I have always been drawn to the eyes of a person’s face, their expressions, their essence. These captivate me and draw me in. We have become disconnected in so many ways, but all it takes is a moment, to look at another, to pause and study your counterpart, in wonder and awareness. Time will stand […]
Read More Face MeThere has been a lot of talk about quiet quitting lately. Articles express both sides of the coin, within an array of many, sharing perspectives and advice for those that fall in the “leader” and “follower” categories, younger and older generation categories, or a category in which you have realized that life is too short […]
Read More Quiet Quitting or Time to Pivot20 years ago I lost my daughter at 36 weeks due to a true knot. She was stillborn. I went through the grieving stages, and therapy, and searched for answers to my many questions. I found none. Mostly, I wanted to know that I was not alone, that this did not just happen to me […]
Read More TiffanyIt is commonly perceived and accepted that those who hold high-level administrative positions are leaders because they are in positions of power but oftentimes those who sit in these positions tend to think more like managers who are reactive to problem-solving, maintain the hierarchical status quo in an organization, and do whatever it takes to […]
Read More The Fundamental State of Leadership: Part 1I have worked for many different businesses and witnessed corporate cultures weather through periods of evolution and retrogression under different leadership. I have seen these businesses excel in accomplishing many goals set forth in their finely tuned business strategies for external stakeholders but at times, in terms of recognizing and improving the needs within the […]
Read More Culture Of ExcellenceAffectueusement
Read More Practice Makes ProgressWhat is supplier diversity? It is a business that is owned and operated by at least 51 percent of groups that are underrepresented or underserved. A supplier diversity program holds a proactive business strategy that focuses on remedying discrimination and providing equal opportunity in the competition process. The program encourages supplier diversity in which minority-, […]
Read More Diversity in BusinessIntrepide
Read More Practice Makes ProgressIntegrity was the center of everything my father stood for. Through life lessons, he developed admirable integrity from an already moral center. If there was a word that I would use to describe him, it would be “good”. He was a good person in the purest form of the word. He truly cared about people […]
Read More Ever Increasing IntegrityIn a Tribute to Perseverance, I noted that I would approach my future drawing studies with more patience, appreciation, and perseverance. It has been a rather intimidating but rewarding process and practice in which at first, I was a reluctant participant with little direction other than knowing I wanted to draw more stuff and improve […]
Read More Practice Makes ProgressBinary bias is the bane of our existence. If I think about the majority of the troubles in the world currently and throughout history; a person’s or people’s laser focus and tunnel vision of a determined personal proclamation of beliefs and moral concerns appear, to me, to be a significant contributor to an ongoing and […]
Read More ComplexifyI’ve read that one of the highest forms of responsibility is the responsibility to be free and one of the highest forms of freedom is the freedom to be responsible. This took me some time to fully understand. […]
Read More Responsible FreedomWhen we are children, we ask many questions, all the time, about everything. We excitedly inhale adventure, learning, discovery, and love, without feeling or receiving judgment. When growing older, many abandon this openness to learn and explore. Not allowing ourselves to be vulnerable in the name of growth. We are not ok with not knowing […]
Read More Asking QuestionsOwning your own business is not for everyone. It can be a little frightening to consider going off on your own and taking that leap of faith. But if you have an entrepreneurial soul, there is no other path to take other than one determined by your own hand. The experience of learning, failing, and […]
Read More Starting A Business – Together.It is frequently stated that there are two things guaranteed in life – change and death. Both can create a great stir and unsettling in our understanding of our internal and external worlds. Change is constant – death is constant. Neither can be avoided or escaped. Change can feel like death – death is change. […]
Read More Change ManagementBefore you decide to put in all the work required in becoming known (last blog posting), it is most important to create a cohesive and strong brand that is consistent and creates a positive perception. You need to build a strong brand reputation by concisely and consistently using language and visual communication and philosophy that […]
Read More Build Your Brand ReputationI never really understood the draw of social media. I thought it, all of it was a bit of a waste of time, a step in the wrong direction in terms of keeping the human connection alive and well, and I quite honestly didn’t want much to do with it. It was too mechanical, too […]
Read More Becoming KnownThoughts never fleeting, ever-present but lightly held, as light as the wind that swept the tall grasses on the Pleasant Valley dessert hill. She sat, watching the bend of the golden grasses, ebb, and flow, creating masses of undulating and juxtaposed waves that bent to each other and bowed, as if in their final desperate […]
Read More Mind-FullScattered rays of sunshine unite to a single point of focus, it is then that the fire of creation is ignited. I find myself scattered at times – seemingly a thousand things to accomplish and having no idea how to do it all – because ultimately, I want to do it all, and do it […]
Read More A Single Point Of FocusYour mark is the visual representation that encompasses all that you are (your company is) about, what service or product you provide, and the value that you bring to the table – all wrapped up in one magnificent reductive image that holds unique elegance, boldness, and power – a symbol that will quickly and clearly […]
Read More Making Your Mark (Logo Design)I haven’t sat down and drawn; I mean seriously hand-drawn anything for about 25 years. I’ve sketched, doodled, scratched indecipherable structures and stick-ish figures, and somewhat cute caricatures of creatures imagined but not much more. I could blame it on not having enough free time or having too many distractions from life’s busy work. But […]
Read More Tribute To PerseveranceShe was revealed, an imposter, not worthy of accolades, reverence, or appreciation of any minuscule degree. Not even worthy of a sympathetic pat on the back or a helping hand as she lay body deep in the sticky and sour filth of self-sacrificing confidence lost. It was clear for all to see, she could be […]
Read More Bared In Bright LightWe had met for but a brief moment, a decade or so ago, and in our brevity shared polite chatter and conversation of art song which continued on and off since. I was captivated and intrigued by this man, what made him tick, his work, and why this creative genius stationed himself in this small […]
Read More Paul Mellender“Artist…and that should be enough, wouldn’t you agree?” Paul Mellender These wise words didn’t ring true within me until recently when I expanded my wings with the writing of this blog and started to re-immerse myself into the world of artists through research and investigation. In the pursuit of my MBA degree, I am taking […]
Read More Who Art Thou?(First a disclaimer: no one was hurt before or after the making of the above sketch…just some fun between old friends bored to death in a classroom – he was quite amused I promise). I clearly recall sitting in front of my first Apple computer, at the eleventh hour on a weeknight in 1996 – […]
Read More Analog > DigitalI command respect from you. I do not need to stomp and sputter, expel my degrees and position, or surround myself with yea-sayers. No! I shall quietly tower over you, my size impressed upon you, a monolith echoing power without much more than a whisper of effort needed to reveal my existence or importance. Here […]
Read More Trust Me – I’m Your TypeA young girl, with straight brown bobbed-cut hair, in boy jeans, and awkward in her own constitution, drew a picture of a crane and entered it in a school contest. The following week, her drawing was returned to her with a blue ribbon displaying the words, “first place” attached to it. Years passed and many […]
Read More My 1000 ColorsYou enter a room (this is not the start of a bad joke I promise) – shoulder-to-shoulder denseness fills from wall to wall and head tops rise and fall reminiscent of rugged mountain tops. The mass of humanity is indecipherable, intolerable – pressing on you. It is suffocating, stressful, and a space you seek to […]
Read More Give Me Space – I’m ImportantColor is the endmost communication tool. It can convey meaning all on its own. Colors seep into your subconscious calling to free your imagination, expose your desires, reveal loves or losses – your fears – or leave you to ruminate in its saturation. In its ubiquitous state, without so much a supporting word, sound, or […]
Read More The Vermilion In MeIran. Woman. What does this mean? For me, and relating to drawing, it means pushing myself out of my comfort zone and into uncomfortable territory. I feel I have been timid in my execution of creating notable highlights, mid-tones, and shadows – leaving a more flat-looking drawing as a result. Even with deeply defined wrinkles, […]
Read More PUsh It To Make Progress
Nancy Mues 