practicing short hand

It would be a really valuable skill for me, so I thought I'd give it a try listening to a quick round of interviews asking the pertinent question: "What do you look for in a young designer to identify a great designer of tomorrow?"

Here are some of the answers, in broken English, translated back from my chicken scratch short hand.

"faith in your own talent, love for the product, and love for your customer."
"A great designer of tomorrow has to have a vision and brilliant ideas."
"A strong design radiates authenticity
"Strong design knowledge of the past, feel for today, and vision for the future."
"Bravery that comes from love of fashion. Love of fun helps as well."
"Successful designers of tomorrow offer personal vision of beauty __ and individuality___seduce with sustainable fabrics___alluring___and subtle__of cut and color- harmony of cut and color should be a concern of any young designer___sense of fabrics that is where is all begins."
"At a time when any blogger can comment on fashion, designers have to be stronger than ever to realize their vision. The danger of being overwhelmed by the moment can be devastating for creativity."
"Successful designers of tomorrow understand design is about solving problems, in sustainability and efficient way___creative in use of texture, color, creative ceo of one's own brand."
"Young designers ___belief in self and vision- strong - stubborn ___because of flood of stimulation, information and divergent demands pouring in from all sides will constantly tempt you to be all things to all people."
"Skill and craftsmanship are as important as assertiveness and vision to successful designers."

And from quite the other end of the art spectrum: this weekend in Belgium (Brussels and Antwerp) there was plenty of inspiration- mostly conceptual- enough to exhaust you- and continue to exhaust from the long trails of thought still meandering...

To the end that I don't know what to do with them- do they translate to fashion? In very conceptual ways definitely; but in a more understated voice it's a less obvious solution. So is it a fine art response? In some kind of photo project or series of paintings?

I think that part of the reason I was (am?) so exhausted is from all the notes I scribbled during my visits. Can I read the words now? Maybe enough to grasp the thought that would have been so fleeting if I had not documented it in the moment.* It makes me feel safer. Like I don't have to run home and produce an artwork of my reaction before I forget what I saw (I already can't remember what I saw in Brussels...24 hours ago..!) But I can put the notebook back in my purse, and then filed on my shelf when it's filled, and read through it in the future and be RE-inspired. Or maybe the mental filing is all I need- the critical information accessible to be triggered by some new visual/musical/tactile stimuli. Well who knows...For now, about some of the art:

That's right!! Jeff Wall! At the museum of contemporary art in Brussels, the Jeff Wall exhibit was a compilation of his work, mixed among the work of other artists (painters, filmmakers, sculptors, photographers) that influence(d) his photography. So much more insightful than a solo retrospective, in my opinion, these clues into the artist's process are really so crucial to the understanding of their work. A couple things I noted:

*I want to site an observation on the great effort it takes in moments of inspiration that are ruled by the right brain, the telescopic perspective side, make it hugely difficult to accomplish the simple task of picking up the pencil and jotting down the note. That left brain activity, the organizational microscopic perspective side, seems trivial in this moment of clarity. but how often do we forget those things we wanted to remember because we neglected to respond to that demand of the left brain. I'm looking for the exact passage from Colin Wilson's Starseekers where he puts it much more concisely and eloquently.

Fashion as Sculpture? The Body as a Blank Canvas?

One of the coolest things about creating garments, making it unique in design fields, is the fundamental necessity that it relate to the body underneath. No matter who the designer is, what their origins may be, or what material they are using, the starting point and most basic end goal remain the same. This provides a common point of reference that for most other design disciplines rests solely on purpose, but does not put constraints on the structural elements. (Think architects who make structures in which people will live or work, or designers who create vehicles with motors and wheels)
The body is often referred to as a blank canvas, and the dress as a sculpture. But both are inaccurate, or insufficient, as analogies. The first is two dimensional, and the second ignores the all important form around which the 'sculpture' must conform. It is more the body as a bare foundation, and the garment as a form of sculpture that is molded and modeled and draped and tailored in direct relation to this unchanging starting point (that has mass, two arms, two legs, and a head).
Materials are limitless, as long as they can be manipulated relative to the form of the body. Soft, Hard, Sheer, Opaque, Woven, Melded, Synthetic, Organic...

Image via sewreview.com

Sunday reflections

In case these notes aren't clear
some resources:
-book covers
-audio books
-translations
-proper nouns that become adjectives
-the act of taking notes
-diagrams and doodles to recall an idea or a concept
-Capsule Biographies (specifically by Borges who could apparently sum up the life of an author in two paragraphs more eloquently and efficiently that the average biographer with 200 pages of text)
some thoughts:
-what defines the literature of an era is how it is interpreted in that era- Kafka on the shelf and in your hands and in your mind in 2010 is literature in 2010. Kafka on the shelf and in your hands and in your mind in 1922 is literature in 1922.
is this even a point worth stating?
-Instead of music as background mood making noise, how about the spoken word? Phrases, poetry, a short story, a series of words independent in meaning but harmonious in their oratory effect.
-not being afraid to have someone read over your shoulder