Rock Hard Atelier illustration was a means to an end, it was quick fashion croquis that got to the point and focused on the garment. It was not until this month that I was moved to pick up illustration again. Delving deeper into my spiritual being, it was my soul that was called to draw again. Here you are. I hope you see the passion and love I felt while creating this for my best friend’s birthday – hope you enjoy!
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So It was yesterday, and I had felt like the day had escaped me, so much to do and how much did I actually accomplish on my forward-thinking list?
I was getting restless, frustrated. I needed to be walked (as my boyfriend puts it). So off I went, feeling very much like I needed to check something off my “if you die tomorrow, would you be happy with how you lived your day today” list.
A month or so ago, a confidant of mine and the assistant chair of Fashion Design Department at FIT recommended this Japanese bookstore Kinokuniya near Bryant Park for extreme pattern making books, and a month full of days unvisited had gone by. Time to check it out.
You know that feeling you get when your heart starts to pound, your eyes open wide, your chest expands, gasp, ahhhhhhh, and you hear an “ok I LOVE THIS!” sound come from your head. Yeah, that happened.
I was surrounded by hard to find fashion magazines, books, photography and more all in a cryptic language that I could not make out. Alas, downstairs I asked where the pattern books were and was lead to a display table filled with books of awe inspiring shapes and sculptures made out of fabric. Pages and pages of couture waiting to be sewn and, spending over 40 minutes reading one book, decided that this was WAY over my head, since I have no experience in pattern making myself or incredibly minimal (since I have my own pattern makers – and since I graduated FIT with a Bachelors Degree in Fashion Merchandising Management.), AND since I surely and CERTAINLY cannot read Japanese, or Korean, or which ever gorgeously enchanting language it was that filled these books. So, mental note “Em, baby steps.”, and on I pranced – or really only looked up and glanced to the next book display, to discover the rest of the store.
The CRAFT section. I came across this by what I would describe as the “flow” of life. Putting the pattern book down, looking up and slightly 45 degrees to my immediate right my eyes caught upon more books. Gorgeous colors, covers and in two steps I was transformed into wonder to find books and books of more patterns, “Sophisticated dresses”, “Easy Dresses”, “Every Day Dresses”. I continued on, touching every other book and skimming every third (not literally but it seemed like it because I wanted to read them all!) Next was “Fake Treats”, “Desserts out of Felt”, books on sewing little tiny fruit tortes, cupcakes, pies, animals. Books on making clay fruit tortes, pies, strawberries, macaroons, meringues, how to hang them on necklaces and make a charm bracelet of of them. Who on earth had the time to do this, but if that was someones job, I would LOVE to try that for a day, or a really long vacation when I have NOTHING else to do, or when I have kids some day. They were soooo beautiful! (Since I was not technically “allowed” to take photos – this is all I could sneak).
Ok I am digressing a bit, but so many types of craft books, I wanted to buy everything. Knowing I would probably never actually take this hobby of crafting small desserts up in the near future, I put them down. Next came jewelry making books – those I fully intend to add to my repertoire with in the year or so, but not yet – so I continued. A wall of mini good-fortune kitties, love those, have one. Fans, incense, a wall of crafting paper, rice paper and more.
Finally the origami section. Never thought too much about Origami since I was young, but the bright colors and gorgeous papers were enchanting me. I skimmed through, I walked to the next isle. I came back. I skimmed through again. I walked away. Some voice inside me was telling me to go back there and pick up what I was attracted to. This origami was NOT for beginners, yet I was a beginner. Then it struck me. If I can master this, I can get ahead start on my draping class and bring to it fresh ideas, I can start my progress towards mastering the architecture of creating 3D form.
You may think this is not a big deal, however – for a Fashion Designer who has a million ideas in her head – this is HUGE. It grants me an additional approach that I may layer to my garments, something origami inspired, something that seemed impossible. A rare approach to form and adding to it nods from other designers who have incorporated its theme in the past.
So. Yes- I know its a mouth/ear/keyboard full, but this is the speed at which I am excitedly thinking and engaging in something I call “actualizing your purpose”.
Taking back to my office my bounty of glory, I decided to get straight to work.
The first lesson was a single rose, and here, the following are images from my progress. It was extremely complicated and I am rather proud of myself.
Hope you enjoy and even if this is not your passion, I encourage you to “take your self for a walk” and go find what makes up the architecture of your passion.
Hope that inspires you.
xoxox
Emily
http://jessvonbrandt.com/manifesto.html
Charles Gaines’ ‘Manifestos’ at UCLA Hammer Museum
In the goal towards being a more complete human being, serving your life’s purpose, a modern day renaissance person and more simply put; just being really damn happy – manifestos are a way to get to the point, recognize your main goals and live life to the fullest. I am brought to this destination while researching more of my passion, how to live an inspired life, and while writing a mission statement for my second company!!!!! It was brought to my attention at a young age, that life is delicate and full of unexpected lemon flavored twists and turns from which you may A) make a sour-face, spit the lemon out and pout, or B) make delicious lemonade, share the wealth and sit back and smile with friends.
In my quest for inspiration, knowledge, spiritual connection, mind, body and soul, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera… I have lists and lists and notebooks and notebooks filled with goals, missions, theories and more, yet I have digressed from sitting my arse down and creating one complete guideline for how I determine to live my life, with the option of course to add / delete and edit anything that I deem fit at anytime (hehe).
If you are anything like me, starting a new company, first, second or third, starting a new project, starting a new job, career path, have a new lease on life, or just want to get a lease on life to begin with, then I suggest you do the same.
Check out this amazing article from one of my faves, Scott Belsky’s website for creatives
5 Manifestos For Art, Life and Business on The99Percent.com
Here Jocelyn K. Glei writes about 5 of her top manifestos, including that of Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Marketer Seth Godin, Designer John Maeda, Writer Leo Tolstoy and Innovative Power Company Apple.
I know that any time I meet a person I admire, whether a friend, business person or an accomplished or motivated individual – I always ask them about their morning routine. I always like to understand how this person is able to do what they do and how they do it. For me, if every one gets the same 24 hours in a day to do what they do, I want to know – how they spend their time, what do they value and HOW DO I DO THAT!!!
SO I ask YOU, please send me your Manifestos – I would LOVE to hear them!
As for mine, it is a work in progress, but here are the creeds I strive to live by.
My Manifesto (a work in progress).
1. Always make time for Mind, Body and Soul. Tune in to what your body tells you.
2. Be Authentic.
3. Seek the fun in everything, do what you love, and love what you have.
4. Seek to live a life full of meaningful relationships that benefit both yourself and many other people.
5. Believe in constant innovation, reaching beyond what has been conceived as possible, and reinventing that belief.
6. Strive to inspire and empower yourself and others to increase our ability to improve the world for the greater good.
7. Keep aligned with my mission to share my visions with the world and to create beautiful things for the masses to enjoy.
8. “Peace and happiness come from within, not from with out.” – Buddha
9. Trust myself and always listen to my inner voice.
10. Focus on sustainability (the capacity to endure) in everything you do.
For the more specifics:
11. Always have a life time goal, a 5 year goal, a yearly goal, a quarterly goal, a monthly goal, a weekly goal, a daily goal and an hourly goal – but don’t freak out if you didn’t accomplish it.
12. Work out or do something physical every day!
13. Substitute water for all juices or sodas all day long, and drink water with your social cocktails.
14. Send beautiful thank you notes to those you love.
15. Always let people underestimate you 😉
16. Spoil yourself rotten and love yourself as much as you love your favorite person.
17. Never go to bed angry, never end on a bad note.
18. Give compliments to strangers.
19. Follow your heart and don’t have regrets.
20. Life is meant to be LIVED!
.
For more manifestos, check out the link above, and as always –
I hope that inspired you!
xoxo
Emily
Writing a blog about inspiration is, well, inspiring. That is exactly why I do it. I feel incomplete with out being inspired – for my art, for my dreams, for my goals, for my passion, for the relationships I have, for life etc. Sometimes, it takes a while to come up with something that is really jaw dropping and doesn’t just fascinate me, but INSPIRES ME!
It’s amazing that especially when you’re not looking – inspiration finds you. I was checking my profile on A Small World (aka. ASW www.asmallworld.net) that I had busily neglected and after taking the day to do some maintenance, organizing, spring cleaning, reading and just catching up on things (all the juicy pleasures that I had been putting to the side because “I had to get “”WORK”” done”) and it fell into my lap! An ASW message from the talented Inspirationalist Dodo Newman. I saw her tagline – The Inspirationalist- and obviously had to scour the web to find out more about her.
Dodo Newman is an artist, a fashion designer, a survivor, a philosopher and a spiritualist. She has an astounding circle of supporters, an awe-striking resume and list of experiences, a worldly pedigree and is soon to be the subject of a book and television show based on her life.
Dodo Newman – Siddharta
A few inspiring excerpts from her bio:
“Because Dodo has grown up in various continents, countries, among various nations and religions she has seen the real faces of the different cultures. She has seen poverty and richness, beauty and ugliness, happiness and sadness, Life and Death. Dodo through her projects and individual works, supports many foundations and initiations with her art.”
– I have come to find that Ms. Newman works only in natural daylight and paints through her emotions, she delivers masterful artwork done in fragments of gold, crystal, stones and pearls. She incorporates Swarovski elements into her art and not only paints something valid and worthwhile, but as an investment piece a collector can actually own art composed of precious stones and elements. Dodo muses that her collectors and admirers often express the same emotions whilst observing her art as she herself experienced while painting. What an astonishing example of a transfer of energy through art.-
Dodo contrives incredible emotion from her past experiences and is so inspired by her triumphs and tribulations. She says “Every step, falling, sadness, fight or victory forms a part to the final aim: praise your mistakes, (and) your struggle; you need them all for the final story.
Another of my favourite quotes from the insightful Ms. Newman: “Our soul knows more than what we think or believe…”
Dodo Newman – Forms of Life
Ms. Newman continues; “There were many periods of my life when I had nothing to eat, when I was hungry and most of these times the persons I most expected to stand by me were the ones who did not. It is usually very hard to achieve an objective without the background support of the family, especially if there is no one who appreciates the aim one is fighting for.” – “In life anything we create is a long process, taking time, it is impossible to expect from anyone to achieve them immediately. When I was a teenager once I have given up my dreams and I needed more than 15 years to find them again. Now that I have found them I will never let them go!”
“For me the process of marketing, (and) sales of my art represented always a difficulty, just as for all artists, but fortunately I had the best people around me who helped me in this, although I fought my life’s most serious battle in Berlin. I had to learn that there are walls that only I am capable of breaking down, that there are aims that only I can reach. On 13 August 2009, I was lying tired and anguished on the battlefield, which has been created by my own dreams, aims. I was bleeding from all my wounds and I knew that if I will not win today then it will be my end, I will bleed away and I will die. My Soul flew out from my body but the will to win was so strong that it did not let go, and so it was that I won my battle and I was reborn on 14 August at 04:15. My aim became a reality by dawn and my project became stabile. Now I am LIVING and I am very happy from my true heart!” – DN.
I would like to think of myself as an “Inspirationalist” as well, and for me – this heart-wrenching journey of a young woman pounding the pavement, beating her fears and turning out the victor, really establishes the notion that your dreams are only as far away as you deem them to be. In reality, your dreams have always been with you and are always with in reach, you just have to slowly take down the wall that you built around them, each brick, one by one, of all your perceived misconceptions.
Dodo Newman – Life Lines
Dodo has an extreme version of this story, she was born in Hungary where her dream began, grew up in India where her heart and creativity was nourished, attended High School in Iran, over coming adversity and oppression, fled to study Fashion Design in Italy where she accessed the freedom to create and experiment once more, attended University in England, summered in Monaco and now is a resident of Germany living her dreams.
She speaks Italian, French, English, Hungarian, Farsi and Hindu. Are you not yet inspired?
Ms. Newman’s artistic experiences include New experimented resin art (current, since 7 years), Oil and acrylic art, Japanese ink technique (early years) and Fashion design in Firenze.
Her biggest selling price in 2009 for one single artwork was 265.000 Euro (Year 2009 – Canvas artwork). I must say, that is an inspiration for anyone who things “Impossible is nothing”.
Dodo Newman – Gonaives
Dodo Newman – Itiah
Find out more about Ms. Newman at:
www.DodoNewman.com
@DodoNewman on twitter
Hope that inspires you!
Xo
Emily
I just thought I’d share theses with you – a few of my musings!!
I hope you enjoy and are inspired by their deeper meaning – check umm out!
xo
Emily
P.S. I like them so much I am going to make this my blog header!
And this is why we love Lady Gaga. I am a huge fan of hers, and having had the fortuitous pleasure of seeing her rock the stage live in concert around this time last year, I was even more enamored. Yes, her egg appearance was not my fav, however Gaga has “Again and Again” made my jaw drop. Being a fashion designer – her House Of Gaga Couturiers are incredibly talented, visionary and on and on. (I have even had the intense and secret pleasure of working with one of her pattern makers for a secret line that has gone into production that I have yet to unveil for a certain new enterprise that I am not yet at liberty to speak of, wink wink!) I cannot say enough of how inspirational her garments are, how amazing her stance on gay rights, human rights and artists rights are, how talented she is and what a comet she is truly in a sea of shiny rocks.
That being said…..
Gaga has taken on a whole new stratosphere with her new song “Born This Way.” The Lyrics are so incredibly inspirational, it makes me shiver and
reminds us ALL how we all have our inner “Fireworks” waiting to burst out. Ladies and Gents – If I can transpire any more drive in you to be who you are and do what you were meant to do on this planet we call Earth. Please – do it. And let this little girl who covered Gaga show you how to bring that feeling back! Perez Hilton, jest of all jesters had sent this video to the Lady Herself, in effect rendering her to tears. In the first video which you may have seen on YouTube, Maria belts it out with such a powerful effect. Watch the second video below of Gaga and the now famous Maria entertain a short duet, following a request by the Lady Herself for little Maria to appear onstage and sing the song with Gaga at her next performance.
“We are all born superstars”
—–
Thanks and I hope that Inspires you!
xoxo
Emily
Albert Einstein once said “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” If your mind can conceive it then believe you can achieve it. Have the tenacity to create the extraordinary!
Hope that Inspires you!
xoxo
Emily
“All you require is YOU, and your ability to think things into being. Everything that has been invented and created throughout the history of humankind began with one thought. From that one thought a way was made, and it manifested from the invisible into the visible.” – Rhonda Byrne The Secret
That amazes me…
I hope that inspires you!
So my new friend Monica Taylor (inspirational Entrepreneur and founder of MomsMadeEasy.com – check out her bio!) and I were chatting, exchanging iPhone applications that we liked and she recommended OSHO Zen Tarot. I never really got so far into Tarot, only a few times, I’ve always been curious about it yet kind of nervous to get my cards read – however I am a huge fan of Zen and Osho. So I downloaded it and the instructions were to focus your energies on one question. After a little bit of guidance from the app and a little bit of thinking, my question was “What do I need to take from this situation”. As everyone does, in life sometimes you feel insecure. As an entrepreneur, and someone looking into their future with open possibilities, freedom is insecurity, uncertainty is wonder. This was the card I pulled: Courage.
The Commentary:
“This card shows a small wildflower that has met the challenge of the rocks and stones in its path to emerge into the light of day. Surrounded by an aura of bright golden light, it exposes the majesty of its tiny self. Unashamed, it is equal to the brightest sun.
When we are faced with a very difficult situation we have a choice: we can either be resentful, and try to find somebody or something to blame for the hardships, or we can face the challenge and grow.
The flower shows us the way, as its passion for life leads it out of the darkness and into the light. There is no point fighting against the challenges of life, or trying to avoid or deny them. They are there, and if the seed is to become the flower we must go through them. Be courageous enough to grow into the flower you are meant to be.
OSHO says:
“The seed cannot know what is going to happen, the seed has never known the flower. And the seed cannot even believe that he has the potentiality to become a beautiful flower. Long is the journey, and it is always safer not to go on that journey because unknown is the path, nothing is guaranteed.
Nothing can be guaranteed. Thousand and one are the hazards of the journey, many are the pitfalls – and the seed is secure, hidden inside a hard core. But the seed tries, it makes an effort; it drops the hard shell which is its security, it starts moving. Immediately the fight starts: the struggle with the soil, with the stones, with the rocks. And the seed was very hard and the sprout will be very, very soft and dangers will be many.
There was no danger for the seed, the seed could have survived for millennia, but for the sprout many are the dangers. But the sprout starts towards the unknown, towards the sun, towards the source of light, not knowing where, not knowing why. Great is the cross to be carried, but a dream possesses the seed and the seed moves.
The same is the path for man. It is arduous. Much courage will be needed.”
For me this is a strong symbolism to where I am right now. Three and a half years ago graduating college, getting my first real job after many internships – now for the last almost two years being an entrepreneur, living life with a plan but an uncertain one. Knowing your dream, but not knowing how to get there. Knowing you believe, but not seeing fruition. Having faith while trembling. Starting one company, about to embark on a new. This life I have chosen will never be secure and certain, but after all – if it was where would the fun be in that?
Osho says “If you understand, insecurity is an intrinsic part of life – and good that it is so, because it makes life a freedom, it makes life a continuous surprise. One never knows what is going to happen. It keeps you continuously in wonder. Don’t call in uncertainty – call it wonder. Don’t call it insecurity – call it freedom.”
This inspires me because all the Greats have done this before. Taken the path not yet created.
Steve Jobs said it best:
“Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They invent. They imagine. They heal.
They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
Thanks Steve and Osho for giving me the courage to keep chasing the dream!
xo
