LIVING BALANCE DESIGNS
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Feng shui
    • Interior Space Planning & Design
    • Colour consultation
    • Space clearing
    • Astrology
  • Folio
  • Contact
  • BLOG & INFO




BLOG & INFO

Picture
Astrology Beginners Course end of 2017
?rel=0
Above "Fly Through Barber Shop" animation is a  design completed by Lizzie as part of the Diploma in Interior Design & Decoration she completed in 2015 .

At the end of 2012 when I enrolled in a Diploma in Interior Design & Decoration, I had very basic computer skills. In fact a couple of months before the beginning of it, I'd received a wonderful opportunity to write an article for a magazine called Papier-Mache (http://www.papier-mache.com.au/), about the 12 Astrological signs as they relate to children ( if interested check out http://www.slideshare.net/LizzieBodenham/papier-mache-kids-astro ). It was the first time I'd actually sent a Word document and a dear friend offered to type it up for me, as I'd written it all in longhand.

Doing an Interior Design Diploma introduced me to many possibilities for visual communication of a design- some which were fairly within my comfort zone, i.e drawing by hand, and others which definitely weren't, i.e CAD or computer aided design.The above animation was a personal milestone of digital learning and creativity. Thanks to my teacher, I had managed to learn how to build an interior with 3D CAD software in a short space of time, resulting with this video.  I'd like to mention though, this "fly through " took a college desktop computer 9 hours to put together into an animation ( my laptop wasn't capable ) . And just to make the whole thing more momentous, the video got accidentally erased so it had to be done again overnight !

Before a consultation I enjoy handwriting notes as it feels like I assimilate, summarise and "ground" the information more effectively. I'd rather read a printed book to an E- book any day. Computers and keyboards are an indispensable and major part of everyday life but the physical act of writing or reading a book engages different neural pathways, motor-skills and memory to writing and reading on the internet- and are a lot less taxing on the body. Research suggests that screen time can impact our eyes, bodies, moods  and natural (circadian) rhythms. Never mind the act of sitting for hours.

At the end of the Diploma I felt the necessity to withdraw or have time out from intensive digital focus. I'd often feel like a zombie when I'd break the tunnel vision by taking a break, or go outside in nature to try and refresh. It was so often difficult to tear myself away from the screen, especially when creating something (like the interior in above animation ).

As rewarding as doing CAD modelling is, I realised that working on projects that require hours of screen focus may not be an ideal or sustainable way of working for me . I'm not sure what the answer is yet but I get a little too obsessed. Parents will know all about this - youngsters navigate and communicate on multiple screens with natural ease and are definitely wired for it in a way that many older generations are not. With TV,smart phones, tablets and computers which we can't live without, how to prevent screen reality being a constant and possibly debilitating focus ? Finding a balance- and living by example- with "healthy screen time" may well become one of the most common "first world" challenges parents experience. Regular digital detoxes may become a necessary prerequisite to living a harmonious, healthy and fulfilling life.

Ironically, the day I was writing this blog post happened to be the start of prolific flooding in the Northern Rivers area of NSW and South East Queensland. Before I got to finish it, we lost the phone line and internet ( still don't have it after 6 days) with a power outtage for a day and a half shortly after. So no TV or phone and use of a computer was limited to a movie a day due to battery life. Floods are generally enforced days of unplugging from the world, because I live in a valley with 9 creek crossings ! Unlike many who were devastated by these floods, however, we were safe and dry.
I am blessed to be able to have the use of the local library free wi-fi to finally publish this post.







Lizzie Bodenham Living Balance Designs contact and signature

Living Balance Designs

LB@livingbalancedesigns.com.au

 0431678608

Picture
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Feng shui
    • Interior Space Planning & Design
    • Colour consultation
    • Space clearing
    • Astrology
  • Folio
  • Contact
  • BLOG & INFO