which reminds of something else I've always wanted to share:

years ago (maybe the fall after I left Engineering school?) I went to the Vancouver Art Gallery on my own one afternoon

one of the temporary exhibitions was on the work of Andrea Zittel, the first room was a wall full of vinyl lettering, with which I was so smitten (both vinyl lettering in general, and what this particular case had to say) that I sat and copied it painstakingly into my sketchbook

(I have since used google to recover it)

it is odd to go back to this now, I approach it so differently and am not entirely sure how I feel,

Andrea Zittel: These Things I Know For Sure

1. It is a human trait to want to organize things in categories. Inventing categories creates an illusion that there is an overriding rationale in the way that the world works.

2. Surfaces that are "easy to clean" also show dirt more. In reality a surface that camouflages dirt is much more practical than one that is easy to clean.

3. Maintenance takes time and energy that can sometimes impede other forms of progress such as learning about new things.

4. All materials ultimately deteriorate and show signs of wear. It is therefore important to create designs that will look better after years of distress.

5. A perfected filing system can sometimes decrease efficiency. For instance, when letters and bills are filled away too quickly, it is easy to forget to respond to them.

6. Many "progressive" designs actually hark back towards the lost idea of nature or a more "original form"

7. Ambiguity in visual design ultimately leads to a greater variety of functions than designs that are functionally fixed.

8. No matter how many options there are it is human nature to always narrow things down to two polar, though inextricably linked choices.

9. The creation of rules is more creative than the destruction of them. Creation demands a higher level of reasoning and draws connections between cause and effect. The best rules are never stable or permenant but evolve naturally according to context or need.

10. What makes us feel liberated is not living in total freedom, but rather living in a set of limitations that we have created and prescribed for ourselves.

11. Things we think are limiting can ultimately becoming restrictive, and things that we initially think are controlling can sometimes give us a sense of comfort and security.

12. Ideas seem to gestate the best in a void - when the void is filled it is more difficult to access them. In our consumption-driven society almost all voids are filled, blocking moments of greater clarity and creativity. Things that block voids are called "avoids".

13. Sometimes if you can’t change the situation, you just have to change the way you think about the situation.

14. People are most happy when they are moving towards something not yet attained. (I also wonder if this extends as well to the sensation of physical motion in space. I believe that I am happier when I am in a plane or car because I am moving towards an identifiable and attainable goals.)