Brrrrr!

It’s friggin’ freezing here today – so darned cold. Check out my little weather pixie (they’re probably not even there, I think they’ve gone inside for a cuppa Joe!) Oh, egads, I just noticed she’s not wearing a coat – what is she nuts?

Freelance designing is – at times – like being in a vacuum. Nature abhores a vacuum. Nature abhores freelance designers. Ah, NOW I have it figured out! Thank heaven for blogs and the designer email list or I’d think I was totally alone at times. Like a twilight zone, I tells ya.

Yesterday I got a call from an editor – a nice call, just checking on some design details – which led to a nice conversation and I felt much less lonely when I got off the phone. It’s hard to explain how much a little positive (or even neutral) feedback means! After I got off the phone I felt more focused, happier, more able to finish up some designs – I felt like there was someone on the other side of the mailbox when I send off my designs or projects and instructions.

I think we tend to dismiss how much we impact the lives of those around us by performing (what may seem to us) the most mundane tasks. It is definitely something to ponder. I also think this is why I enjoy my students so much when I teach – contact with the outer world. At heart I’m a homebody, and a little reclusive. An extroverted recluse – how odd – the internet and blogs were invented for folks like me!

I am energeized by contact with others, but I can also get overwhelmed very easily. Oh, and I hate phone calls – so much miscommunication and misunderstanding (at least in my calls) and they always come at a time when I’m not able to think very clearly.

Knit design is solitary – as is any kind of solo creative endeavor – and it makes me remember why I liked theatrical design so much. But the solitary factor is also pretty wonderful – I long for feedback, but too much feedback can inhibit creativity. Go figure.

We’re fragile and wonderful creatures, n’est pas?