We all can feel the effects of being attached to too much technology for extended periods of time in this age of informational overload. This is why Casart coverings is unplugging for contemplative art and a little cloud meditation.
We think it wise to break away and be in the moment every now and then, especially when we read articles that confirm how bad it is for our brains to be connected continuously.
Haven’t you caught yourself saying you are going to “unplug” while on vacation and get some down time. Well, maybe a little daily dose of down time is a good thing. It actually helps us refresh and maintain focus when we need to. We like to think our Cloud Collection is helping reset the “mind-wandering mode” that leads to increasing creativity and focus.
Dr. Levitin’s book, “The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload” describes what happens when there is too much social media time: “Every status update you read on Facebook, every tweet or text message you get from a friend, is competing for resources in your brain with important things…” Since the continuous information overload from these platforms taps “your attentional filter,… we find ourselves not sustaining attention on any one thing for very long — the curse of the information age.”
To have constant stimuli is actually what your brain craves, however, due to the dopamine effect it brings. Consequently, it can be addicting to be “on” all the time. We have to make the difficult and conscious effort to detach from technology and so we don’t detach from others. Actually detaching from the social media counterintuitively forces us to truly engage with others. You see this occurring when people put down their smart phones at the dinner table. Sometimes, folks just don’t know what to do with themselves when they do unplug. How many times have you pulled out your phone when you’re waiting in line or feel like you could be doing something else rather than “wasting” valuable time?
Guilty! In fact, the article referenced states, with constant stimuli, “it’s harder to engage in deep thought, critical thought, and creativity.” Oh no, Casart coverings is all about creativity, even our name meaning “art for your home” implies the creativity it takes to produce such wallcovering artwork. Equally important to us is the fact that our wallcoverings are not mass-produced. Every order gets custom-printed with attention to detail.
Coincidentally, we didn’t intend on timing our new designs with the Pope’s visit to America. However, we find it uncanny that our clouds can get one gazing upward and thinking of the heavens. They help induce contemplation as real clouds would. They appear to move across your interior and create a sense of magical wonder and peace.
Coincidentally too, we are not the only ones in the interior design industry thinking this way. It’s our prediction that you’ll be seeing more types of designs that induce relaxation precisely to unwind from too much technology.
Just look what we found recently in various shelter magazines and catalogs. How uncanny. And remember our own post from the DC Design House?
House Beautiful’s October issue states the following about this beautiful cloud artwork by Oly for $2,125, “Outstanding art is cropping up in the most unexpected places.”
Traditional Home touts clouds in their spread on the Napa Valley Showhouse in their October issue.
It takes about 6 months to produce and publish a story in a monthly magazine. This means editors were thinking about clouds and airy designs right about the same time we were. (Although, we’ve been wanting to introduce clouds a lot sooner, since they have always been a popular request.)
Not to say we’re on trend but we think we may have just been ahead of this one. As stated previously, we typically don’t follow trends and offer classic designs that outlast one-time current tastes. We just find it interesting that our Cloud Collection appears to be coinciding with what interior design, magazine editors think the public should like. We hope so and are happy to be in sync.
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