Lost in the blogsphere?

Far from it -- I'm "lost" in the process of reframing. As every woman knows, this process starts with cleaning the past. I'm physically engaged in another round of sorting and pitching papers from my SHU days while "sorting out" my conceptual map for design thinking. I debated using "creating", but my fragmented thoughts process is not yet worthy of such a name.

Lazy Day(s)

My intellectual work has slowed down -- and maybe that's a good thing. I've have had a number of papers with short deadlines recently, and when that happens I'm thinking about the topic in my subconscious even while doing other things. So, it's nice to take a breather, deal with some adminsitrivia, have nothing to distract me from submitting my EAM reviews (1 down, 3 to go), put some energy into my life's reorganization, and dream about my new identity. I've found some great "studio activities" in the Ringling College of Art and Design Continuing Education Program Spring 2010 Catalog. Now all I have to do is: (1) Decide which course(s) to take, and (2) Get to Sarasota in time for the first class (some start Jan 31).

Identity(s) work -

And not much else!

I now have an official identity at four libraries! (Others are Sarasota Public Library, SHU, and U. Gothenburg.) Apart from obvious reference books, I wonder how many (print) books are held by all the libraries (i.e., same book in each collection, not the total number of books held by all). I don't think I'll try to find out!

My postcard-souvenier from the Yale Art Gallery is not a picture - but it gives me a clue in my identity quest. I need a "studio experience". I understand how designers/artists work, and I've worked with some while they were designing. But I've never struggled with the process myself. And I won't have a "real" Business & Design Lab identity until I do. So what to do? I've started to peruse recreation department and continuing ed catalogs. I'm not sure I'll even have a choice other than "watercolors for beginners." (And I haven't even found that class yet.) Technique is not what I'm seeking - it's the struggle and inspiration of the process.

One identity is secure: the Pie Lady is back! I would like to call this the "Xtreme cheating pie," but technically it falls into

the "M" category (mincemeat-pumpkin.) I had plans to make real mincemeat and real English (small individual) mince-pies. But that didn't happen. Maybe next time. This one recieved a 3 pie rating from the Chief Taster.

No scholarly academic identity today -- I didn't even complete the one review I had planned.

Time in New Haven

Today I had few hours to spare in New Haven. First I went to the "Continuous Present" exhibition at the Yale University Art Gallery. It was just one room, with paintings, sculpture, drawings, photography, and video by 11 artists. Each piece, in one way or another conceptualized "time, interrupted!"

I enjoyed it tremendously. Partly because of my own interest in "time" from my early doctoral work at UMass, but also because my own "time orientation" IS the present -- I care little for the traditions of the past, and have no need to expect a "better" future in the way of the modernists. (This reflection may put me at odds with one of my potential re-design role models from yesterday's post.) Each piece was different, and could be enjoyed -- or not -- without comparison with similar pieces. I especially enjoyed Rodney Graham's short film, "City self/Country self." The New York Times art critic found it "visually captivating, but unresolved." Isn't that the continuous present?

It is, according to the exhibition curator's notes. And, according to another scholar, it reveals the artist's multiple identities. No wonder I watched it more than once!

Then I walked past the Yale Colleges on Elm Street and the New Haven Green, remembering with a shock that I had once worked for a consulting firm with offices that overlooked the Green,

and into the New Haven Public Library.

I'd intended to work on my reviews for the EAM that are due next week, but instead I was enticed by all the books. I selected a couple to take with me, but the circulation librarian told me my Fairfield Library card was out of date (it had 2005 on the back) and therefore I could not have the books. No matter that I used it in the Mystic Library a couple of months ago! "The small towns don't pay attention to such details," she said. "We do."

Guess where I plan to go tomorrow!

Role models

Today I tried to find a role model for my new identity. Whom do I admire? As an adolescent my heroine was Marie Curie (I was always a nerd!). But I'm no longer into the scientific experiment stuff. Possible candidates are two women who wear their age gracefully and excel at role-playing, Judi Dench and Angela Landsbury. Knowing that Landsbury played Jessica Fletcher, fictional author of detective stories, for many years, should I look to Agatha Christie - the creator of Jane Marple, the Swedish gang's nickname for me (see earlier bog posting)? Hmm, if I don't want to spend my days writing mysteries, maybe I should search in the "design thinking community." I could pick Robyn Waters, whom I met at the DMI conference in Boston. I admired her skill for making sense and speaking eloquently about the chaos about her. We certainly share a curiosity for examining trends and paradoxes, and I did once aspire to a yellow Hummer with a Smart Car in the back!

Which one shall I select? Stepping back, as an ironist, I do not espouse a fixed identity, instead relying on multiple and shifting identities to be used one at a time as best fits the current mode. All I know is that to survive such fragmentation I must, and do, have a strong moral compass at my core. Does that mean I can choose from among these women according to the task at hand?

So much for simply slipping into the shoes of another -- tomorrow I'll search elsewhere.

And, btw, I finished the 3000 word EGOS paper today (It's 2998 words, including selected references).

Back to "feels like" -2F or -19C

New Year's resolution

A new identity - after I determine who I really am!

My goal is that, by the end of 2010, I WILL be ReDesigned!