AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO STEAMING VEGETABLES // Courtesy of John M. Yen

My theory is that all architects wished they were illustrators, and will use any excuse to draw something.  You start off your architectural curriculum in college with a drawing class, and spend countless hours contemplating the subtleties of shadow, tone and light; the nature, speed, weight and thickness of lines. And then of course, you get out into the real world much transformed by computer aided drawing and 3D modeling, and you come to the realization that you almost never draw anymore!

I like to swap recipes with my coworker John Yen because he's one of those super healthy people who never eat sugar, refined flour, fried foods etc.. etc... So I asked him if he had any suggestions for everyday cooking, and he came back a few days later with a full on illustrated diagram of how to steam Chinese vegetables! See above theory as to why I think architects will use any excuse to draw something! Anyway, I thought his drawing was quite charming, so here's my version with some color added to it.

JONAH LEHRER//Conducive to Daydreaming

I first came across Jonah Lehrer when I heard him on a Fresh Air Interview.  He talked about his latest book Fostering Creativity, and discusses the scientific analysis of what goes on in the brain when engaging in creative work.  He makes a contrast between how relaxed and happy states of minds and daydreaming lead to those "ah ha!" moments and how sad and depressed states of mind give us more of the ability to stick with the tedious and laborious part of the creative process that is necessary to take those ingenious ideas and make them a reality.  I'm a total sucker for these kinds of discussions; when scientists take apart and analyze things that seem totally organic and subjective, and provide a framework to analyze it.  I think that's why I was drawn to architecture in the first place- a meeting place of sorts for the intersection of beauty and logic.  And, it turns out I'm not the only one- it online takes a brief moment of online searching to see his name splattered all over article headlines, blogs, youtube and perhaps most significantly, a recent episode of 30 Rock.

Anyway, I thought about his book today when I picking out blue paint samples at work because he talks about  how the color blue is conducive to daydreaming.  I thought that was interesting because Taylor and I are so different in our tastes and the things we like, however one thing we seem to agree on the is the color blue, and I wonder if it is because we are both total daydreamers.