Meagan Bennett
Meet Meagan Bennett, designer at Abrams Appleseed.
"Well I do declare," that Meagan is the type of person that defines her work by her life. Which is to say, that she is one of those rare individuals that is constantly striving to make her life a work of art. You see, for her, it's not about the product, so much as the "creative process that intuitively reflects a childlike sensibility". If the process is adequately constructed and diagrammatically mapped out, then the product is but the expression of those intuitions and sensibilities. You have to trust your selves. Or, in her enticing words, "this open-ended definition of self (as the possibility for transformation) is something that I try to emulate on a daily basis". Nothing is ever a "done deal", until it finally is...but 'is' is not a word that Meagan enjoys, at least not on the surface. She'd rather follow the path of the 'and', of conjunctions and disjunctions, inventing the rhythm as she creates her own lines of flight.
In a terribly unformuliac structure (read positively), Meagan inspires four practically possible practices. Now, that was a tongue twister: 1) Exhibit Fearlessly Curiosity 2) Rediscover a Sense of Wonder 3) Make Non-Linear Connections 4) Be Passionate. As she explains, "while this process is not rocket science, these are immeasurably important practices that are easily lost as we move further away from childhood". In childhood, and later as adults, "true creativity lies outside" this tripartite zone of fear, disapproval and absence. (Picture a scary inveigling triangle.) How to combat this? Through the perspective of a child. "If we approach our lives from a child's point of view, we can widen our thoughts, remove the barriers we've created, and, in turn, glean inspiration from the most unexpected places."
"Curiosity is not a byproduct of the luxury of childhood leisure; it's a necessity for creativity." If anything, this post was written as a love letter, as an ode to that form of creativity: to life, to work, to an ethic of inspiration and imagination. Meagan's beauty, which is radiant and electric, can be found in each of her carefully crafted and executed decisions, and in the sense of community and curiosity that she imparts, by her candidly unique expressions. As she reminds us, "Curiosity and awareness encourage spontaneity and improvisation, which results in a fluid creative process." Creativity is nothing if but the expressions of love blossoming. And, I feel her love...and I know you do too!
