Member's Forum: Annette Janotta by Annette Janotta Thank You Last night I finally sat down to watch the movie, Milk. I was avoiding it because I knew it would make me cry. Even though, I am ashamed to say, I knew nothing of Harvey Milk before the movie came out. My only excuse is that I grew up in Florida (not of the Anita Bryant stock, thankfully) and was a child when this was all happening. None of my gay friends has ever mentioned Harvey Milk to me. It seems his influence was taken for granted by younger generations. Not out of maliciousness, just that his influence was so large and great that it was easy to forget a generation or two later. Kind of how a great dancer makes the moves look so easy until you try and do it yourself. Watching this movie made me ask the question, “What have I been taking for granted, thanks to the hard work of others?” An obvious answer is my career and the many choices I have. A generation of bold and indomitable women worked so hard and sacrificed their time and comfort so that they and their successors could have an equal position in the workplace. They started their own businesses, stood up to discrimination, and pushed the glass ceiling up higher and higher so that we could slide into our positions with ease. Now the career struggle seems to be how to best balance work and personal/family life. We would never have that choice if it weren’t for the hard work of the women who came before us. Women, whom I might say, are still kicking-butt out there! So I wanted to say thank you Ladies. Thank you for making those dance moves seem so easy. I’m sure if we heard the stories of what you put up to have what we do today, we’d understand how hard it was to build the muscles we have in the industry today. WORLD DOODLE PROJECT Hello Ladies, Are you or is anyone you know an avid doodler? Do you find yourself scribbling away subconscious works of art while on conference calls or in meetings? If so, I invite you and your doodling friends to participate in a side project I’m working on about creativity. In response to an experience I had years ago, I recently started the World Doodle Project (WDP) to research and celebrate creativity from people of all walks of life. I believe that doodles are a graphic manifestation of our subconscious minds and are a window to the innate creativity that we all share. Is there a common thread to our doodles? Do doctors doodle differently than lawyers? Do the Japanese doodle differently from the Italians? What about the shapes we seem to doodle over and over--what do they mean? It’s a broad and playful endeavor, but I’m hoping to find answers to these questions by collecting doodles from people around the world--and at the same time celebrate the creative energy that we all have flowing through us. Because whether we studied art or not, our collective creative energy is there. Go to www.worlddoodleproject.com to look through galleries. WDP is in its early stages, so feel free to send any suggestions you have--and your doodles! -Annette |
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Newsletter | Jul/Aug 2009