Ah, the Olympics. That period of time every 2 to 4 years, depending on your sport love of choice, when the world’s best gather to compete.

I must admit I have watched very little. In part because I am very busy at the moment. In part because I am not strongly sports oriented (I was picked for the ball teams just before the ugly girls in grade school). And in part because I just can’t bear to watch some of the people lose. Oh, I’m not talking about the no-chance-in-hell-of-finishing-in-the-medals people. I’m talking about the for sure winners. The athletes that the announcers describe as the gold medalist favorite. The athletes that broke a record at the World Championships (insert your sport of choice). But for every Michael Phelps there is a Lolo Jones.

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Filed under: Current Events, Horticulture

In a session at last weekend’s Blog Indiana 2008 conference, a speaker stressed the importance of using our senses to sharpen our observations in order to better share them. Environment is highly considered in many professions such as architectural design, retail and food service. Marketers want to make us comfortable and happy in our homes, stores and restaurants. So why not think in terms of art viewing experiences?

According to a recent BBC News article citing a study by Heriot Watt University, music can enhance wine taste. On the same principle, can music enhance art taste? Does the taste of a one type of wine or the shade of a certain color wall effect your like or dislike for a work of art? Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Art, Design, Marketing, Musings

Tradition dictates that January 1st marks the beginning of each new year. A new year that brings opportunity for a fresh start.

For me though, the new year and ensuing opportunity for a fresh start occurs about this time every year. I always look forward to the end of August, because that is when the onslaught begins.

That is when super size fashion magazines featuring the latest trends for fall begin to flood my mailbox. I remain giddy for about a week, knowing that at least one brand new, beefy, fall fashion issue will be waiting for me when I get home.

I truly look forward to studying each page (even the ads) for inspiration on ways to update my wardrobe. As I open every cover, I begin to formulate a plan for ways to revamp my current clothing and identify key pieces to purchase- – all in an effort to start fresh.
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Filed under: Art, Design

If you have been keeping up with the Nugget Factory these days you know that Daniel and I endured many hours of travel to arrive in balmy Singapore where we attended the 2008 International Symposium on Electronic Arts.

The time we spent was filled with sessions, preparing for our own presentation, keeping up with IMA work and seeing what the city had to offer.  We did a lot of everything despite the inevitable jetlag.  A 12 hour time difference is a doozie.

Nonetheless, we made the most of it.  Of all the sessions we attended I found the last one to be the most compelling.  It was a lecture by Khairul Azril Ismail called Pudu Jail’s Graffiti: Aesthetics Beyond the Walls of the Prison Cells.

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Filed under: Art, Exhibitions, New Media, Travel

Both Thomas Jefferson (The Declaration of Independence) and Trey Parker (Team America: World Police) have said it in so many words: Freedom isn’t free.

Ask IMA CEO Maxwell Anderson about the price of freedom. He’ll tell you about the IMA’s successful challenge to a law passed by the Indiana legislature this year forcing any entity selling materials deemed “harmful to minors” to register with the State and pay a fee to do so. If Judge Sarah Evans Barker had not agreed with the IMA, Big Hat Books, and other plaintiffs and struck down the restrictive law, every school with a sex ed text book—or art museum gift shop with books featuring the nude form—would have had to pay up and be policed.

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Filed under: Art, Current Events, Education, Film