VIEWS FROM THE DESKTOP

Gentle musings from the editor and chief creative person.

The thing about social media, in my opinion, is that it makes you a watcher. We've been lead to believe that inspiration comes from the addictive collecting of ideas from others through a constant feed of visual input.

This con is the practice of companies invested in keeping you plugged in and locked out of your own inner world. However, the best ideas are often born from solitude, sanguine moments of self-reflection in times of personal sorrow, and serendipitous surprises. The finished products you see on the waterfall of images does not tell the full story. Quite frankly, for me, the stories don't matter until I hold something tangible in my hands.

For instance, I've dreamed of owning a piece of pottery from Florian Gadsby, but I'm never fast enough to get a piece, but I did get a signed copy of his book and that act alone has made me appreciate his work.

Storytellers like Florian can be the historians of their own lives. Artists and craftspeople take elements of their personal history and transform them into objects that stand as monuments of their story.

When I take care of that piece of crafted good, it is alive to me, history captured in time and attention. How generous that these talented folks share a bit of themselves with strangers.

If you do feel the need to gather visual inspiration, I encourage you to move away from the public models and aim for private spaces like mymind. Mood boards have been vital for artists as a means of pulling together elements that feed that gnawing fire to create.

Mymind is yours alone, unshared and unseen. I started pulling images from the websites that I visit and it has been enlightening to see a theme emerge. I used the colors and hues I've gathered to reinvent my personal design story and to clarify my creative identity.

I am not a brand, I am Brett. There is a difference. One is human and the other is the death of self, commodified and limited. I would love to hear your thoughts. Join the conversation in The Terrarium.

Florian Gadsby and an array of his incredible pottery.