NOTE FROM THE
Artistic Director
COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES
About three years ago, during a parent-teacher conference, my son's teacher told me how important it was
for Jonas to learn to color. At first I thought she was joking. Jonas knew how to color. He drew pictures all
the time. He loved to paint and he used marker and crayons all the time. But then she went on to explain what
she meant. His teacher wanted him to open a coloring book, trace the edges of the lines with a crayon and
then fill it in with the solid color. Most importantly, he was supposed to learn how to stay inside the lines.
The conversation with his teacher left me perplexed. On the one hand, I can understand the importance
of practicing fine motor skills to improve Jonas's dexterity and control. After all, he was being seen by
an occupational therapist at the time. But on the other hand, could there be a more overt way to stifle
one's creativity than by literally forcing them to 'color inside the lines'?
Needless to say, I did not teach him to color in the lines. I let him color however he damn well
pleased. He had a beautiful imagination and I wasn't going to be the one to snuff out his light.
That being said, I've always felt compelled to push against the norm always approaching
everything with a healthy skepticism. But because the idea of staying in the lines and doing
what you are told is so ingrained in our psyche, I've recently realized I was trying to fit most
things in my life into tidy little rectangular boxes.
When I sat down to design this issue of the magazine, all the rectangles and straight
lines reminded me of how sometimes slipping into old boring habits is easy. I mean,
what's more simple than a rectangle — no creativity required.
Do I really want to create something boring? No. I decided to color outside the
lines and get creative. I didn't want to stick to conventional patterns. I wanted
to push boundaries, cross borders, and make a bold statement. I wanted to
let my badassery out and infuse my design with it.
But, I didn't only design to be more creative in my design work, I also vow
to be more creative in my every day life, including my business. You
don't have to follow the rules. You can create your own.
JULY 2018 • 9