Thinking Outside the Box

Throughout my life, people have told me that I am good at thinking outside the box. The idea has always puzzled me because I don’t think that should ever be the goal of creativity. Creating is about making something beautiful and interesting and if it comes from a place of sincerity and authenticity, it will be inherently different than anything anyone else has created. All it takes is putting your emotions, your philosophies, your world outlook into your work. And that can be subtle, no need to reinvent the ponytail. Unless, of course, there is a need.

I have good people sense but not necessarily common sense. A lot of “rules” don’t make sense to me and I have always been this way. It is not that I try to think outside the box, I just don’t see a box in the first place. And really, my mind is all over the place and I am often trying to reign my thoughts in, imposing rules on myself, creating a box, it just never seems to be the same one anyone else is using. Without some sort of “box” or collection of restraints, I am not really sure how I would ever get anything done because there are just too many choices!

Frankly, I really don’t understand why fanny packs aren’t socially acceptable.

(Photo by Adam Adolphus)

And I don’t understand why a lot of women think their hair needs to part somewhere.

And I am not sure why most people wash their hair so frequently, because I still have plenty of friends on day 7.

I don’t understand why some ladies want hairstyles that they need to spend hours on when many women could look more modern and spend less time if they just accepted the texture they were born with.

I don’t understand why mascara is such a big deal.

I don’t know why people ever want to be more than one or two shades tanner than their natural color.

And most of all, I don’t understand how it is almost 2014 and a lot of women still believe their femininity is tied to the length of their hair. Or why they think femininity is so important anyway.

Likewise, people occasionally ask how I had the guts to enter competitions and the fact is, I can’t see why I wouldn’t. I love having my work photographed, it is a way for me to look at hair in a different way, a way to experiment, a way to measure my progress…. I am shooting all the time and competitions are a perfect way to give myself some restrictions so I can focus my art and make cohesive and relevant pieces. And with so many that are free to enter, why on earth wouldn’t I send some stuff in every now and then?

In short, I do my thing and don’t really know any other way. I have trust in my way of life and things just work.