Last Friday I flew to Chicago for the sole purpose of attending a screening of a short film my younger daughter Nastasya, an aspiring filmmaker, wrote and directed. Moreover, my older daughter Mia, an aspiring actress, played the main character in it. For both of them, this project is an epic achievement on many levels. Especially when it comes to doing something constructive as a way for transcending pain.
It’s the last week of December. Usually, at the end of the year I am focused on resolutions. It’s been a personal tradition to set goals. I turn to collaging in the process of designing outcomes.
As DIY architect providing architectural services online, I am all about giving tools and support in the effort to encourage autonomy. This desire to be a proverbial cheerleader is in my blood thanks to the years of raising two daughters, each one a creative teen.
Thanks to my daughters, I have charted a career path of an architect whose main objective is to foster creativity. I have included them in my experiments. And they have validated my efforts time and time again. Building our dream home is a good example of the collaboration.
In case you’ve been wondering why I am all of a sudden talking so much about my daughters, I’d like to explain. The reason is my new e-how-to-book DIY Like a Hummingbird: 10 Steps to Naturally Well-designed Kids’ Spaces.
My daughter is going away to college in a year; she will be completely in charge of her destiny. There is a lot to teach her, as all other creative teens, about setting goals between now and then.
Setting up my daughter's space was the first thing I did as an architect-expectant mother. It was the framework, and the standards were intuitive: clean lines, not too cute, and nothing overpowering. I couldn’t possibly know exactly what was needed for support and engagement.
The key to any creative pursuit, whether it’s writing the artist’s prayer or parenting, is willingness to make a commitment. It’s critical to give undivided attention.
My younger daughter's senior year of high school. She is leaving for college in a few months. As I am used to involving kids in the decision-making process, we're discussing my next career move. The idea of providing online architectural services that support DIY home improvement enthusiasts came to mind when I was walking through a garden designed by a landscape architect I interviewed to help me with mine.
I have been preoccupied with how to nurture my kids' creativity ever since they were born. Recently my daughter Mia told me that a toy I made for her when she was approximately five years old is the inspiration for a collection of handbags she is designing: “Your favorite handbag as a transitional object.”