Tag Archives: sift magazine

Madsonian/Museum of Industrial Design

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What a charming museum we have in Vermont.  The Madsonian Museum of Industrial Design started by architect, David Sellers is in Waitsfield, Vermont and well worth the trip.  My son is studying Industrial Design at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design.  I wish he had been with me yesterday to poke around this charming space.  Everything is so entirely Vermonty too.  There was a lovely and well-informed girl who came in from sitting in the sun when I entered the museum.  It’s a loose, donation museum and you may put one amount in the clear donation box on your way in and another amount on your way out because of the gems you’ve witnessed.  Now, I eat this sort of design up.  It’s one of my passions and what one person might not think a second about keeps me up at night thinking about the shape, color, origin and how it might influence my work.  It took me way to long time to finally visit—but perhaps precisely the right timing.

From the museum’s website:  “David Sellers is an architect and designer living and working in Warren, Vermont.  The Madsonian is the result of his lifelong dream to honor the world’s best in industrial design.  Dave got his start in architecture at Yale University.  He has since been designing and building in Vermont and around the world. Dave has been named one of Architectural Digest’s top 100 architects.”

http://www.madsonian.org/

Here are a few carefully curated items I got to spend some time with yesterday.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

1934 DeSoto Airflow Coupe (I was drawn to richness of the interior.)

The DeSoto Airflow was built by the Chrysler for sale through its DeSoto division during model years 1934, 1935 and 1936. 

If you get a chance, it is well worth a visit or at least checking out the website.

cicada perspective

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This morning I found this beautiful cicada.  I thought it was dead and I wanted to photograph it with various backgrounds.  I lifted it up and it moved.  I had to adapt to how I reacted to my discovery.  As I got on the ground to take photographs I thought about how different it looks with slight shifts in my perspective.  1) I was close enough that I could see the intricate detail on the wings. 2) When I stood up and took photographs of it, suddenly it didn’t even seem very interesting to me. 3) When I walked across the yard it basically disappeared to me.  This made me think.

In our lives when we’re so close to something we can lose perspective and get lost in whatever it is.  It looms so large.  Simply can’t be ignored.  However, when we step back a little bit and try to look from slightly different angles, we can start seeing other possibilities.  And when we pull our observation away even further we can get a greater understanding of what is happening all around us.  Here’s an example.

1) Your teenager always leaves dishes in the living room.  When you see them it really makes you angry.  It feels disrespectful and you want to make your feelings known. Loudly.

2) Your kid then steps in the door—Hi Mom, I had a great day, X happened and I’m hungry and I have homework,  (A step back. A different perspective.)  OK, my child has a lot on their plate too.

3) Sitting at dinner your child shares something they are concerned about and you have a discussion. (A step even further back. Hummm, maybe in light of these other things happening in my teenager’s life, fighting about a glass or mug left in the living room has me focused on the wrong things right now.)

NOTE: I am not saying I am always good at this.  However, for so many events in our lives, stepping back keeps us from taking things so personally.  This can help us see events through a different lens and open us up to seeing other options.