Simultaneously Obsessed

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. - F. Scott Fitzgerald

I'm a little bit country. And I'm a little bit rock 'n roll. - Donny and Marie 

For the past couple weeks, I've been obsessed.

There's a new building going up in the light industrial park near my neighborhood and I love, love, love watching it take shape.

Mmm, I can't get enough of those monochromatic colors, crisp geometric lines, and gorgeous play of crisscrossing shapes and shadows. Day to day, as new beams and supports are added, the complexity of the sculpture shifts and changes like a minimalist's kaleidoscope. I drive by every afternoon, and never fail to thrill at the latest effect.

Like I said, I'm obsessed.

Right about the same time that this construction kicked into high gear, I discovered the work of an amazing artist.

Her name is Mitjili Napu, and she is an Australian Aboriginal woman who draws inspiration from the bushes, trees, and sand hills of her family's desert homeland to make these riveting paintings. I am crazy for the curvy, undulating, organic shapes of her designs, the brilliant colors contrasted with the unifying black and white elements, and the pure sense of joyful abandon that these pieces evoke. On my desktop, I've left a tab to her artwork open for weeks on end, and almost daily, I click over and feast my eyes on these flamboyant, unrestrained designs.

I absolutely cannot get enough.

While I certainly admit that it's a bit contradictory to hold these two design aesthetics in such high regard at the same time, I am undeniably in love with both of them.

Simultaneously.Obsessed.

And I've decided to be okay with that. Thanks, Donny and Marie.