Mindful Matter
Q&A with Maartje Louwers
This month we welcome back artist Maartje Louwers, who is based in the Netherlands. She is a nurse, in her 20's, who enjoys illustrating art. Maartje is a frontline worker during the COVID19 crisis and says illustrating is her time to put her mind to rest. Maartje's design was created out of love and passion. She says, "Passion is like a flower. If you take care of it, it lets your heart bloom and you will flourish with it. Do what you love, love what you do.” For a little more about Maartje, here's a short Q&A: Where is home for you? My home is in the Netherlands. What is your definition of a successful life? Being happy and having the people you love close around you. Describe your perfect day. A perfect day for me includes hanging with my two cats and my boyfriend, having a nice lunch with friends, (taking COVID19 precautions of course) and preparing a home cooked meal and inviting my family members. How did you get into design? I always enjoyed drawing. A few years back I started to do it on a daily basis and improved. I found that sharing it with others gave me joy as well. Where do you find inspiration? Mostly in nature, like the waves of the ocean. As a nurse, I also like to add some anatomy to my illustrations. What's your dream design project? One day, I really would like to publish my own children's picture book. Which designers or thinkers influence/inspire you? I don’t have a specific influencer in mind, but I follow a lot of great artists on Instagram for inspiration and they all have their own unique style. What was the inspiration behind this design? I actually drew this as a Valentine's card for my boyfriend. I thought it would be nice to give this instead of real flowers. How does Passion play out in your life? When I was younger I did feel like I had to choose between two career paths. One of them was nursing and the other was being an artist. I found out along the way I can practice both of these passions at the same time. I am still trying to find a balance between these two. At the moment, what is your favorite… Color: Forest Green and Sunflower YellowFood: SushiSong: This is so hard. My favorite artists are: White Lies, De Staat, Lorde, Mumford & Sons, and I listen to Elvis as well. Thanks for sharing with us, Maartje!
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Creativity Pledge
Maria Popova’s online publication, Brain Pickings, is a masterpiece. Her writing is so skillful, you would never guess that English is not her first language. In fact, her writing is so important that it’s been added to the Library of Congress’s permanent digital archive of culturally valuable materials. Still, the success of Brain Pickings and Maria’s mastery as a writer did not happen overnight. She has been publishing to her site daily since 2006, when it began as “a plain-text email to seven friends” that she wrote during college. When we see, read, or otherwise experience a masterpiece, what we often don’t think about are the countless years of practice and failed iterations that came before. Remarkable creators like Maria find a way to show up and do the work every day. They manage to let go of any self-limiting beliefs and suspend the fear of judgment while creating. “The site grew as I grew—an unfolding record of my intellectual, creative, and spiritual development,” Maria says. Masterpieces are not made by superhumans, but by mortals who have maintained a consistent commitment to their craft while permitting themselves the time and the mental space needed to create. Doing this is not easy, of course, but it is a requisite for the creation of outstanding original work. After years of researching the topic of creativity, our team found it necessary to regularly recommit to our creative selves. To help, we wrote this Creativity Pledge (also included in this month’s Creativity Guide for members) to print and hang right where our most important work gets done. We invite you to do the same. You can download the (free and printer-friendly!) Creativity Pledge PDF or view on instagram. Here’s to embracing your inner creative! Mike RadparvarCo-Founder, Holstee & Reflection.app P.S. This pledge is a work in progress, one which we plan to update each year. If you feel something is missing from this pledge, please let us know so we can consider it for the next update!
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Q&A with Calvin Sprague
In July, we partner with illustrator Calvin Sprague. Calvin is a California-born, Texas-raised American, living and loving life in The Netherlands. For his Creativity illustration, Calvin says, “The pencil is the visual starting point of creativity for me. While ideas are floating around in my head, it is not until I put a pencil onto paper that the visual concepts will start to come to fruition." For a little more about Calvin, here's a short Q&A: Where is home for you? Texas. What is your definition of a successful life? To me, being successful is the opportunity to keep growing and learning. Working for yourself in the field of illustration has its challenges and, therefore, gives me plenty of moments to reflect and continue to keep improving my craft—failure coincides with success. How did you get into design? At the age of 13, when I started playing music with my brother, I began to learn and appreciate the visual side of music. It was innocent at first, designing flyers, posters, and cd covers. However, once I figured out that music and design are mutually coherent, the rest was history. Where do you find inspiration? Inspiration can spring up anywhere. I often find outlets from small things like cycling and taking in my surroundings, listening to music, watching movies, or hearing other people's stories. However, all creatives do experience some form of designer's block. When I have designer's block, it sometimes takes a day or two of just doing nothing to let my mind recharge. What's your dream design project? A dream design project of mine would be to develop sculptures or toys inspired by my personal work. What was the inspiration behind this design? Influenced by the Art Deco aesthetic and stain glass patterns, this was manifested by combining the two. How does Creativity play out in your life? It is a part of my life in almost everything I do! From experiencing a new culture to illustrating a detailed scene, creativity gives me energy in anything I do. At the moment, what is your favorite… Color: RedFood: TacosSong: Love by Ben Lukas Boysen Thanks for sharing with us, Calvin!
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Between the waves and the sun.
"It is in our nature to explore, to reach out into the unknown. The only true failure would be not to explore at all." — Ernest Shackleton In a story from Greek mythology, master craftsman Daedalus and his son, Icarus, are being held captive on the island of Crete. To escape, Daedalus makes them both a set of wings made of feathers and wax. Before taking off, Daedalus warns Icarus to avoid flying too low, so that the seawater doesn't ruin his wings, and avoid flying too high, so the sun's heat doesn’t melt the wax. Icarus famously ignores Daedalus’s instructions and flies so high that the wax in his wings begins to melt, causing him to fall into the sea and drown. This is the source of the idiom “Don't fly too close to the sun.” Seth Godin, author of the The Icarus Deception makes a strong case for how Daedalus’s instructions to avoid flying too close to the sun (hubris) is the lesson from the myth that has been popularized over the ages and that this happened at the expense of the companion advice of not flying too low (complacency). In today’s terms we might call this idea of flying too low “staying in our comfort zone” —a desire to avoid danger and feel safe. In reality, there is also a layer nestled perfectly between our comfort and danger zones: the growth zone. The Comfort Zone is stress-free and comes with a relatively low risk-to-reward ratio. While you may not be challenged or grow in this zone, it offers you space to feel grounded and make sense of things. The Growth Zone is just outside your comfort zone. It brings some challenges and stress. These require heightened attention, but they are nothing your best self can’t handle. The Danger Zone is beyond your growth zone. Here learning is minimal because the gap between your ability and the challenge is just too wide. At best, this zone is discouraging. At worst, it’s a true threat to your safety Each new experience in the growth zone makes your comfort zone a little bit bigger. According to Godin, many of us have “built our comfort zone around being obedient and invisible, and as a result, we’re far too close to the waves.” In your life right now, what would it look like to step into growth? (Journal your response in Reflection.app → ) Mike Radparvar Co-Founder, Holstee & Reflection.app P.S. Dive deeper into this concept, along with many other approaches to the theme of Adventure in this month’s Digital Adventure Guide PDF for Members!
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Three ways to get more out of less.
Inspired by the Montessori method used at our daycare, we decided to start a toy rotation for our son Shilo to keep things fresh for him without having to accumulate too many new objects. So we chose a few toys and books and left them out in baskets so they could be accessible for him. The rest we have set aside so that every week or so, we can refresh the assortment. While it seems counterintuitive, there are many examples of how constraints like this can actually unlock innovation and creativity. One of my favorite examples comes from Phil Hansen, an artist who made incredible pointillism illustrations until he developed a shake in his hand and was no longer able to keep his hand still for the detailed craft. Disappointed by his inability to create pointillist drawings, he spent years away from his passion for art until one day a doctor encouraged him to “embrace the shake”. In his inspiring TED Talk, Hansen shares how the “disability” and limitation of his shaky hands became his path for exploring completely new forms of art and expression. As we settle into this month's theme of Simplicity, I’ve begun to think about other ways I could experiment with limitations to get more out of less in my life. Here are three limits I have been exploring over the past few weeks: 1 — Less clothes. I took any piece of clothing that I haven't worn in the past three months out of my closet and packed it away in a suitcase. Less clothes in my closet makes it easier to find, sort, and appreciate the things I enjoy wearing most. It also translates to less day-to-day decision fatigue and less clutter. And let’s be honest, for the past year I’ve pretty much been wearing the same thing every day anyway. >.< 2 — Less food. Our pantry is stocked with items we haven't used in months — that massive bag of uncooked beans, those sardine tins, the ras el hanout spice mix that was in the apartment when we moved in… Instead of constantly moving these items from one side of the cupboard to the other in search of our go-to staples, we’ve committed to cooking a few of them each week. This Iron Chef meets Marie Kondo practice is surprisingly fun. The biggest bonus? The question, “What should we have for dinner this week?” has become a little less daunting. Time to finally use that half-pack of risotto! 3 — Less time. Now that my time is split between work and childcare, I have learned to be more intentional about how I spend my time. So while I'm working less overall, I have gotten much better at prioritizing my highest impact work. With less time available, I feel I am able to be more impactful with my time and effort. In what ways can you embrace limitations to get more out of less in your life? (Journal your response in Reflection.app → ) Dave RadparvarCo-Founder, Holstee & Reflection.app P.S. Speaking of kids toys, get a sneak peek at our new Reflection Cards for Kids →
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Q&A with Or Yogev
In June, we partner with Or Yogev, an illustrator living in Kibbutz Dan on the far northern part of Israel. Or, which means “light” in Hebrew, is a hunter gatherer of music and a "wanna be DJ". His Adventure illustration is based on a dream. Or says, “I love how dreams and imagination allow us to experience wild adventures that we never thought possible." For a little more about Or, here's a short Q&A: Where is home for you? Kibbutz Dan, Israel. What is your definition of a successful life? A successful life would be to spread love around me and do good for those who surround me and others the best I can, to do something for the greater good and leave something meaningful in this world. Describe your perfect day. Spending time with friends up north by the river, or just a lazy afternoon on the couch with my girlfriend. How did you get into design? I used to illustrate (ever since I can remember) so being an illustrator when I grew up was a natural continuation. Where do you find inspiration? Pretty much everywhere - music, nature, friends, books, TV. What's your dream design project? I would really like to write and illustrate a children's book or a graphic novel...also, to illustrate the cover of The New Yorker. Which designers or thinkers influence/inspire you? I really like the illustrations of Joohee Yoon, Jon Mcnaught and Eleanor Davis, the cinematography of the Coen brothers, and how Neil deGrasse Tyson talks about the cosmos, how small we are, and that we are all made of stars. What was the inspiration behind this design? I made this illustration based on a man's dream about his late wife who passed away. Though the man looks lonely, she is always around him and with him on his new adventure. How does Adventure play out in your life? I always loved to travel, meet new people and experience different ways of living. It’s been a while since my last big trip and I hope it won’t be too long before my next one. At the moment, what is your favorite… Color: blue Food: red kubba Song: Hailu Mergia - Yefikir Engurguro Quote: “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” - Greek Proverb Thanks for sharing with us, Or!
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Digital Minimalism.
"They joined Facebook to stay in touch with friends across the country, and then ended up unable to maintain an uninterrupted conversation with the friend sitting across the table." — Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism I know, you know, we all know — there are better things to do with our time than peruse social media. Despite knowing this, I had to reel myself back from multiple digital distractions while writing this. Pandemic life over the past year certainly hasn’t helped. Reports show that in past months usage of Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms have increased significantly. So, in light of this knowledge and this month’s theme, Simplicity, I invite you to visit (or revisit) author Cal Newport’s idea of digital minimalism with me. According to Cal, “the cost of social media is not so much what you are doing, but what it is pushing out of your life” — and for many of us, that is high-quality leisure activities and learning how to be alone. While always-available apps and social media have their merits, they also enable a unique form of “low quality distraction”, giving us a ready escape when we might otherwise be processing important problems, gaining insight, or practicing the lost art of simply being. Over time, this leaves us feeling impoverished. Enter Cal’s Three Principles of Digital Minimalism: Clutter is Costly — Which apps are critical and support your values?Cal draws a parallel to how hoarders can point to any single item in their collection and give a reason for why that item needs to stay in their life. The same can be said for our digital lives. Each app is working to dictate how you spend your time. Optimization Matters — How can you make technology support, rather than dictate, your schedule? For example, if you are a member of a community that uses Facebook groups, you can exercise digital minimalism by deciding to not have the app on your phone or only check the group on Sunday and Wednesday nights. Intentionality is Satisfying — What are ways that convenience is getting in the way of your intentions?It’s easy to worry that adopting digital minimalism might lead to temporary inconveniences, like not being 100% up-to-date on the latest news or updates from friends. Cal argues that this is OK because the positive overall value of being intentional and taking back control of your presence far outweighs any marginal benefits gained from sporadic updates. After revisiting digital minimalism, the question I keep returning to is: How can technology support me, rather than dictate my attention? I plan to use this month to identify the apps which are critical to my well-being and remove those that are just convenient. At the end of the month, I may add some non-critical apps back in, but at the very least I’d like to challenge myself to live like a digital minimalist for the rest of May — want to join me? For those joining the Member Gathering on the 20th, we will touch base on how it’s going and share takeaways from our experiences. To a month of less, but better... Mike RadparvarCo-Founder, Holstee & Reflection.app P.S. Digital minimalism is one of many ways we explore the theme of Simplicity with our members. Download our 25-page Digital Simplicity Guide PDF for more concepts, activities, and inspiration on living a simpler yet more meaningful life. Photo by Brad Javernick of Home Oomph
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In sickness and in health.
Two weeks ago, Shilo, our 9-month-old, came down with a fever and a bad cold. At first it was just Shilo not feeling well, then my partner, Jess, and not long after, I picked it up as well. This was Shilo’s first time getting sick and it was hard for us to see him so uncomfortable, especially without knowing exactly what he was going through. We couldn’t tell if he had a headache like Jess, or if he had a sore throat like me. We could only be there for him, tuning in to his needs and doing our best to comfort him. Jess and I took turns resting and caring for Shilo — and each other — over the course of 10 days. It was a challenging time for each of us. Toward the end of the first week, I began thinking about the time we spend caring for each other. A friend (thanks, Fabian :-)) shared a podcast interview with child psychologist Alison Gopnik by journalist Ezra Klein with me. The entire conversation was thought-provoking and a joy to listen to — but one line in particular stuck with me. Gopnik shared the idea that “we don’t care for children because we love them, we love them because we care for them.” Reflecting on my first 9 months of fatherhood, I realized how true this rang for me. When Shilo was first born, I experienced the common-though-rarely-shared sentiment of not immediately feeling a special connection to our newborn. I had a deep sense of responsibility and a desire to care, but not a strong sense of connection — not at that time. But that sense of connection, and a sense of love, grew with time, and with care. As we explore the theme of Compassion this month at Holstee, I also wonder what Gopnik’s words might mean in a broader sense. What if our capacity for loving each other, even those we feel distant from or opposed to, was unlocked by the opportunity to care for one another? To embracing the unexpected paths to love, Dave RadparvarCo-Founder, Holstee & Reflection.app P.S. Speaking of kids… we are preparing to launch our first ever product designed especially for children! Get a sneak peek and sign up to be notified of our discounted early-bird launch → P.P.S. If you want to dive deeper into this month’s theme, our 30-page Digital Compassion Guide includes poetry, philosophy, and a range of activities to help you reflect on the role Compassion plays in your life.
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