Enough about me and my musings. This very wild adventure is unscripted and doesn’t come with an outline. I need some outside advice on the topic of joy. Today I turned to one of my favorite sources of advice: TED. Short, 5-20 minute talks from someone more researched than I, in their respective topics are just what I need to increase my understanding and open avenues for more research on joy.
The first talk I heard was AMAZING! She was a designer and I an artist. I could relate to her stories of critique and the questions that she explored through her work. I listened to another one on happiness from a psychologist, and a third from a monk talking about happiness. All three were thought-provoking; a good framework to start thinking beyond my understanding of joy. I will explore all three but I want to start with Ingrid Fetell Lee’s 2018 TED talk Where joy hides and how to find it.
She talks about the relationship between joy and tangible object. Going on she has come to realize that, across cultures and generations, there are repeated objects, events, and experiences that bring people joy. Lee coins this the aesthetic of joy. She concludes that items that are plentiful, colorful, and with curve edges bring joy.
I love color. The happiest room in my house is the one I painted dark green, full of shades of live plant green. It is a dynamic, organic space. I’m glad stuck to my vision. But like the pause before marking a pristine piece of paper or canvas, it gave me pause to turn the spec house cream walls anything other than neutral.
The link between joy, place, space, and object brings me back to my thesis work. I explored the relationship between place and memory through color and texture. It is fascinating that my old creative notions are being recharged five days into this joy study.
This weekend I’m going to pay attention to color and shape as I look for joy. What is your favorite color? What colors affect your mood and happiness?