to create unity within the brand.

      The company symbolizes sexuality as a form of agency for consumers to articulate the simple but sexy American Apparel style. They also designed sustainable shirts for the ethical consumers. The company may price its products fairly high, but compared to similar brands, competitors don’t have the standards and the morals behind their clothes that American Apparel does. While their clothing is basic and simple, but with a hint of suggestiveness, their ads are provocative, controversial and erotic. It is in the racy ads that the line between selling clothes and sex begins to blur, which is very appealing to the youthful generation. I admire how the company’s open embrace of sex is an integral part of its brand image, and it so clearly shows through the numerous ads.  “Yes there’s shock value to these ads-that’s what our advertising strategy is about” (Dov Charney). The attention the ads create is exactly what the company wants. American Apparel has worked hard at creating an image for itself that is “soaked in youth and sex” (Dov Charney). Although media would argue against their conflicting ideas, I think that these contradictions are what make American Apparel so ingenious and unpredictable. 

    

     It is now up to American Apparel to get their act together, focus less on their sexual aspects that have caused such controversy and start to focus on preserving their stores from being demolished off the face of the fashion world. 

      

What is Design?

                                (easylifeproductions.co.uk)

          What is Design? What kind of question is that? How does one ponder such a basic word that is used in almost every aspect of our lives? Yet, design is so simple it is complex. Design is complex simplicity. Such intangibility must be felt with the senses. Design is like Love, it must be felt with the heart and carry a burning desire for one; One person, one idea, one concept, one inspiration.  As cliché as love might be, design is also everywhere. From the structure of a traffic light, to the window display of a store front, to a restaurant dessert tray, to a T.V. show, to a flock of birds, design is a piece of it all.  It is an experience, a skill, a passion for many.

            Emotions are effected by design. In order to understand the world, and learn new things, pleasurable aesthetics of any object induce emotion.  Which in turn inspires design. When I ponder a problem, it is obvious to search for the fastest solution. Design is the process of finding the best solution or answer. The ambiguity of this process is intentional and complex. How tremendous are the possibilities within the realm of creation and innovation.

            When pondering this question, it is important to note one huge aspect about design. It is vital to notice not only what design is, but more importantly what it isn’t. I have discussed what I believe design is, but the real truth lies in what it can’t do. Design is a language all its own and can support a thought or idea. But design can only exist when someone believes in the vision. Design comes in at the end of any answer or process. It is that last lit candle at the end of the tunnel. Design is the aftermath of a tornado. Yet, design could just be planted in the mind, an inception of truth, after all. 

First Memories of Design

      (preciousmoments.com)

Design Through Past Perceptions

     The thought of design touched my soul from the very beginnings of my childhood; My coloring book. The vivid imagery of the pages within my “Precious Moment” books came to take hold of my creative desires. Just the sight of the glossy edges of the cover, stimulated my desire to immediately grab a marker or colored pencil. The pre-made facial expressions on each page transformed my ideas into a consistent rhythm. While the clothes were stylized, their silhouette against each background was a design all its own. Yet, the simple lines and structure of coloring books never limited my art. I was never the type to obey those unspoken rules of coloring in the lines. (The universal laws of coloring in the lines versus outside of the premade images never occurred to the little girl who was entranced in ignorant bliss.) I was in the realm of concept; An idea where boundaries were limitless. The colors in any children’s book were tasteful, and could transform a flat object into an emotion. The array of pastels could set a mood.  The coloring book started as an idea and grew into an inspiration, a concept into the realm of imagination and infinite possibilities.  This book could not only shed light to my own creative muse, but it tapped into my hopes and dreams. Through the endless pages, comes a new idea for each drawing. This coloring book can give any creative youngster a step into the path of personal, intrinsic design.  As a child, you are bombarded with restrictions, rules, authority, so how must one indulge into their creativity? These coloring books did it for me. I discovered that even a simple drawing book with the restricted pictorial lines can have a way out, a design all its own. The girl with the marker, I had the authority in my own hand, my own world.  So I doodled and gained this experience, which sparked my love for design. I designed the world, my way, one coloring book at a time.