Random Probably Isn't

In design, random is a look.  It might start out unplanned, but it takes some effort to look random in a way that's pleasing....pieces spread in a happenstance sort of way, without looking planned.  A piece of artwork, no matter what kind, needs balance in its composition (unless the artist is trying for the opposite), and true randomness rarely gives that result. 

The sign at Taco Bell shows a photo of a 'Spicy Crunchwrap Supreme' with a nicely spaced, 'random' smattering of jalapeno slices... A little heat spread throughout.  Yum!  In real life, Prince CuddleBunny's lunch had approximately 12 slices of pepper, randomly/carelessly thrown on.  They ended up in a pile in the space of two bites, which was not yum!  

I wanted the colorful strips around the edges to look
mixed up...randomly placed.  I tried to accomplish
this by sewing them together in random fashion.
Just pick one up and sew it on...

Art is like that.  If the pieces that draw your attention, when meant to result in a random assortment, are all piled together, that one spot is too demanding and the rest is bare. The visual weight of the piece is off.  If on the other hand, they end up close to evenly spaced or sized, the effect of randomness may be lost.  Instead, it can look liked planned spacing that 'just missed.'  In art you must, ironically, move things around, sometimes adjusting and adjusting again, to get a random, 'easy' look that works.

...but that didn't create the look I wanted. Sometimes a strip
was too bland...with like colors all in a row without the
punch of color from the orange or bolder prints, which
have more visual weight.  I had to take apart some strips and
change others around to get the scattered look that worked.

The result...random looking, but not randomly composed.

Life is like that.  I am noticing that when I approach each day in a random manner, little gets accomplished, because the balance is off. -- Too much time on one thing, or too little time on many things. Too often I have little to show for my day; not doing enough or jumping from random task to random task.  Or, I spend the day responding to a pile of hot peppers. In the end, no real progress is made that I can feel good about... and because of that, I may be creating that next pile of excessive heat.  

A person who goes through life creating success in his or her wake, may look like they don't have a care in the world...as if keeping their fingers in the pies they have is without extra thought or worry.  If someone's life or tasks appear to be without worry, I can pretty much guarantee it isn't without thought. Prioritizing, scheduling, and goal setting would all play a part.  Working efficiently, these things, which all involve thinking ahead, can help prevent extra work and crises, or those piles of spicy peppers, and also prevent the worry about missing things or not keeping up.  

I don't know if it's the mental effects of aging, that there are more things on my plate, or, perhaps, just finally growing some wisdom, but I don't think I'm doing well with multi-tasking and 'winging it.'  Today I had a choice of the bathroom hand towel or paper towels to use after my shower!  I think I'm missing some key tasks... 

I'm finding need for more structure/planned guidance in my life as I try to pare literal and figurative clutter, and prioritize my time to focus on things that are more crucial, and make time for things I want to do.  As much as I like the random look in art, I need less of it in my life.