Good Design/Bad Design

May 17, 2020 ~ Fawn ~ 22 Comments

Son Patrick pictured with the mustache mask.

One of my pandemic routines (can I say that?) is to go for a weekly walk in Forest Park with son Patrick, who lives in the same town where I live. We talk about what has happened in the past week and we admire the flora and fauna and architecture of the park and wax philosophical about whatever moves us. It involves many of my favorite activities: walking, observing beauty, discussing human nature, laughing (Patrick is one of the funniest people I know.)

This last week, we had several occasions to discuss good/bad design, starting with the mustache mask. I made this mask for Patrick as soon as the CDC recommended that everyone wear them while out in public. He requested the cheeky mustache and I was happy to comply. But when he wore the mask and spoke, it would drift down his face until his nose was exposed and he would have to yank it back up. So, while it was charming, it was NOT functional, and he didn’t wear it. Therefore no one got to see how charming it was. Fortunately, a small adjustment of reworking the 2 pleats into 3, was all it took to make the mask both cute and functional.

As we were strolling around the park this past week, we had occasion to use one of it’s many restrooms. And we encountered this sink (for some reason I feel obligated to assure readers that I photographed the sink in the women’s restroom, and had merely verbal confirmation from Patrick that his sink was equally egregious.)

The water dribbles out of the spout so close to the edge of the bowl, that the only way to get one’s hands wet is to touch the bowl.

Which led Patrick to say that this design is so bad, that it would be better to have no sink in the bathroom. That is, one would encounter fewer public germs by using the restroom and leaving without washing one’s hands then by touching the wet sink that has been touched by hundreds of other persons between sanitation during a pandemic.

I went to art school a life time ago (I was still a teenager) and while there, was introduced to the argument between form vs. function. And it has always seemed to me that there are so many ways to design a thing that one should start with “Does it work?” and then move into “Is it esthetically pleasing?” A purely functional tool can be beautiful (think of an antique hammer) but something that doesn’t work and is pretty will be tossed as soon as the fashion of that object has passed.

This got Patrick and I to talking about good and bad design we have encountered. A few that we discussed: my mom has a blown-glass water/juice pitcher that cracked the first time that she put water and ice in it. She still finds it beautiful, and has it on display in a prominent place in her dining area. More than once, helpful guests have tried to fill it with water for a meal and she has to let them know it is purely decorative now.

I like this design for my dish soap bottle:

This design does not dribble like other dish soap bottles I have used.

Although, I note, that it took me awhile to notice that it didn’t dribble. And Patrick states that this is one of the battles that good design fights–when it functions well, without irritating the user, it goes unnoticed.

And that brought up one more area of good design/bad design: websites. Patrick has a degree in computer science and engineering. I asked for him to give me examples of good and bad website design. He gave me the addresses of two websites (both are for items that I have no interest in purchasing.)

Pepsi

This one was fun and I enjoyed watching the actors depict the stories (which had little to do with the product.) The video was engaging and enjoyable as its own art form, that is, if the video was being posted in a park or movie theatre without the Pepsi logo, it would be just (maybe more) enjoyable.

Son Patrick is also involved in the design and marketing of board games and he gave me this website, which is the premiere website for learning about all things board game. He also gave me the following reflection. People play board games because they are fun. But to learn more about the board games that they love to play, they have to negotiate this:

BoardGameGeek

And I immediately understood what he was trying to tell me. Upon entering this website, I thought “Ick!” Too much work!” “I’m going to get a computer virus here!” I made myself click around to various parts of the site, to learn a bit about it and check how it functioned. And at a bare bones level it does function. (And my fellow minimalists will be excited to learn that I read on one of the forums of a person offering for free unwanted games and pieces that he had decided to declutter after dealing with the collections of his recently deceased mother.)

But I took home Patrick’s message: if you work in an entertainment industry, then all places where you engage with the public should also be entertaining.

My personal evaluation of good design starts with: Does it work/function? And then is it esthetically pleasing? There is no solid reason that design can not do both.

Think of the function of a chair. It is to support a human (or pet, or decorative object) off the floor in a way that respects human anatomy and gravity. And then think of all the variety of expressions of that function. From floor cushions to Ming dynasty chairs to cardboard chairs to Louis XVI chairs to Eames chairs to Target/IKEA chairs…..

But in my mind, the function always comes first.

Beloved readers-I would love to hear your encounters with good and bad design.

Small Things

April 23, 2020 ~ Fawn ~ 11 Comments

No big projects this week. But a few small joys to share!

From the vegan blog ConnoisseurVeg –on the blog, Alissa serves it with chips as a dipping sauce….but my friends, just think about all the things that you love that have cheese sauce…

I have made it with macaroni for my son. (Sorry, no photo, because it disappeared so fast!)

Tulips in Forest Park near the golf course.

I have been going for a walk every day. Sometimes my walk is in Forest Park, which has so many lovely places. I’ve discovered some new trails. Some days I just walk to the post office to mail something. Some days I walk to one of the family-owned, local eateries in my neighborhood that I want to support during this challenging time.

And when I am sheltering at home, sometimes I am working on fabric masks for myself and friends. Here is an example of one for a friend…who is a redhead and requested a ginger mustache.

And I am working on a couple of projects that might not have bloggable results for some time. So it goes.

Beloved readers-please share how you are spending your shelter at home time.

Decorative Lampshade

February 9, 2020 ~ Fawn ~ 7 Comments

I actually started this project as a shade for a cylindrical lamp. But I broke that lamp when I was trying to apply the fabric. So this was plan B.

And I should have left plain, white, well-enough alone.

But I had already washed, pressed and lined this fabric. Then selected these colors of thread from my sewing box.

And THEN I invested many hours of my life creating this pattern on the fabric.

At this stage, I was really pleased with the project.

Then, I broke the lamp I had done all this work for. And I did not want to waste all the effort. So, I watched a couple of videos online about how to cover a plain shade with fabric.

I applied the fabric, as per my online instructions.

And it turned out thus:

The good news is that this failure did not cost me anything but my time. And I learned a couple things, so the time was not completely wasted.

New Year

January 2, 2020 ~ Fawn ~ 14 Comments

Really, it is not that strange for a retired hospice nurse to do such a thing.

Every year, about this time, I review my “Death” folder, to make sure it is up to date.

As you can see, it includes instructions for the disposal of my body. It also includes an updated list of bank accounts and insurance policies and who to contact to stop my pension checks. Some years I tinker with the song list for my memorial service. This year I had to add a whole page of instructions on how to help my disabled son.

I do this because I love my children very much and while I can not make my death easy for them, I can make it less difficult by giving them access to the information they will need in the days immediately following my death.

Now on to more fun topics.

I thought I would try my hand a New Year’s resolutions. In the past, I did not bother with them, thinking that if I wanted to initiate a change, I should just do it and not wait for the calendar to catch up with me.

This year, I thought, “What if I am missing out? What if New Year’s resolutions will really improve my life and I never gave them a fair chance?”

But frankly if seems kind of bossy and abusive “for my own good,” kind of like The Biggest Loser TV show where participants enter into a boot camp full of healthy food and vigorous exercise.

This one is more gentle, and a lot more “new agey.” But is also seems pretty complicated and likely doomed to failure if I can’t pull my resolutions up from memory.

How about you all? Any New Year’s resolutions that you would like to share?

Frugal Greeting Cards

December 5, 2019 ~ Fawn ~ 16 Comments

My stash of home-made cards was getting pretty low, but I have been waiting to make more. The librarian at our local library told me that she clears out the circulating magazines at the end of the year and they are offered first come, first served to the general public. She even offered to reserve a few for me!

I requested two copies of these three titles, because I thought they would have good pictures.

And they did not disappoint! I cut out any photo or illustration that appealed to me. I had purchased a package of 25 blank note cards with envelopes from the local craft store. They were on sale for $5 USD. Based on the size of the note cards, I created a cardboard template from a empty cereal box. I used the template to crop and frame the pictures I liked in a way that appealed to me.

I just move the template around until I have an interesting frame of the image and I mark inside the template with a pen.

Here you can see my template marks, ready for cutting.

Most of the cards are made from a single cropped image, but a few are collages, like this one.

26 varied, beautiful, handmade cards created for 20 cents each! Honestly, I like these way better than what I can find in the shops.

I did not make these cards today, but the exact same process applies to making holiday cards.

Any two dimensional image can be used. For past cards I have used antique photos, old calendars, used greeting cards, magazines, interesting tags that came on purchased clothing, parts of a playbill, a politically incorrect children’s book that the library was giving away.

I have a file folder where I collect interesting images for this purpose. When I have enough, I buy the blank note cards and get busy!

Retirement and Personal Goals

October 13, 2019 ~ Fawn ~ 6 Comments

“Whaatt?” You say. What does shirking all your responsibilities have to do with goals and retirement?

And I say, “Everything. And it is not shirking your responsibilities, but aligning actions with your core purposes. And letting the rest go.” A religious person might describe this as aligning one’s will with the Divine Will, but we don’t want to scare people off…so we can just use New Age language to describe the process.

When I was a working stiff, my days revolved around the routine of working and all the support efforts that kept that lubricated: washing and ironing work clothing, packing work lunches, cooking food for the week on my days off work, using vacations from work to take care of the house and the kids. Anybody else use a Staycation to paint the exterior of their house? Or a travel trip to scope out prospective colleges?

Years ago I noticed that my life was deficient in play and spontaneous joy. And since then I have been finding my way back to that childlike innocent perception of the world that both sees what is true and delights in the variety and consistency of experience.

(Longtime reader Linda who asked about the diet plan is beginning to lose patience, I think.) Let me be as practical as I can be. I think workability is an excellent test for any theory that humans can devise.

Two years ago, I retired from paid employment because I was exhausted and Just. Could. Not. Anymore. I moved in with my mom and threw myself into helping her declutter her home after 46 years of hoarding. I helped entertain her guests and kept trying to figure out how to play. I took classes. I like yoga. I don’t like formal drawing. I don’t like Tai Chi. I don’t like Frisbee Golf. I like walking in the park. I like garden design. I like home design.

Then my son became ill and there was that one horrible week when he was in a hospital in one city and my mother was in a hospital in another city. Play? I have no idea.

But I do. Over the years I have discovered there is a Hansel and Gretel bread-crumb trail from where I am to the place I need to be.

Goals in Retirement (from paid employment-I’m not very retired)

Every day when I wake up, I ask my self first, “What does my son Mike need today to be as successful as he can be?” and secondly I ask myself, “What do I need to be my best and continue to be a good caregiver to Mike?” My counselor tells me I need to reverse the order that I ask these questions. But we have to start wherever we are, right? And let’s be really candid here, usually the first thing I ask is, “Coffee?”

I would like to be around for a couple decades so I start with what promotes personal health.

Sleep– When I retired from nursing, I stopped setting my alarm clock on a daily basis. When I was working, I got up at 5am and went to the gym for a cardio or weight workout before I woke the kiddos and drove them to school and then on to work at 7:30am. Now I let my body wake up when it wants to, which is usually between 7-7:30am. But I am listening to my body in a way I was never able to before. So after spending 3 hours wielding pick-ax on a landscape project, when I overslept the next day to 9am–okay, I get it. I am listening, beloved body.

Eat Healthy-For me this means organic, locally raised plants, which is why we have been members of a local CSA. But my son needs a lot of B vitamins, which are mostly found in animal products. So I try to keep the homestead meeting the needs of all the residents.

Minimizing Drug Ingestion-My favorite drugs are caffeine and wine. I’m glad that they are both legal for someone my age, but I recognize that some of my other goals are hindered by their ingestion.

Regular Movement-Some of us would call this exercise, but to peoples who live in cultures without access to cars, it is just getting on with your day. I want to live in a place that supports normal human movement (walking and more) and sometimes I need an intermediary support like a yoga studio, which supports my movement, local community and connection with others.

Connecting with others-Well, I have this blog, which connects me with you. I have my local church community (Yeah Quakers!), I have local friends I have made since I moved to St. Louis and I have recognized the importance for this introvert for creating down time from all these connections.

Play-Oh My Word…..this has been the most difficult part of the journey. What does “Play” look like for me? I’m completely bored by competition, so a retirement of golf would make me run back to work. It has taken a bit of effort to discern this but for me play includes: 1) a gift of service to community 2) a walk in nature 3) transforming something that is not functioning or beautiful into something that is both–this can be an article of clothing or an abandoned city lot or the decrepit tile situation in my current bathroom. Current arenas of play include: decluttering the Quaker Meeting house, planting native species plants there, hand-sewing projects, creating the zero-energy use house here in St. Louis.

What about all of you? What are your goals in retirement?

Native Species Plant Install

October 5, 2019 ~ Fawn ~ 9 Comments

Fawn & Mike taking an iconic break from the planting.

You know…when you have a pitchfork and a gothic window, you have to give it a try. For my international readers: this is the famous painting that we are trying to imitate.

399px-Grant_DeVolson_Wood_-_American_Gothic — I think we nailed it.

This silliness was just a breather from the hard work of getting our 144 native species plants into the ground.

Here is Barbara panting Rose Verbena in the front bed near the street.

This bed was first planted last fall, but we lost a few plants to the shade and the snow plow and just happenstance.

While we were prepping the ground for the row of Little Bluestem grasses, a couple of neighborhood kids came by on their bikes and asked if they could help (they told us over lunch that they saw these old ladies working really hard and sweating and thought we could use their assistance.) And boy we sure appreciated it! They worked really hard digging up the Zoysia grass, which has deep roots. Plus we found 2 pennies, a marble and a couple of cool rocks.

Here you can get a sense of the scope of the plan–a soft wall of grasses between our parking lot and the neighboring parking lot.

Benefits to this landscape change include: native species will support local pollinators (bees, butterflies, moths, humming birds,) the tall grasses will drink up the rain run-off from the parking lot keeping it out of the local water waste system, taller grasses are able to convert more CO2 to oxygen than the low lying ornamental species, the grasses will create a wind block and collect some of the local trash for easy retrieval, it increases the natural elements in the local landscape making things prettily green for a good portion of the year, it increases local habitat for native fauna (though I am still trying to discourage the local squirrels-most other species are welcome).

I will post photos when the planting of the Little bluestem row is complete.

More Vision Board Manifestations

September 2, 2019 ~ Fawn ~ 7 Comments

August 29th-sleeping with the windows open when an electrical storm passed through.

I felt the electricity on my skin when two nearby lightening strikes occurred. Yowza!

Carpet of moss on boulders (from the vision board.)

And a carpet of moss hidden in a nook of the Missouri Botanical garden that I have strolled past dozens of times.

And bonus–not on the vision board, but any time I encounter a fawn in real life I feel I have stumbled into a secret dimension where my people live.

While on a walk in a local park today. See how pretty the spots are!

Birthday Wrap/Card

August 24, 2019 ~ Fawn ~ 9 Comments

I bought this adorable faux plant at a fair trade store.

My daughter’s birthday is coming up. She likes to decorate with both live and imitation plants. I won’t see her in person, so I’m mailing it. I boxed it up.

Box repurposed from another use, and plain roll of paper that I can decorate.

I thought about printing a repeated pattern, but went with the idea of just using the wrap as the birthday greeting.

It’s a little scribbly–but enthusiastic. [Don’t tell her it’s on the way]

Bonus Content:

I had an idea for a piece of fabric art I want to make and I went searching for some green linen for the project. I didn’t find any at the charity shops OR the expensive new fabric store. I did find all this beautiful fabric that I will turn into … I don’t know… something. While there are some design constraints to using not new fabric, I love the sustainability and frugality and required creativity of using found cloth. Just for comparison purposes, that brown linen in the lower left corner is new, one yard and cost $27.00 USD. All the other pieces combined were $13.00 USD. I’ll post completed projects here.

Quaker Landscape Plan

July 26, 2019July 26, 2019 ~ Fawn ~ 4 Comments

My hand-rendering of the Meeting house landscape plan

The local Quaker church has an ambitious plan to convert the landscaping from invasive species and alien ornamental species to native plants in order to support the local fauna that depend on them.

We are fortunate that a local foundation, Brightside, provides us with free plants and a lot of information to make our landscape plan successful.

This bed was planted last year, but needs a little infill to replace the plants that did not survive the winter.

Each summer they put on a symposium with speakers who teach us how to be better native species gardeners. I have learned so much these past two years.

IMG_0602(1) — This 2 foot x 90 foot space will become a grass fence between neighboring parking lots.

Then they allow not-for-profit organizations to apply for grants of native species plants. Last summer we received a grant of about 140 plants and a hose and sprinkler. This year we are requesting about 130 plants.

Can you tell I have fun making these drawings?

This year, we hope to double the size of our butterfly garden.