Got Creative Milk?

What does a dairy farm have to do with the creative process? Nothing. And everything.

I recently toured the family farm of fellow designer, Candace Monaghan. Beaver Dam Farm has about 120 dairy cows. Naturally, there are boy cows who are also born, bred and sold, but the farm primarily produces milk. We wandered over her family’s property hearing stories about how Candace and her sister grew up crawling around inside of hay-lofts. They rose early along with the sun over rolling hills tinted with fall gold. They worked alongside animals and nature. It’s a magical American youth that is lost to most of us. There’s even a goat, Fred, who was simply dropped off on their property one night. He now happily follows workers around like the family dog.

While the tour was a social visit in many ways, my creative process is often enriched when I experience things that have nothing to do with what I do. I saw colors and a view I rarely see. I smelled things both beautiful (air, hay) and foul (manure) that educated my sense of smell.  I saw how this life influenced Candace, and it explains why her photography is so stunning. Her eyes see things through unpolluted, beautiful air.

It’s important to step away from what we do, so we might find new stories and new perspectives. Or, as Monty Python says, “…and now for something completely different.” As for Fred, he just might make it into my book.