Charcoal and Celestial Bodies the muse for capsule apparel collection by the Artemisian

 Under the heavy weight of the pad of my forefinger the twig charcoal crushes into dust and is pushed across the page. Powdery black holes and linear elements opposing each other. It was always this texture that drew me back to drawing, between inking copper etching plates and raising ground to create resists. From the acid baths waiting I would turn back again to the charcoal drawings, my hands sooty and above my eyebrows from the occasional sweeping of hair away from my face I sit for hours hunched over a rudimentary workhorse supported old door as a table, coffee at my side in a pair of worn and ripped jeans that call to mind a blackened Cajun barbecue for how often my hands found there way to rubbing off the excess black down the side of my thigh.
 Art has always been about process to me, the journey. I heavily criticize my final product always but by the time its done my engagement with the piece is over, my love and hate and passion is poured completely into the process of the making, in this way I can float between mediums with equal attention.
 Color has never interested me as much as the depths of black it does therefore seem fitting that our musings with a limited edition clothing collection should be in tones of black. Inky midnight blue black to deep charcoal and an almost chalkboard smoky black, the palette, one matte one sumptiously soft, the other with a razor sharp sheen due to the fine woven of the wool. Texture is what differentiates blacks, This capsule collection is a limited series as have always been my accessories, prints and drawings. These pieces are not for mass consumption but are to be savored, cherished and handed down. As such the fabric and production are numbered and tagged this way 1of 50, 2 of 50 and so forth and so on.
  I met an Indian woman guided to me by a dear friend who had a culturally specific skill of silk knotting embroidery. She brought into my studio one day a gilted fabric woven threads of gold and embroidered silk knots. Her skill was filed away, until just now as I sit hunched over once again dreaming and drawing of inky suits, frayed threads, asymmetrical lines and french blue embroidered silk knots.

Eastern contrast

It was a rainy day, not much unlike what they had left in the States not more than 21 hours ago, temperate and misting.
The cityscape truly was a sight beholden to the most futuristic of movies, as seen in Bladerunner, Lost in Translation and the like, feats of architecture so dynamic and with such attention to detail spawned across the entire city, in each ward down every narrow and wide street alike. Tadao Ando, just one name that stuck, memory isn't what it used to be, seemed his name kept coming up, I don't claim to know my architects one from the other, but I was truly intrigued by the technical bravura of most of the buildings we came across and so it was this, just one of the visual memories that stays with me of Tokyo.

We spent days between business meetings, exercising our new cultural behaviours, ceremony and ritual playing such integral parts of daily life in the Japanese culture. Honor and respect, pride and work ethic, humility, consensus, collective consciousness, exemplify the discoveries we repeatedly came into contact with that shook our contrasting individualistic existence in the west. These things were truly beautiful to experience. We have somehow made everything so complicated in the west, no single set of rules to follow that take the guess work out of so many small things, each thing minuscule or otherwise in the west gives chance to express individually. It is not to say that this is a negative quality but instead simply fascinating to observe other. It was rewarding to know, to have been given important tips on customs and enact what was learned, much appreciation was shown toward our attempts.

As we thread through this surreal cityscape encountering new things, making comparisons, being surprised by the unexpected we had an air of humor, we did not scoff at what we did not understand  it simply opened our eyes to the different ways things are done, whilst laughing at ourselves unable to find the rhythm of the city. This is truly the city that never sleeps, never slows down, never sits, until the subway, where it is my personal opinion that because one is so inundated with techno sensory stimulation and color and print and masses of moving people, it is here and only here that one can truly relax and recharge. If I had a dime for the number of people with their eyes closed, on each subway I'd have come home for sure with a Yohji Yamamoto piece on my back! 

On the topic of what made us laugh, really if you have never tried the truly intuitive Toto brand of toilets and sinks, you haven't lived. 

A toilet that creates white noise, is heated for your sitting comfort, washes and dries all your necessary parts and flushes automatically. If you're not laughing by the time you've left the bathroom stall, need only wash your hands in one of their sinks, pictured above is the effect the hand dryer has when placed within the sink bowl! 

Finally it wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention food, although I have no doubt that the cuisine of Japan is amazing we had an easier time, and here the surprise, finding fine French and Italian establishments! Having heard this, a new friend and frequent traveller to Tokyo promptly brought us to a traditional Okinawa style restaurant and there redeemed my  hope of finding exquisitely prepared and delicate Japanese cuisine, not to mention the Hubushu!!

We've come back, informed, happy and with a bigger sense of the whole having more importance than the one. 

takoyaki making, street food octpus filled dough balls

Daibatsu- giant Buddha in Kamakura

Denise doing her thing, at the Fred Segal opening

Bamboo forest Buddhist temple

Spring and Talismans

It begins each year at this time.. the thaw of the forest floor, the concrete in the city, our shoulders melt down from up around our ears and the warmth of the sun inviting as it is, reveals a new spring.
We have been working in our studio, The Artemisian has moved and our space is luminous and cozy, a combination of old and new true to who we are. The collection has grown now to include not only original antique pieces but  altered antiques and small scale sculptures all made in our studio nestled behind our restaurant.
It has been an enlightening year for us as the locations we can be found in expand the entirety of the globe, each day we wake with gratitude.
Our mission to utilize existing pieces remains strong and the addition of small scale sculptures has brought our designer's fine art background into the forefront. This year has seen us showing in New York, Paris and Tokyo as well as our designer's dive back into showing installation and performance pieces together with Inliquid an artist collaborative out of Philadelphia.
This spring collection was inspired by the use of talismans across various cultures. The talisman is an inanimate object given energy, our energy to manifest a desired outcome or object into being. The idea of this, an object being given our energy is such a beautiful thought, that one's focus and intention can be given physical form. Our designer's long time yogic path has also influenced the shoot for this collection integrating the use of yoga and talisman together.

Each piece of the collection has been contemplated and engraved with a singular word to hold as a positive intention, words such as: 

BREATH

CLARITY

ECSTASY

TRUE NORTH

DIRECTION

 SOAR

DREAM 

Soar- Sterling silver antique airforce wings, sterling bezel set green amethyst, antique gold filled locket engraved "soar" Sterling silver new locket also available.

Wonder Woman- hand forged brass cuffs one size squeeze to fit

Beauty

Capsule- a hand forged match case with strike anywhere matches inside and a strike plate, engraved breath, ecstasy or stillness inside, sterling silver outside, rose gold interior. Special Order only.