The striving to do better and to be better is a process of discovery, a curiosity of finding what satiates the mind and body, regulating emotion during the ups and downs of living life. It is within this process of seeking that we learn who we are, matching thought and emotion with doing: creating beauty and finding meaning.
Within an architectural building are spaces divided, filled with objects layered with memories, some of utility and others of pure beauty. It is here in these cubed spaces we build our lives, defined by language and deepened by emotion. Our ways of living are intuitive, brought from the gut and our traditions of history. When we are mindful, we know what brings us joy and expand upon it, smoothing our passing forward. Life is difficult, our time here, finite, to create change and beauty as life allows builds lasting results for generations to come.
The influence of nature over all we create is profound, sometimes obvious, often subtle, floating up from our subconscious mind and deepest intuition. We create from which we are born, that which encompasses our DNA, filtering through our pores and escaping through our nightly dreams. All that we create is somewhat autobiographic, what we see and experience is a part of us, as we consume and then expel.
An object, whether a bowl or painting is not separate from the interior where it’s placed, nor separate from the language used to describe, and most certainly not from the person experiencing it. There is a thread that ties person, place and thing and even language, and that is emotion. We are emotional beings, which is why beauty has its place within our lives, instinctively we are drawn, pulled, deep from the gut.
Human kind and nature are both part of the same life affirming system, both inspire by way of beauty and awe, mystery and innate determination of will. We share the same space and oxygen, while communicating deeply with our own language, nurturing our ailing neighbor as we nurture our selves. To the winds of change and adversity we bend and sway, reaching for light, change within the patterns of seasons.
The world is a menagerie of experiences, full of beauty, wonder and even at times, overwhelm. One of these experiences, is color. Color can be experienced sparingly in a minimalist painting or a valley of poppies lavished in splendor. We are identified by the color of our hair, eyes and skin and enhance them by the colors in our clothes. Color can dominate our attention or soothe when we are in need, it can make us salivate or bring tears to our eyes.
We have the potential, each, to create the possibilities of change. From the darkness of yesterday comes the light of tomorrow if we so choose, if we keep moving, editing and asking questions. From the spiral down, comes the spiral up.
We learn a great deal from trees with their network of roots, limbs that stretch and sway to the changing winds. Majestic in their stance they are grounded in their being, ask of nothing and listen well. We are reliant upon their existence, share oxygen and our love towards the sun, moon and stars.
An object speaks for the inner self that cannot voice its identity and expresses where words cannot fully define. It is both the mirror and the reflection, physical manifestation of the ephemeral and the capricious: map and bread crumb. Beyond the object is the space that contains it, manifesting itself as story book, archive to the lives we lead.
In this era, one hopes for sanctuary, longs for refuge and even escape. It is possible in this time to create an oasis that buffers, as we build the changes that betters our future. To create a refuge is to build metaphorical muscle, mindful stamina, jututsu for the long journey forward.
Bringing nature in or closer is a increasingly strong movement that not only is bringing us closer to the natural world but to our natural selves and the tie between the two. In an era of lessons, one thing we are learning is our necessary connection to nature as sentient and sensory beings. This in theory is like going home again, back to where we’ve come from: looping back as we move forward.
Our lives are informed by our surroundings: architecture, spaces and the objects within them. These are the clues to who we are as they are the inspirations that move us forward. Architecture speaks to our physical form, our minds and emotions, as does the spaces we live in and the objects we collect. These are all tethered by the act of inspiration, by our need to express who we are and our hopes for the future.
Nature continues to be explored as subject matter within all the creative arenas. It fascinates us as its mysteries frighten us, we know ourselves and nature very little, both are clearly intertwined deepening this unknown and our drive to understand.
How we live today speaks volumes to how the future will look. The more we nurture ourselves and our environments both natural and built, the more fulfilled our lives and those of others to come, will be. This is our instinct of nature and nurture, of not only survival but empathy and the inspiration of beauty.
To burrow deep into one’s living space, finding comfort and ease from the day’s events is to seek nirvana, heaven on Earth and even bliss. It isn’t hard to understand why we seek out respite, life is difficult, we crave nourishment, joy and the inspiration of beauty.
We are makers and dreamers, creating cocoons and objects that reflect our inner mood and our warm bloodedness. We read and write books, nessel in chairs of comfort, pull up to tables of wood to eat our hearty nourishing meals.
A collection of exhibits in a public Design Pavilion at Astor Place
Our first round up of NYC Design Week shows for 2016, all in one place so you don’t miss the BIG events