sara mcguyer – Page 18

Cyanotype Surprise

For years, I never really noticed this:

Then one day in Broad Ripple, walking passed a pocked-up utility pole, I was struck by the strange beauty of the staples. Not to mention all of the scrappy hope that went into posting them there.

Each one represented a band who hoped you’d go to their show, a small business looking to build up a tribe and the like. Call them rust or litter, I can’t see (or unsee) them as I once did.

Last Friday in Fountain Square I discovered I’m not the only one who has found inspiration in the stapled-up utility pole, though this was of a different sort:

I caught Tasha Lewis in the middle of her installation of these cyanotype butterflies on Virgina Avenue across from the Murphy Center. She uses tiny, but powerful magnets to attach these winged creatures to the staples left behind from flyers of yore. There’s just something about stumbling onto art in unexpected places. Love seeing stuff like this in Indy.

Happy Accidents

Life has a way of veering off the path, with little regard for to-do lists and best laid plans. Like today. I left the office for a prospect meeting with Jeb and Daniel. Upon our return we found the road and front door leading to our office completely flooded.

Without skipping a beat, Jeb says, “Well, let’s go get a beer!”

After one tasty beer (Half & Half – why don’t I revisit you more often?) at Union Jack’s, the water had subsided just enough to clear our front door. Sometimes you just need to be ready to roll with a new set of circumstances.

The Nooner!

I’m stepping outside of my normal marketing and board member role at Indy Film Fest to curate some short films for a new monthly series. I’m pleased to introduce The Nooner. It’s lunch. It’s short films. It’s afternoon delight.

This has been a little pet project of mine for a while, as I’ve fretted over how little access there is to short film programming round the year in Indianapolis. I’m hoping this will change all that!

This new shorts program will take place on the final Friday of each month in the café at Earth House. The first edition is tomorrow at noon, and I can’t wait to kick it off. We’re showing past Oscar winning shorts for this inaugural outing. You can rsvp on facebook, or just show up! The screening is free.

Have ideas for a film to feature? Or maybe you’re a filmmaker and want to submit your film? Contact me here.

Little Discoveries

There’s a lot of sitting in marketing work, all while staring straight into the electric glow of multiple screens. When it came time to think about New Year’s resolutions, one of the first things that came to mind was to get up from my desk every day.

Sitting at my desk through lunch has become part of my normal work pattern. Without taking that time to get up and move around, that’s a whole lot of stationary time. Every. single. week day. I know I’m not alone in this – otherwise standing desks wouldn’t be in demand.

It seems like such a small thing – just 10 to 15 minutes of walking around the work neighborhood, but this short break packs a lot of punch. I often use it either to mull over something that needs solving or to clear my mind of all the work clutter and think or nothing at all. Either way, I come back to my desk with a calmer mind.

walking finds

One unexpected bonus has been inspired in part by Lydia Whitehead’s initiative to bring adventure to the every day. I use these small walks as a chance to discover the unexpected. One day I peered down an alley between two buildings and stumbled upon a marriage proposal. Another day I found this wee knit bunny left on a ledge.

To me, these images are like a visual version of the six word story: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” as told by Hemingway. There’s a full story there, but also mystery.

Did she say yes? Is a little one pining for this lost bunny, or did someone leave it behind, yarn bomb style to make someone smile?

Focus

A Good Kind of Disruption
I might not have noticed if I hadn’t accidentally hoarded my vacation days resulting in an extra long winter break. Aside from a bit of work on Think Kit I spent far less time at a computer since I don’t know when. Whatever work and thought patterns I’d developed were wholly disrupted by excesses of lounging, family time and movie-watching.

Sore Thumb Multitasking
And thank goodness. Otherwise, it may not have seemed so weird on returning to work when my brain instantly switched to that internet-fueled multitask mode – you know, the one when you have one eye on tweetdeck and incoming email while you’re knee deep in a project.

That first day back, I didn’t sit at my desk to work straight away. Instead, I stopped in the main room to flip through the newspaper. In came a co-worker to chat up the holidays. As we shared stories of our break, I couldn’t stop thumbing though the paper. All the while – my thought process: “Wow, this is really odd. Why am I flipping through this during our conversation…” until the inevitable lost train of thought.

A-ha! That was weird, huh?
Routine multitasking of internets and inboxes would have felt like the normal business of getting back to work. This multitasking was just plain weird, so I had a greater awareness of the shift in my brain. I noticed the fogginess, the slower processing, the not-quite-grasping any one thing as fully as I might with a more singular focus. It became obvious that despite the gross inefficiency of chronic multitasking, I was hard-wiring my brain to work this way, even when it didn’t matter.

Frankly, it scared the hell out of me. I wonder if I can break this bad boy, and if so, how much more I’ll accomplish?

Home Work

In the days of apartment living, I bought this tiny desk. It serves more as a storage place for mail piles, knitting needles and other supplies. I tend to only work here if I want to use my Wacom drawing tablet. The desk is just wide enough to house my 17” laptop, the tablet and a cup of coffee.

Mostly, if I’m working from home, it happens right here:

This post is part of Think Kit 2011.

All-Nighter

This year, I tested myself and found I can, indeed, still pull an all-nighter… And it was amazing.

I wasn’t partying, and it wasn’t because a project blew up or a client demanded a crazy deadline either. All of that delirium and extra caffiene was for a cause. 24 Hour Web Project is an annual event in which SmallBox donates a website to a worthy nonprofit.

This year we doubled the fun, and in just 24 hours, our small, but mighty team conceptualized, designed and developed two custom websites for Earth House and INDYCOG.

Sure, I may have had more fun at a few rock shows and dinner parties this year, but the feeling of being part of something that changes the game for a nonprofit is the coolest feeling.

This post is part of Think Kit, a blogging project by SmallBox.

On Repeat

Much of this year, I dipped into old flames musically – I fan-girled it, front row style for Sebadoh in a tiny venue, 15 years after first seeing them in Bloomington. Another icon of my youth, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks played Earth House (I saw him around ’96 as Pavement). These rockers releasing new music and touring unleashed a memory lane that led me deep down a path to Archers of Loaf. I probably listened to All the Nation’s Airports 3 times as much this year that I did when it was first released in 1996.

Alongside this weird revisit of late 1996, a few records, all female vocalists, really grabbed me and hung on for dear life. Apparently the theme of the year is ethereal vocal with a side of noise. I’d be hard pressed to choose which of these I’ve repeated most.

Asobi Seksu:

St. Vincent:

In the end, I might give the edge to Mr. Gnome. As much as I reach back for the stuff of my youth, I love exploring too. This two piece out of Ohio hit me by surprise with some seriously unexpected song architecture.

Listen on bandcamp.

This post is part of Think Kit, a blogging project by SmallBox.

Think Kit: favorite photo

This post is part of Think Kit, a blogging project being organized by my workplace, SmallBox.

Today’s prompt | Thursday, Dec 1: Favorite Photo
Have a snapshot that encapsulates your year? Or one that represents a great moment? Maybe it just looks dang cool. Show ‘n tell time — let’s see those pics!

Taken from my iPhone while biking with Louie in Mackinac Island, Michigan, this photo captures my most joyful moment of the year.. We traveled the entire perimeter of the tiny, fog-cloaked island in the early morning.