Playing with Color

Have been working through more of the create class ideas.

She uses her photographs as a place to start for design ideas. Things to sketch. Ways to find color.

I've been spending hours the past couple days trying to figure out and playing at a fun website she told us about, COLOURlovers.

There are lots of ways to play and I started with Photocopa.

You can upload a photo from Flickr (that took some work to figure out, there is a trick) and it will pull out the colors. You then create a palette of five colors from the 20 or so there. You can save it, name it, and if the colors you pull don't have names, you name them. You can color patterns with your colors.

It's a social site so you can see other palettes and like them and others can like yours. And all the rest. And there is even an app. hehe

It is really an interesting way to see things. A way to find or create color schemes for other designs or work.

Here's my first.

This photo:

This is the badge for my palette:

Color by COLOURlovers

You can save your palette in iPhoto:

You can color patterns, many types of patterns and save them.

Vector Patterns by COLOURlovers

You can even create your own patterns. Not going there now. Maybe sometime. Have other class things to do first.

It Seemed Appropriate to Post This Today

March 17th. St. Patrick's Day.

It's not about the drinking, although Guinness and Jameson will probably be involved at some point.

We are going to Ireland.

Never thought about going there. Never thought I would get to Europe in any way.

The planning has been going on for some time, just didn't want to mention it until it was real.

It's real. We have tickets. It's not for a while.

My husband's family heritage is Irish, English and Scottish. His mother, now 80 and widowed, has decided she wants to see Ireland. She only wanted certain family members to go. (Interesting dynamics in that family.) The husband and I and his youngest sister were requested. We are all paying our own way, have to, so worth it. Along the way the kid and a daughter of the sister a year or two younger wanted to go and all was good with that. How could you not do this for your kid, if there was any way possible? It will be fun to have the young ones.

We needed a tour designed for older folks to make it comfortable for his mom and found one. And it's nice all will be planned for all of us.

Interestingly enough it will be a great trip for someone who is learning to sketch and has fun with photography. One of the first comments from a friend was, "You could do a great collage with the type of photographs you take!" I recently read an article about art journaling. Hmmmm. So I'll be packing lots of batteries, a new high capacity memory card or two, and a sketchbook.

Recently his mother said she wanted to include Scotland. None of us can be gone that long. Ireland will do.

I'll actually be using vacation days for a real vacation this year.

Joy - Week 12

This is a bit early for my weekly Joy post, or who says only one a week is right anyway!

A friend and I had a place. A restaurant in a strip mall with unique food. Close by. And we would go and drink wine and dine. It was a good thing.

In December, maybe, I noticed it had closed. I had to call her. It was not good. Doing what we do we did research and googled it and found they were moving to new place. Not so close. According to an article they wanted a more diverse population. Someone I work with said the rent was being raised, also.

She was off all week, Spring Break, and I had today off, so we planned to do something a while back, saved the day, and last night her thought was to go find the new place. And walk around the area because of the freakish but beautiful weather we are having. Brilliant!

So when we find the place and go in, the owner recognized us as the semi-regulars we were at the other location. She said she was happy we came to find her. Did I say we loved the food? the mushrooms! She said the menu was a bit different and if we had favorites they might be there but with different names and be sure to ask. We had an okonomiyaki lunch with 2 glasses of wine and stayed for a time. Our waiter was young and nice. He noticed the owner knew us, didn't hurt. And while we were eating he came out to say we were having dessert courtesy of the owner. How cool! And it was the most delicious mango ice cream. Neither my friend or I are really ice cream people, but we would order it again. The owner came to chat again and thank us for coming before we left.

So it was special for us. I would like to think we were a bit of joy for her, too.

The friend and I had a great afternoon wandering around, looking a cool stuff and chatting.

Oh, yeah, this restaurant.

I Have a Sick Sense of the Ironic

The maker of a natural sweetener (and beneficial in even more important ways) is being killed off by a chemical to promote the growth of an unnatural sweetener.

Of course the article mentions this item as fuel.

I think it's a plot.

Diversity

I think this topic deserves it's own manifesto.

We spend lots of time learning about diversity. The importance of respecting differences. In our patrons. We spend lots of time on personality tests, learning that all staff have preferred styles which may be genetic, then some of us are told to fix it, get over it, and deal with it. Or simply that we are negative.

I've been reading in the Quiet book and many articles, in journals, about a specific personality type and learning so much. I knew I lived in a world that valued the other type, I didn't know how so many of what I believed were things wrong with me are just who I am. More understanding and acceptance at an earlier age may have been very helpful.

Here's a thought I had today driving in traffic. I've joked before that I can do speed or traffic but not both at the same time. Now I think I know why. It's not simply fear. If I am the highly sensitive type, I do tune into more stimuli than most people. All the traffic at high speeds, not to mention construction, signs, and more on the Interstates around here are just more than I can process. Not a flaw, not jut a flaw (heh), but truly more than I can process. How cool is that! It's still not something I can share with many, they still won't understand, but wow!

More soon. . . . .

On Average, My Patrons are Less Than 4-Feet Tall, Like Stickers, and Occasionally Need a Pencil Sharpener

More soon on why we should be thinking a bit more about the ways we want service to be the same across departments.

Getting Started

Some of the first lessons in the create daily class have to do with finding a space and collecting supplies. I'm lucky, I have a space. It was, however, a mess so cleaning seemed the right thing to do. In fact, I haven't cleaned the house in about a month so I expanded my area.

Did leave enough time to uncover the new green things showing up in the yard.

I also have enough materials to work with and we are actually encourage to use what we have. It's also a good habit, no excuses for not creating. I did splurge on a sketchbook and a cool watercolor brush. The handle is a tube that holds water. I saw it on one of her videos. New toys are always fun, especially when you have a 40% off coupon.

Did create some soup for dinner. Albondigas. From this nice free magazine I pick up in the lobby of my workplace.

Joy - Week 11

Crocuses

Could have just as easily been spring rain . . . . . .

Manifesto

I was thinking a while back that I used to write library posts. One person even said they were good at one time. I haven't done that in some time, unless it was frustration related. I have also become disconnected with my work, for several reasons, some not just because I'm a crazy person. I was thinking I should write a library post but nothing came to mind.

Until now.

A friend of mine is writing a book review as he reads the book. I'm going to write an ongoing blog post for a bit. It will move up around as I work on it.

Yes, I could use the "save as draft," but I don't want to. This seems more like a commitment. To get it out there. To finish it.

The library world is changing. I can understand that. What I don't understand are the changes we are making, the timing of the changes and the lack of data supporting these changes. I say the last because there is a drive to be data driven.

This friend had a written down library philosophy. I always thought that was cool. I think I had a philosophy, but it was never so organized. This may be bits and pieces of a philosophy, unorganized rants, or a manifesto.

So I will begin.

1. I believe my target audience for storytime is the child.

Not the caregiver.

2.I believe not serving the elementary age child due to the focus on caregivers and teens is one of the biggest mistakes ever.

I am torn about this. more soon. . . .

3. I believe combined toddler and preschool storytimes, and for that matter large group storytimes, are not just wrong, but detrimental to our intended audience and doesn't support the intent of Enjoyment of Print Materials.

Heh- yes, I changed the wording so this doesn't come up in a search. ;)

4. Roving.

I can't buy into something when I haven't heard one positive thing from the staff in a building with roving.

I've had discussions with others about this. Some not very productive. And I can get forceful, not in a good way. I've said I see it as a trade off, what we might gain will be off-set by what we lose. We are trying to retrain patrons in a time of stress and low staff not build on their patterns.

Part of roving is less staff on the floor when we are open. See No. 5. I technically had off-desk time one afternoon when kids were out of school and we were busy. The one person would have been slammed unnecessarily. I stayed out on the floor to help and did get some things done. If I was at my desk-in-the-closet this wouldn't have happened. Mom with 3 1/2 year old son who has come to my storytimes for a couple of years, "His face just lit up when he saw you." Do I really need to explain the importance of this? To him and me.

5. Customer Service is more than lip service.

Changes have to happen, but I don't believe the changes we are making are necessary, yet. Or in the best interests of the library. More soon. . .

Maybe by doing this I will also find answers. I do like to see myself as someone who tries or wants to try to find an alternative to problems. What I see are problems. Maybe I will find a way to connect with the changes, to buy in. So while the start may sound negative, I am, really, hoping for a positive.

One of the things we are appraised on now it integrity. I need to look up the workplace definitions of that. It's interesting because so much of this is smashing right up against my sense of integrity, I think. What I believe in. Being true to what I believe. To what I think is right and just.

Not just saying that so I don't get fired. ;)

Every Day or Three

I signed up for an online class. I read this book a while back and liked some of the projects but mostly enjoyed her process. I started reading her blog. She seemed to have a great way to do online classes and I had thought about one since December. This week the classes went on sale and she offered one for free. It's all about her process, and several of the things she mentions are things I've been doing or have been floating through my brain.

The class I'm taking is about finding a way to be creative every day. If being creative, finding the art in me, is a goal of mine I need to actually do something.* To make it a habit. She states she wants this to be a way to look at things differently. I need to just do it. I think my goal is to do a lesson at least every 3 days. I know everyday is too much right now. Every week isn't enough. So maybe every 3 days will do it.

I'm sure I will start by trying to do things her way but hope to use this as a start to find a style more my own. If not my own, at least to start to play.

We'll see.

She, of course, asks that we not share the class or too much on our personal blogs. It is OK to share our stuff and I might use this place as somewhat of a journal to keep me honest. To make the commitment to do it.

*Of course, having my photographs hanging in the staff exhibit was the start. And still makes me happy.