Ransacked Goods

Sheryl Sandberg: Why we have too few women leaders | Video on TED.com

So for any of us in this room today, let's start out by admitting we're lucky. We don't live in the world our mothers lived in, our grandmothers lived in, where career choices for women were so limited. And if you're in this room today, most of us grew up in a world where we had basic civil rights, and amazingly, we still live in a world where some women don't have them. But all that aside, we still have a problem, and it's a real problem. And the problem is this: Women are not making it to the top of any profession anywhere in the world. The numbers tell the story quite clearly. 190 heads of state -- nine are women. Of all the people in parliament in the world, 13 percent are women. In the corporate sector, women at the top, C-level jobs, board seats -- tops out at 15, 16 percent. The numbers have not moved since 2002 and are going in the wrong direction. And even in the non-profit world, a world we sometimes think of as being led by more women, women at the top: 20 percent.

via www.ted.com

Anyone else out there a TED geek? I found this talk from Sheryl Sandberg incredibly motivating. I already knew to "sit at the table" but "don't leave before you leave" was a really insightful point that I hadn't heard verbalized for many young women in the workforce. Give it a listen.

Painting Again

Life has been more than busy and overwhelming around here. But what has been exciting is painting again. You see I'm writing and illustrating a children's book.And believe me writing a sescint story that has the right flow and excitement that I'm looking for has proved to be WAY more difficult than I expected. Thankfully the illustrations are easier (but not by much). I have found that this whole process has really challenged my brain. I'll post more pictures when I'm finished. For now it's a mad dash to have my dummy finished in 2 weeks!

My Eyes by Day

By day, I'm a photo editor and while it may seem like a glamorous job it can often be tedious. Don't get me wrong, I love looking at images and feel fortunate to be doing this as my career. It's fun to find the gems out there, especially when I can use them in a project. My eyes have become quite accustomed to filtering imagery and only picking up the choice bits. It's amazing how much my brain will quickly toss aside just to get the job done. I seriously look at thousands of images in a day so it's nice to slow down and really focus on creativity, beauty and quality.

I was thumbing through the recent Communication Arts illustration annual which always jump starts my creative twitch. It makes me want to clear off the clutter of what now is my meager studio in the basement and get back to my collages. (Above is a collage I did a few years back called A...Z). Alas, I feel this often but am not always pressed into action. By night (and intertwining to day) I have a career too, and at the moment that is consumed by motherhood. I'm not begrudging this but embracing it, although it's very challenging. But when I get the briefest of moments to myself I treasure the creative time I have. I can't believe I used to have a whole room in the house devoted to my art making, what a luxury. Now it's a haven for the treasured wee-one to sleep, a cozy spot to snuggle up and read books and a stinky corner for that darn diaper pail. I'm relegated to small projects that can be cleaned up at the end of an evening so little hands don't investigate them in the morning. But it's fine; it's making me shift my thinking into new directions and trying new projects. And learning is always a good thing.

So here a little inspiration to linger over... Andrew Bannecker Mutt Ink Penelopy Dullagan