a new direction

well maybe not so much new, just more aligned

a new beginning, seen clearly.

i’ve always known that I see the world differently and to be honest up until recently, i’ve mostly seen that as a weakness. i’m someone who for most of my life has had a pretty solid sense of self and intuitive vision (ironically, my actual vision is terrible). but of course i am human and like everyone else, i’ve had my slip ups here and there. however for the most part, i’ve always had a knowing of who i am and what i’ve wanted in life *queue the “Maddie knew who she was from a very early age” Euphoria TikTok sound*. and while that may sound like a blessing on paper, it has often felt like a curse in real life simply because i’m not someone who is willing to conform and contort myself to fit into perfectly packaged, palatable boxes built by society or corporate america or any other weird institution. i’ve lost out on numerous jobs, promotions, and opportunities because i think outside of the box too much. (although i have now come to realize that these “losses” have kind of been a blessing in disguise)

i remember a colleague advising me that the best way to achieve freedom as a creative is to do what everyone else is doing, get noticed, and then be given the freedom to create whatever you want as if freedom would be handed to me on some sort of a silver platter served with validation, a side financial stability, and topped with social recognition. my spidey senses were immediately triggered because why would i do what everyone else has already done? exactly who is supposed to give me validation? have we regressed that much as a society into a hive mind where everything must look, if not the same, at least similar in order for it to be deemed “good” (have we even progressed at all???)? perhaps its my free spirited, rebellious sagittarius sun + venus placements making themselves known here but that logic and mindset has never sat right with me. and as a matter of fact, i HAVE tried to go down that road that is traveled by everyone else (my stint as an Instagram style influencer) and you know what happened, i was the one chasing validation, i was the one wanting the social recognition for my creative work, and lets not even bring in the financial stability aspect because that was non existent (net 90 needs to be illegal btw).

so what is a creative to do with this double edged sword–you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. if you do take the time to build a name for yourself, well thats the thing, it takes time. and if you don’t, chasing creative validation or freedom, at least from my experience, often feels like running on a treadmill with a carrot dangling in front of you that is always ever so slightly out of reach. and truthfully, either path is valid and is ultimately the choice of the creative. i think what matters most lies in the intention and the purpose of the creative work that is being put out into the world.

which brings us here and why i’ve decided to change up this space a bit. my intention with this space is to share how i see and feel my way through the world through my eye– creative & metaphysical, and to build an evolving archive, or portal if you will, of art, images, quotes, anything that moves me into one curated space. i came to the realization that what i was trying to build on Instagram was in dire need of a change in platform that provided the proper structure to take on a life/identity of its own (which has also been a lesson in learning to walk away from where your energy is not valued).

and so why the title of a curator if i’m an art director and stylist? well lets look at the definition of a curator:

the word curator has been thrown around and watered down tremendously with the rise of social media. and while i can see why this can be upsetting, especially from an academic point of view, i do think that social platforms have democratized the concept of a curator and opened opportunities to those who have the gift and talent of “organizing and arranging a showing of art or other objects of interest” without needing a degree to validate said talent. In the Artsy article Everyone Is a Curator. That’s Not (Always) a Bad Thing, Osman Can Yerebaken was quoted saying “it’s not law, it’s not science, it’s not medicine, [curating] is about having ‘a certain way of being able to see things that’s different, or being able to see connections’ between artworks.” the way i look at art, and more specifically fashion and style, is more than just seeing the surface level work, i want to feel the intention and emotion of the artist (or designer), the backstory, the fabric choice, the silhouette, the color palette, all of it. because while curation has been democratized and become available to more people, i think the respect for the art itself has been diluted and the intention has become an act of “arranging a showing of art” for ego fueled vanity metrics and popularity points on social media. the artistry of fashion and style these days feels like a shell of what it used to be–depth, emotions, and storytelling all eradicated and instead replaced with shallow Shein hauls that have sped up the trend cycles so much that it feels like the wheels are about to pop off any second now.

so what exactly can you expect to see here?

the intention of Through the Curator’s Eye is to be more than just a newsletter. i plan for this space to be a visual portal into my perspective of the world, more specifically fashion, art, and style, as well as an archive of artworks that i resonate with that don’t have to be curated into a 3x3 feed and strategically posted to fit with the other squares (or rectangles for those who have it. also the irony of curating while not wanting to overly curate–balance i suppose). you can expect to see anything from deep dives into fashion campaigns, to the things about personal style no one talks about, to why self expression is spiritual, to explaining how human design has helped develop my style. basically anything woo woo and art/fashion/style related is fair game.

whether you’re here for inspiration, connection, or simply to see through another lens, thank you for being here. <3

i can’t wait to see how this space grows and becomes a world of its own!

***side note: future articles will be available to free subscribers for the next 30 days. after that all articles will only be accessible with a paid subscription***