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There is no lack of apathy when it comes to creating. Creating from nothing, creating from found objects, creating in randomness and creating from bought items with purposeful outcomes. There is a whole host of ways to go. I tend to create through randomness until I find what it is that strikes me and then voila it is purposeful. But to get to that point you have to be able to let go. This is not an easy feat.

    

Letting go means to be blank, void of typical preconceived notions. For instance coloring within the lines. You are to color inside the thick black preprinted image. If you go out, there is some sort of ramification. Not much when you are 5 but definitely when you are 15. But what is it to just close you eyes and imagine the preprinted image and just color away. Outside, inside, over, under, it really doesn't matter. This is the forced box that has been programmed into us and we look to break free.

Likewise in creating a feel, a look, a concept, it is our bindings that we need to walk away from. Traditional versus modern. Conventional vsersus eclectic. I think most of us fit in between but struggle there. Creating and feeling wholely secure is the goal, but what can be done to take it from the norm to fabulous?

I find just throwing away thinking, just put it out of your mind, you are safe, you don't need to be coddled or stroked. Embrace the nothingness. Listen to your environment, let the sun embrace you. Not in a new agey way but just to feel. No Telly, no phone, no nothing but you. If you have to go to another room, travel trailer, shed, whatever. Sometimes even your car works. I do a vaiety, it is funniest if no one knows where you are quite.

So what is your process, do you figure things out on a pad, do you create a sample or do you begin the final project? Sometimes I don't even know where to begin. Sometimes I have a single object that is to trigger me. A plank, a metal door remnant, a random textile. The goal is to make sure that that object is not one where your focus is its original function or state.

The process is the key. I revel in the process.
                                   

This brings me to Emery Blogdon: His process took him to his shed. It was a need to work with his hands and filling a selfless void. He was a giver. He went from the ordinary to the extraordinary without any pretentions. It is organic even though it didn't have the visual fluidity, it has the movement. He found that space in a shed.

 

What attracts me to this was the honest letting go to bringing elements alive to do good or to feel. The movement of acquisition to incorporation is breathtaking. I happened on an article a few years back and was drawn to Blagdons work. It was deep. He was an independent rhythm finding that voice.

              

Does his intense installation work? Not by conventional standards. But it does. It does in the sense it brings you to a cognizant space within its presence. It draws an emotion, an experience, a finding of sorts. His body of work continues to travel and heal the senses bringing the process and its product to an innocence in a complicated, stressed and confusing world.

With installations that are multisensnory, as this is, it allows you to stop....breath....and reconfigure.

  

Real vs Fake

So it is really hard to focus on the business of antiques and collectibles when everything around you is going to pot. I am fortunate to live in California which comes with its own set of issues but at least I have the right to choose the way I live. By that I mean at least if I choose to not be a rascist I can without any pressure. But I do have friends who live in less diverse places. I digress.

So this month there is an article in DWELL about buying real vs fake furniture. I think it isn't that cut and dry. For myself, I deal in the trade of vintage and antiques. I do like to have original pieces by fabulous designers and craftsmen/women. But I am also ok with some reproduction or inspired by. One reason may be affordability but the other availability. For instance, I want a certain look in the kitchen for lighting. What I wanted and what was available was two different things. So I went to Ikea and purchased the lighting that has the similar look. Until I run across the lighting I actually need desire I feel it works in between. In the case of IKEA, they do have designers and for lighting I know that it is new and to code. But then again I work in the world of antique and collectibles. The ultimate recycling experience.

Dwell talks about the quality of workmanship and materials. Quality of items is a concern, I have no illusions about that and take that in to consideration when purchasing. They mention the pair of quality jeans. Jeans even iconic jeans such as Levis are not made I the country of origin thus in light of cheaper labor they have opted for cheaper materials. So a pair of jeans that run $55 to $65 are a bad example of. These were once considered a quality item is now resigned to questionable status.

On the other hand, for those who want an item of iconic decor such as the Eames lounger, but affordability is questionabe, sometimes reproductions can allow someone with taste but not the pocketbook a chance. Then when someone can indeed purchase one, they do so. It is not a cut and dry question. So much of design is out of reach for the average individual but we should never deny someone a chance for good design esthetic.
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Russel Wright early 30th century designer, believed, “good design is for everyone,” Wright, along with his fellow industrial designers, sought to democratize design by creating inexpensive, mass-produced objects for the American home.