)(( hannah mello ))(

Refrigerator Art [_] & Stewardship {~}

We all know it well.
Lugging much needed food items into the house.

For us New Yorkers, it's even more of a big deal. Slinging bags on our forearms and shoulders, onto trains, transferring trains, walking up stairs, finally arriving an hour or more later into our abode. :)

We put everything away into the refrigerator, excited about our new meals to come, perhaps partaking in that extra-special purchase that was for immediate gratification.

Then... the inevitable happens.

Days pass, a week passes, and slowly but surely, about 20-30% of our culinary goodness is either in unused-leftover form -- refrigerated but expired form -- or simply unopened/forgotten loneliness on some back shelf.

This cyclic time line was on my mind some days ago as I was in stage 1 of the above-- loading my successfully lugged items (amazingly toted from Trader Joes' Union Square to New Jersey-- a 1.5 hour trek) into my frig.

I had an afterwards conversation with Renee-- my Cali-to-Nashville amica preferita-- and we both made a marked decision to begin the epic functionality of creating "Refrigerator Art"...

What?

Well, we were talking about the art of TIMING-- timing out foods so that they don't go bad before we're finished with them. The art of either unopening things (for the sake of timing) or freezing things so that the first-needed items can be used first without others going bad concurrently.

So... Refrigerator Art: a new art-form of using the "natural resources" of our refrigerator with the thoughtful investment of creativity.... :)

I have already begun the artistic challenge.

And.. the idea of Refrigerator Art, in the context of a new year's start, has opened up the topic of stewardship... "taking care of what you have been entrusted with-- what you have earned or been given as a gift"... I think of food, possessions, time, money, relationships, talents/skills, opportunities, career, education, etc...

In an image search, where I discovered this chart here:

I ran across this blog posting about the concept of "stewardship"...

The blog was written from the perspective of a brand manager in the marketing field. -- I have recently learned more and more and more about the concepts of Marketing and the ideas of managing a brand.

Basically, the core concept of brand management in marketing is:
1. trying to gain attention (purchases, web traffic, subscriptions, recruitment/friends' requests, registrations, whatever that might mean...)

on behalf of a certain brand (Dove, Jergens, a website, whatever it might be)--

constantly redefining the brand's image (keeping it up-to-date functionally and visually/asthetically with partnerships with other companies, ad campaigns, incentives/contests/etc.). Constantly keeping the brand on the up-and-up.

WELL... how does this fit in with Refrigerator Art & the idea of stewardship...

The blog basically comments on how what once was brand management is now brand stewardship-- and it is more of a relational concept based on thinking about the complexities of being a human being. How, nowadays, consumers are more interested in how a product or brand fits in with their life holistically than ever before. -- How a brand helps them create, be a part of community, connect with global society, and have a conversation.

Hence, I realized that in order to be a good steward --of my food, my money, my time, my relationships, (a huge desire of mine)--
I really need to look at the big picture-- of how me not being a good steward can even impact my conversations, my creativity, my community, and connectivity with global society.

I really care about creating culture... about, as Gandhi said, "BEING the change that we wish to see in the world."...

I recently saw "I'm Not There"-- the Bob Dylan 3-D biography in non-linear form-- at the Film Forum theater off of Houston and 6th. I was SO STRUCK by how much I CARE about this my generation-- and how our generation needs a voice like Dylan.

I met a woman in the lobby bathroom following the film. We ended up having a really meaningful conversation. I'm still emailing her to this day... her paraphrased words traced the idea that Dylan's words/voice "really showed that power is real, and really contests Life"... how we need the genuine things of life (like relationships, creativity, contribution) more than power and control and money-for-money's-sake...

Anyway, one hour after seeing that movie and meeting that woman, I was walking to the Museum to work the coat check with Gerard and, on the sidewalk, EVER SO TIMELY, the card art that had been stepped on a ton :)

"Be the you wish to see in the world." -Gandhi...
This very card photo-ed here.

No Joke.
True Story.
True Story.

So... :)
- A toast to Refrigerator Art: to using well what we buy, using it until we consume it ALL-- not wasting it...
- A toast to being a good steward of food, possessions, time, money, relationships, talents/skills, opportunities, career, education, etc... FOR THE GOOD OF: conversations, creativity, connectivity, and community (!!-- the blog posting's 4-C's)...
- A toast to BEING THE CHANGE we hope to see in the world.

Cheers to the last day of 2007-- and all that 2008 will challenge and teach and inspire.

posted by )(( hannah mello ))( @ 12:03 PM