Madge Muses

Image Copyright Rodney White

Did you know it was THURSDAY?!  All day today?!  I could swear it was Monday yesterday.  Did anyone see Tuesday or Wednesday?  I seem to have misplaced them.  Maybe they're in a drawer somewhere or perhaps they've run away to parts unknown.  I'm sending out a search party as I type.

An invisible search party.

A party of one.

Okay there really isn't a party.

Never mind.

I've been thinking a lot lately about who I am, what I do, why I do it and where I'd like to go.  This is an accidental career. I saw a pathway and a small sign and I decided to follow it because it made sense and it made me happy and the pathway I'd been on became impassable.  So here I am in the thick of things and because so many people in my industry are asking some rather big questions...so am I.  What is a 'designer.'  What do I do and why does it matter?

I had an illuminating conversation recently with someone who revealed that they and their colleagues had an absolute distaste for the entire craft industry based on a series of incredibly negative experiences with a group of 'designers' who apparently acted like spoiled divas in a professional setting and created such a shipoopystorm of bad blood, that the people in this professional setting are thrilled to be completely finished with the craft industry.  Wow.  That's pretty dang sad, isn't it?  In fact, this has rippled outward and affected the craft industry in a myriad of ways.  I honestly had no idea this had happened until I had this conversation.  So let me state for the record, I do not delude myself into thinking that I am more important than anyone else or that I should be treated differently than anyone else.  In every professional setting, I treat everyone with whom I am working with respect.  I try to keep things in perspective and not to take myself too seriously.  I'm just a part of the total equation and therefore it's imperative that I honor the other folks involved.

In point of fact, I don't even think actual celebrities should be treated differently than everyone else.  No one is more important than anyone else.  Period.  Doesn't matter what you do, where you work, how many awards you've won, how much money you have, what your bloodline is, where you live, what car you drive, how fancy your clothes are or how many people tell you that you're the shiznit.  We're all just humans on the planet doing whatever we do and most of what we do is of little consequence to the greater picture.  Even the stuff that seems really, really important. 

So does what I do matter...at all?  I think so, yes.  If I have to label what I do, I'd say I'm a visionary.  I'm a possibilitarian.  I'm a pied piper of creativity.  I get paid to forge new creative pathways, to see things from fresh perspectives, to dream big and make those dreams real. I'm inspiring others to do the same.  So what I do has measurable impact and value.  What all of the creative professionals in my industry and in all creative industries do has measurable impact and value.  We are idea people and we've got a lot of big ideas.

What is important is that the people in my industry remember to respect ourselves, each other and our clients.  When some of us act badly, it reflects on all of us.  When some of us work for peanuts or for free stuff, it makes it tough for others to be paid fairly for our work.  When some of us get hyper competitive and forget to pay it forward and to be kind, it makes all of us seem petty and self absorbed.  When some of us undervalue ourselves, we all become undervalued.  There is room for each of us to shine and the more we do so and encourage each others to do so, the brighter we all become.

I think it's good for every one of us to take stock of what we do and why it matters.  I also think it's imperative to remember that what we do does not define us, how we love does.  Everything we do can be done with love and compassion. 

Love
Madge