Keeping Calmo
Lockdown is truly beginning to take its toll on me. I feel that I’m right on the cusp of losing my mind. I need Prince B to go back to work as much as he’s desperate to go back. I need to get back to ballet class which is the thing that keeps me sane and allows me to let go of the pressure or stresses I feel day to day. I need to just get out the house and look in a shop if I need a break. I just can’t bear this situation much longer.
I’m struggling now to even muster the excitement to wear outfits and feel good about myself in them. and if I have sit on the sofa for one more minute and try find another film to watch I’m going to kill myself! I just need lockdown to end.
Blogging and finding things to write about is becoming harder and harder too. Being positive about anything is becoming harder and harder. But blog I must.
One productive thing did happen last week, or maybe it was a few weeks ago, I really can’t tell anymore. I finally, after having it for about a year, tackled painting on a really large canvas I had sitting. When you haven’t got a studio, it’s challenging working on a large canvas as ideally you’d just lean it against the wall and getting the wall covered in paint isn’t an issue, but when you’re painting in your living room that can’t be done. So I have to work on the floor on a large dust sheet with the canvas flat. Painting flat isn’t great as the perspective is warped, so what seems like a straight line actually isn’t, so it comes with lots of challenges. However, long story short, I managed it, and the painting, though just black, ended up being something I’m really happy with. I haven’t felt compelled to paint since lockdown happened so I was so pleased to produce something.
I discovered a label called Calmo, and felt the name and the overall painterly aspect of her work seemed appropriate.
Born in Uruguay, Alice Otegui, the designer behind Calmo, graduated in Fashion and Textile Design from ORT University in 2014 and also did an exchange at Parsons School of Design in New York, where she was “exposed to the full scope of sustainability in the fashion field and took an interest in the pivotal role of designers in the future of fashion”.
Alice was brought up between the city and the countryside in Tacuarembó and spent her childhood amongst her mother’s oil paintings which is evident throughout her beautiful work.
She launched her label in 2017 and explains is as being “deeply rooted in nature”.
A collaborative process between herself and local artisans allows the exploration of natural processes and manual techniques, and in turn “shines a light on forgotten skills”. Through her work she seeks to elevate local craftsmanship, igniting innovation in a production process based on sheer experimentation.
