I’m struck today by the many opposites in my environment and wondering how that context might fit into the design work. The picture at the left is analogous to hiding money under your mattress. The two nitrogen tanks filled with valuable embryos collected from our donor cows sits in the living room with the grand piano. If I thought it would make the embryos any more viable, I would play them special music. But the tanks were not placed in this room for nurturing, rather they are there due to the value of their contents.

While the idea of opposites in design work is not unique and today this thought might lead to pearls and metal in a piece, I’m gleaning a different message. Opposites (as opposed to opposition) may be good for the designer. For example, I’m a rancher by day and beader by night. When I’m covered in “it” from ranch work by day, I know that my opposite time will arrive after supper. When the designs don’t go well at night, I can remember my opposite day work and be thankful that at the least I accomplished feeding the animals and getting the data into the computer.

The dichotomous parts of our lives enrich each other. Certainly elements of shapes, colors and textures from my day creep into the design work at night making the pieces more interesting. On the opposite side, hopefully we will never find beads handing round a cow’s neck.

Do opposites attract? I don’t know; but I do believe that opposites are good for the designer. When I’m totally stuck on a design idea, I may go outside and throw the ball for the heelers or bottle feed a calf. Going in an opposite direction helps clear my head and free my mind for problem solving.