Day and night, the view from my home studio where I am working, reflecting and feeling inspired as we try to look forward. I can’t help but be reminded of one powerful inspiration for me, which was Scottish poet, writer, artist, gardener and dear friend, Ian Hamilton Finlay. One of his great poems lines my terrace and comes to life as the sun rises and sets.
As I continue to work at home Ian Hamilton Finlay’s “First Suprematist Standing Poem” from 1965, on my railing, brings me hope every day and night. It’s interesting what a question mark, introducing an element of doubt, can bring to two words in exchange to what the exclamation mark can evoke. I ponder the back and forth of it. We are in a moment of question, but as I reflect on this poem and what it means to me I have hope that with a change of approach, we can move from this doubt and into a positive future. I hope sharing this poem inspires also you.
In 2003, I visited Little Sparta, a garden near Edinburgh, Scotland, created by one of the most important artists of concrete poetry, Ian Hamilton Finlay and continues with the support of Pia Simig. This wonderful Eden was full of inspiration and I took photos of the ponds and flowers that, after a two year process, I successfully printed digitally onto silks and paillettes for my Spring/Summer 2009 collection. I’ll never forget that feeling in my studio seeing the first dress. It was a completely new dimension of print. So strong, so different and so sensual. Digital prints, from this early moment on, was on my creative agenda. Ian, who passed in 2006, was a dear friend and this collection was my personal remembrance of him.
