Middle of the night web-surfing can be fun (no, I’m not talking about looking at pictures of naked people…)
I googled myself tonight. You know–putting my name into Google and seeing what comes up. I used to get annoyed when I saw all these other people named Carol Ross who came up before my listing. Who will ever find me if there are so many other women with the same name?
But tonight was different. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to check out the other Carol Ross’s. What I found were alot of other women I’d love to meet. And in the process, I got to fantasize what it would be like to be a different Carol Ross.
There is Carol Ross in Bucks County, PA, a wonderful photographer. When I went to her website, I was greeted with beautiful pictures and music that made me think of rose gardens and blue skies. She specializes in weddings. Her photos are used in cards that you can buy at Barnes and Noble and April Cornell. She’s even written a book, called Bride’s Companion. Yes, I could see being this Carol Ross. (Although I could NOT write a book about brides unless it was about funny things that happened to real brides….)
Then there’s Carol Ross in Chicago, principal of a major architectural firm. Actually her name is Carol Ross Barney but she comes up in Google alot anyway with MY name typed in. This Carol Ross has been quoted in Fast Company magazine (one of my all time dreams) because of her work as chief architect for the U.S. Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Her designs are sleek and fresh and her firm has a great website to boot. I’ve always had a respect for architects as they seem to easily combine the left brain and the right brain in their work. Yep, maybe I’ll be an architect in the next life…
Another Carol Ross is a sculptor, whose work has been shown in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and who seems to regularly display at a fancy gallery on Madison Ave (her art that is, not Carol herself). I think of sculptors, especially one who works in steel and other modern media, as disconnected from everyday life and somewhat temperamental. But hey, I could be this Carol Ross for a day or two.
The most interesting Carol Ross is nothing like me. She’s the head basketball coach at her alma mater, the University of Mississippi. She’s a blond and probably with great coordination, a muscular build, and a Southern accent. The only thing that we have in common is that we both have the word "coach" in our title. No, I couldn’t even fake being this Carol Ross.
There are a host of other Carol Ross’s out there–one involved in a lawsuit (this would not be setting a good example for my clients), one a former producer of the Larry King Live show (hmm…one of my taglines used to be "Setting the Stage for Great Things to Happen" but I’m not sure how often this happens on Larry’s show), another sculptor who is less well known (boy, it must get complicated for that woman), a water color artist (yes, my creative muse would like this one), and a middle school librarian (please, I can only stretch myself so far).
It’s fun to think about having a completely different identity. (A friend of mine once told me he went to a weekend retreat and pretended with strangers that he had no past, only the present. But that’s a whole other blog post.) At the end of the day, or the end of a blog post, it’s great to come back to who I am.
Carol,
This was a fun exercise! Since my name is sort of unique, I really was most of
the “Hanna Cooper”s I found – but the rest of them seemed to be current high
school track stars. One recently won a dance competition. Fun to try on a
different identity for just a few minutes!
I found your blog through the World WIT newsletter and have thoroughly enjoyed
reading it. This entry sort of spoke to me because I have an unusual first and
last name which means when you google me you get just me. I always feel like
it’s left me more exposed to the world. I can’t claim that it was another Alyssa
_ out there who did that. No, just me. Yes, I really am the one who did x, y or
z.
This takes on an especially fun twist because for years I disliked my name and
now that I’ve come to terms with it I’m getting married next fall and planning
on changing it. Which is fun because I get to be anonymous again for a little
while (and have considered using my maiden name at work to continue so) but also
feels a little like I’m giving up that identity I worked so long to accept.
Thanks, Alyssa for stopping by and posting a comment. It’s fun to hear how
people think of their names and how that links to their identity. I love that
you are seeing the beauty of your unique name as well as recognizing the work
that you’ve done to accept it fully. I have a feeling that accepting your name
is just one step on the larger journey of discovering who you are….
Hi Carol,
I haven’t checked in on your site for awhile, glad to know you are still keeping track of us. I’m Carol Ross, sculptor. You should know that sculptors are more in touch with life than most artist because we deal with serious materials issues. Steel, wood, clay, we cannot create without considering issues of safety, function, structure, as well as aesthetics. I did a huge show in Venice, 9 stainless steel sculptures set in a garden. Fabricated in Hungary, trucked to Venice, traveling by barge from the port on Venice to the Spazio Thetis garden, taken off the barge by crane and set in the garden. This was no dreamy feat. A crew of 6 italian machos working with the Hungarian fabricator, fortunately my gallerist Janos Gat, is fluent in several language. A complex installation is normal for sculptors and keeps them grounded in reality, no head in the clouds. It’s labor and we like it that way.
I’m about to move into my newly renovated studio. It’s going to be great to have a huge clean space. Check out my website carolross-artworks.net.
Hi Carol,
Thanks for checking in. I’m not so much keeping track of the other Carol Ross’s as this blog is an archive of thoughts that have run through my head over the years.
And it’s a delight to know more about what your work is like. Thanks for educating me. Your description rings true to what another working artist (who I met after this blog post was written) has told me about the nature of her work. While she doesn’t have to worry about the safety issues that you talk about, she does do 3-D installations. In addition to having been formally trained as an artist, she has a materials engineering degree that gives credence to the idea that artists need to be both pragmatic and ethereal. Which is a wonderful combination.
Your website looks terrific. Enjoy your new studio!