As a way to break up the long trip development trip to China each season, I try to plan a fun excursion away from the factory towns to see something new. In December, I visited my close friend Leslie Kuo, an American expatriate in Shanghai. Leslie took me to a dinner party, where I was greeted by following wall piece.

This message was literally and figuratively “a sign”.  I was feeling a lot of Creative Anxiety and my initial response was to shut down or run away from the feeling.  Seeing this sign reinforced one of my core beliefs, that uncertainty provides an opportunity to reinvent.   As much as I’d like to avoid this frustrating part of the process, the uncertainty itself is what often fuels my creative fires.

With this message to guide me, I started seeing creativity in the hanging laundry on pedestrian streets.