complacency and the ...

and heaven & nature sing - last night's walk along the harbour with Miss Dixon

Complacency and the silver lining - a fable of sorts.

Every silver lining has a cloud

Mary Kay Ash

For years (9 to be exact) working away for my favourite, practically full time, freelance gig with customer No. 1 I did an awful lot of the same. I became very good at a specific niche of product design and I was asked repeatedly to knock my own self off. I was good at what I was doing. I could churn out thumbnail drawings, spin that big old wheel of freelance designer fortune, and they my favourite full time customer would always choose at the very minimum a big ol' handful of said thumbnail designs equaling cash, cash, cash. Easy money. I knew at the time I was being complacent - at times it's such an easy thing to be. I was in a situation that it seemed difficult not to be. The customer loved the creative niche (box) they had me in and it was the only box at the time that I could easily find that would continually, handsomely pay my bills.

As I've mentioned before, that 9 year relationship ended in the late spring of 2010 with the retirement of that particular design director - my biggest fan and advocate. A freelancers worst nightmare, the what if that's constantly whispering in the back of the mind of any designer who has all, or most of her eggs in one fruitful basket. What if the company folds ? What if they put a freeze on hiring freelance designers ? (which many companies do in tough times). Those worst fears realized, my income vanishing but ... thankfully with the support of one Prince of ATG*

unemployment + desperation become motivation + ingenuity + inventiveness + resourcefulness

the bad thing gradually becomes the good thing ... the silver lining eventually becomes exposed

my silver lining - creativity that feels boundless, creativity that makes my whole body hum, creativity like I've never felt before ... sometimes I can barely stand it ... & that's a good thing.

* All Things Good