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“We live in a culture that nurtures competitive skills. But it’s probably a good idea to try to supplement them with the skills of the creative monopolist: alertness, independence and the ability to reclaim forgotten traditions.”

Things that rung out like a bell in my head: reclaiming forgotten traditions, and taking the necessary pause to explore, disconnect, and just be.

This article from the NY Times. Read it, think it over.

One of my favourite periods during my architectural education were the moments of necessary pause during the design of a project. Often we’d head to the library at the very start of a project and just flip through books, or walk around, or look at art, craft, nature, pattern, or whatever might strike us to see if we might trip across a flash of inspiration. Same too, were the moments when we were frustrated and at a loss of what to do next. Again, we would head out to the library, or the world, and just to see. I loved that point. Those moments. That necessary pause.

I remember the moment I realized that architectural education was entirely subjective, had no prescriptive boundaries in getting an “A”, and how infuriating it was to someone who was very adept at following the rules. Suddenly, there you were—feeling your way around, getting lost, failing often, and eventually finding your own process. That above article talks about the nature of competition in the US landscape these days, a subject I’ve been dwelling upon a lot lately.

I take comfort in this little post-it note, as it were, to remind me to follow my own path, do my own work, and search for those hidden nooks, holes,  and ultimately, openings.

I need more of those pauses—not just in life [although that’s far too true, as well]—but creatively. To take stock of what I’m doing, and right this boat of mine, realign it to a better path.

Above: Photo by The Nouveau Romantics, and a snippet of my previous life in architecture, curiosity, exploration.