KERI SMITH
{please visit Keri Smith here}
Oh, my. It appears today’s feature was tailored made especially for me, Miss K. Well, I guess for you, too, if you are a rule following perfectionist who gasps at the sight of messy handwriting, torn books, and unwashed hair. (Tsk tsk, Robert Pattinson.) Award winning illustrator Keri Smith is here to break out those of us who live in the box. She promises it won’t hurt, and might actually be–wait for it– fun.
Keri Smith has been inspiring people for years with her blog, Wish Jar, a seven-year compilation of daily inspiration for her and her tens of thousands of readers. In that time, Smith has also proven what limitless, out of the box thinking can produce. The freelance illustrator has worked most recently for Random House, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Ford Motor Co., the Boston Globe, Galison/Mudpuppy Press, and Hallmark all on her own terms. When she isn’t illustrating for top tier publications, she is penning best selling books, including How to be an Explorer of the World, and Wreck This Journal, one of the inspiring books Smith is offering today to our readers. (For a complete collection of her books, click here.) Although each book has its own purpose and message, consistent throughout Smith’s work is the challenge to tear down, deconstruct, and down right destroy preconceived notions of art and process all in the name of creativity. Consider me sold–but not on the dirty hair. That’s nonnegotiable for me, Robert.
Keri Smith is giving away three books to one winner. The books are: Wreck This Journal, The Non-Planner Date Book, and This is Not a Book. In order to win, here is the question you need to answer by Wednesday, January 20, 2010:
Look around you right where you are sitting. What do you see that you did not notice when you sat down?
Please start checking the winner’s box on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 to see if you won. Good Luck!
My keyboard is full of English muffin crumbs. Blerg.
I’m sitting in my armchair at home and it has taken me a few minutes to notice anything unusual, but now I see that It’s a Wonderful Life is still sitting on the TV waiting to be watched. My husband doesn’t believe the Christmas season can pass without watching it, maybe that is why my tree and lights are still up.
Half the tray of chocolates are gone. Someone must have had a late night.
We have a small round table to the side of our sofa that we bought because of its beautiful metal top. This top is a sheet of very thin bronze with a scroll pattern across it, with the metal is darker in some places than in others.
What I’d never seen until I truly “looked” right now is the way that the metal top is attached to the surface of the table. There are many, many tiny nails all around the circumference of the metal sheet. The craftsmanship is such that these itsy-bitsy nails don’t extend beyond the metal onto the remainder of the surface of the table. It’s quite iimpressive. And the nails themselves make a lovely pattern of their own.
Thanks for being the catalyst for seeing this beautiful effect.
I noticed the tiny wrapper for a Chinese ‘White Rabbit’ chew sweet that I saved because it’s so good looking. Blue and white stripes and a leaping bunny drawing – awesome!
Not a thing! I guess it’s time to redecorate my office.
The time! I slept in this morning and lost my morning…
i just noticed how the wind stopped blowing. it was super windy about 10 minutes ago- now nothing.
I just noticed a chocolate bar wrapper up on a shelf in my computer desk, I don’t remember the last time I had one, I haven’t had one this year at all. I think it’s time to really clean up my clutter.
I have a bag of spiced nuts that fell behind my printer!
there is a large teetering pile on the stair railing: things that are to be taken down to the basement the “next trip”. some of them appear to have been there a while! I probably need some darling little basket system. One with an electronic chip that hollers at me everything I go down stairs! ” ey!! you!! Take this pile with you!!!”
The Christmas lights are still hanging on the window beside me.
A lone cheerio under my drawing table. eek.
Some one used my scissors, and someone else, or quite possibly the same person, knocked my hello kitty donut key chain off the photo frame it was hanging from…
The orange highlighter on my desk. I have no idea where it came from but I will definitely try and find something that needs to be highlighted today.
Spider web on the ceiling, complete with spider. Hello little guy.
Apparently my son likes to play with dishtowels.
The beautiful pictures of me and my friends that are somewhat hidden on the shelf to my right. One is from a whitewater rafting trip and one is from a wedding. Aahhhh….friends are great, life is good.
That the cleaning crew had spent extra time on my desk and whipped it down.
Oh wow! The sun is out. It rained all night and was supposed to continue today, but instead the sun is out.
I still have rain on my glasses from my walk to work, like my own personal kaleidoscope on the office.
Someone ransacked her laundry basket full of neatly folded clean clothes this morning before school!
I’m sitting in my den and realize that I missed a few Christmas decorations–Christmas candles are still on the mantel and they do not go well with my regular, everyday decor!
I’m sitting on the couch in my living room and put lots of effort into making sure everything was in it’s place before sitting down to do my “luxury time” of catching up on the computer. I notice that I must have not done too good of a joband been in a hurry for computer time because there is a doggie raw hide chew inside of the bin that holds all of my son’s action figures. I’m sure Spider Man is pleased!
I have one lone packet of Emergen-C left under a pile of my papers under my monitor. Yes! My lucky day! For someone who works at a school, this is crucial to survival! Now…. where’s a water bottle?
How funny, I have these books in my shopping cart at Amazon!
I didn’t notice the cobwebs on the walls, the light is just right to see them now, if I really look. Guess I better stop creating for a day or two and clean some.
-My honey bear is exactly 1/2 full
-A leaf of bamboo has gone languid and yellow
-The staple remover vaguely resembles a vampire bat! -ha ha
I just noticed that it’s really time to organize. I’m much more productive and happy (the important part) when there isn’t clutter filling my space.
I don’t see anything but how messy my desk is!!!! I HATE having a messy desk but here it is…mess and all. Maybe if it is a slow day I will clean it.
I work in a cubicle and see these walls the majority of my work week. They are the standard cubicle walls…bland, white, with an ugly blue bulletin board to post memos,reminders and sticky notes. I went to the store and bought bright wall paper to cover those boring walls. Now when I need to look away from the computer screen I find myself looking at a bright greenback ground with pink flowers and cute little grey birds. Over that paper I’ve placed a few pictures of my loved ones. Now that you’ve challenged me to notice something different I see that my company phone list is from November, and my calendar is from December. I also haven’t brought anything personal or anything interesting to look at since about June. Time to reinvent, time to tidy up a bit!
P.S. I LOVE these journals and have been lusting after them for a while. I’m a journal writer and have been since I can remember, but these I think would push me out of my little journal writing box.
I am at MY desk, and I just spotted a certain 3 year-olds yellow hair tie hidden just behind the monitor. Looks like someone has been doing a little clicky-clicky behind Mommy’s back!
My ipod has been on the dock since I got here at 8 AM, but I forgot to turn it on…No wonder it’s been so quiet this morning!
That some funny guy thought it would be hilarious to turn one of the cans in my ‘installation art piece’ located on a shelf in my cubicle upside down while I was in a meeting! Well…there. I noticed. HA! You didn’t think I would funny man, now DID YOU! I did. And I fixed it. And now they are all nice and neat and orderly just as they should be. Your evil plan has been foiled this time, funny man. Your evil plan has been foiled.
Its my birthday today! Yay! So I’m not so observant and a little distracted…However.. the first thing I saw when I actually tried to notice was this hot pink plastic flamingo pen on the desk. I’m at the “server” computer desk which was a former editors desk and I’m amazed she left behind this really cool pen. She seemed a little to straightlaced to have a flamingo pen. I think we should analyze peoples pen selections more often… maybe it says something about them youd never notice!
My desk is a mess! I have lots of piles and lots of sticky notes. Time to reorganize after being in a whirlwind of busy-ness the past week.
a big ole dust bunny right by my office desk chair. lovely. i guess i should look down more often…or maybe not!
Staples all over the floor – how did the get there?!
I did not notice the notes I left myself at the end of the day yesterday to remind me of things I need to do.
Post-it city! Seriously! It may be time to clear off my desk, or else I will be buried in them!
someone put a cowboy hat on top of my antique wind-up clock… makes the hands look like a moustache LOL!
My calendar is missing? Guess someone decided it was time to take down my 2009 calendar. Note to self: must find fun, fashionable and functional calendar for my desk.
The scripture I’d put up at my desk to remind me that the tedius data entry I do is not all there is in life.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” – Colossians 3:24-25. I needed that reminder today, too!
the dirty socks of my boyfriend….!
I am looking at the small arrangement of carnations on the mantle that I brought home on New Year’s eve and I’m finding that they still look pretty. These flowers truly last forever.
The fact that my plant is drooping lifelessly due to the fact that it hasn’t been watered recently.
my fiance’s raincoat on the chair beside me….hmmm…
must have come off there when he got home last night….can’t believe he didn’t take it today – as every winter day in the pacific northwest is a wet one!! :)
Sitting on the floor of my hotel room, I’m looking at the plastic wheels of the bed frame…
I see paintbrushes that should have been washed out an hour ago!
My recent wedding photos that I just put up to add some sunshine to my office. Thanks for reminding me to notice them every now and again to serve their purpose! :)