With our mid-term projects due next week I found my design thinking mind has been on overload the past few days; trying to brainstorm this, sketch that, research over there and type a blog here. I posted two blog entries earlier tonight and then sat down for a little retail therapy and brain numbing with a cup of tea and a brownie. I visited some of my usual favorite shopping sites to see what was new and if anything good was on sale and then I typed in one of my favorite t-shirt stores into my browser: http://www.creativegrowthforeverybody.com/. The website is Creative Growth for Everyone and it is the collaborative partner with the Creative Growth Art Center in California. There mission is to serve adults with mental and physical disabilities in a studio environment for artistic development, gallery, exhibition,and representation. The center hosts exhibits and offers classes in a wide range of art categories and they sell many of the items made by the studio artists on the Creative Growth for Everybody website.
I love this organization and the thoughtful campaigns they produce to help raise awareness and spread voices for those who may not have the opportunity to do for themselves. After a long week of work and school and feeling frustrated I was browsing through the shirts and happened to click on one of the artist’s bios. I felt inspired and fortunate to be a designer who gets to be in the same community as these inspiring artists and it made me appreciate the voice I get the opportunity to explore every day. While I stepped away from school work to rid my design frustration, I found myself appreciating it even more and reminding myself to never take my opportunities for granted. It’s amazing where we can find inspiration, especially when we’re not looking.
Some of the products from the website:
