Absorb

Earlier this week in lecture, Housefield made me contemplate his insanity when he stuck a sponge in his coffee cup and slurped up the coffee from the sponge. He then proceeded to say, “Word up, be a sponge”.  From what I took from it the whole point of his presentation was to show that as a designer you are still a student and need to “drink it up” and by drinking it up I think he meant your surroundings. Being a sponge is just one of many creative processes. By being a sponge you find what interests you and you work out of what you know and what you’ve experienced.  Brian Fies is a great example of using this creative process.  When Fies’ mother was fighting cancer he was also fighting cancer. Not only was his mother experiencing cancer but in a way he was too and he absorbed her experiences and as well as his other family members into an idea. This idea consisted of finding his mother’s voice and using the family’s experience as a window for other people to absorb some of the things his family went through.  Fies shows us that absorbing our surroundings as well as other’s surrounding is a learning experience for everyone. Applying the concept of absorbing to your daily life will not only open up your eyes but will inspire you to make steps towards life changing experiences.