Wear your anger, elegantly. Throw your anger, beautifully.

Hi folks. I received a request from David in Seattle for Emotionally}Vague Anger on a t-shirt. Due to the current political situation, I thought that a throw pillow might also be useful for many of you on BOTH SIDES. 

Do you know anyone that needs some artistic anger management? Buy or gift a men’s or women’s tshirt or throw pillow on Redbubble here.

Disclosure: I receive 20% of the price. This will be put towards covering the hosting of emotionallyvague.com and lessening my own anger. 

 

What is woo-woo “energy”? A conversational theory…

One evening I was having dinner with a research biologist. For some reason we arrived ar the topic of woo woo ‘energy’ and he was highly skeptical of the term, obviously. Wine in hand, I took up the challenge to explain it.

What has happened since I visited The Affective Science lab, Boston 2010

How a group of children’s book illustrators from the Philippines drew emotions in their bodies.

Rev Cruz asked 23 artists in the Phillipines to draw emotions in the body

Tips from the Design & Emotion Conference, 2016

As an independent practitioner, going to a conference is a chance to connect with relevant ideas and inspiring people. Last month I attended the tenth international Design and Emotion conference in Amsterdam. My mission was to learn of developments in design and emotion, present a poster (with Dr. Suzanne Oosterwijk) and test a prototype web app. This post partly summarises three days of presentations and workshops, with tips on how to use these in your own work. 

What’s feeling got to do with Big Data?

April Greiman, Poster for Design Quarterly, 1986

My research interest in emotion stems from times when I was cut off from myself – “emotionally vague”. Without processing my feelings I could not connect the information signals between body and mind. I was often overloaded, drained and disconnected. Tai Chi and meditation helped to reduce anxiety and bring calm. Observing feeling-sensation informed the initial idea for the visual research. There’s an urgent need to weave understanding of feeling, time, place and feedback loops.

“So what do you do?”

It’s true isn’t it? When someone’s motivation is clear and bright, it shines out of them like the Starship Enterprise’s tractor beam. 

Stepping into the ‘Real’ Work

Turbulent life changes bring reflection. I had to leave home (a beautiful rented house and friend-renters) by December 27^th. Plans crystallised over the in-between days.

A vision coming to life

This Spring, I moved my home and studio from the city to countryside. The confidence to act quickly came in a surprising way.

Telling the story …

Heroes like Seth Godin and Brené Brown advise to open up to vulnerability, connect and tell our stories.

Feeling a bit like a hedgehog upended, I wonder how I can start telling this story, my story? To open up my heart and dreams with you without a neat ending? What will happen? How will it feel if nothing happens?

So here goes… I’m going to share the news of the last 6 months. Work is bubbling. Check in for changes, struggles, moving on and knuckling down. Short and sweet about once a week.