Dear Friends and Collectors,
Shortly after I moved to Brooklyn six months ago, I learned a new word: Kenosis, which refers to the state of being completely emptied, absent of ego, preconceived notions, past experiences, etc. In literature, it's that moment where you are so immersed in the writer's storytelling that you're no longer yourself, you've become the story. Everything you felt once defined you is now gone and you've become an empty vessel, ready to be filled by whatever is presented to you.
I learned the word just days after arriving in New York. It came up on my YouTube feed when I was sitting on the floor of my completely empty apartment, in which I would go weeks living like a monk with zero possessions. Surely I was in Kenosis back then.
But three weeks later, my life in California arrived in two storage cubes, demanding to reunite with me via dozens of cardboard wine boxes, stacked floor to ceiling in my tiny NY apartment. Then came my realization that someone who just paid thousands of dollars to ship two cheese graters across the country, is not someone who has reached the state of Kenosis.
Now, six months later, I've dealt with the weight/defining power of my material possessions, but NY herself has stripped me down in a way that decluttering can't. I've seen her edges and I've felt my own develop.
NY requires you to get over yourself. And through that process, I'm starting to understand what actual Kensosis feels like. Back in California, my days were filled with the responsibilities of my storefront, being with my beloved dog Shep, surfing, collaborating creatively with my friends, and making slow moves in creating a more elaborate, online world for the Maven brand.
When I made the decision to close my brick and mortar and follow my intuition to Brooklyn, I thought making the leap to a fully online presence would be simple. I love multimedia, I love to build worlds, I have so many ideas for visuals and aesthetics... surely this switch would be a no-brainer. But in these first few months, I've realized that in order to build an online world around my art, I, as the artist/designer, have to be seen. And when I feel completely absent of everything that once defined my career, my identity, my day-to-day life, who/what is there to even see?
I'm a shapeless blob. I'm an empty glass. Bruce Lee would call me water. In Tarot, I'm the Fool, blissfully taking my first step off a cliff with full faith in... myself, maybe? But who am I again?
After more than 10 years of life and two pivotal moves forth and back across the country, Maven has transformed several times. But this is the first time I've felt her have an entirely stripped down, blank slate.
Kenosis. It's not lonely or sad, it just is. And actually, I'm loving it because it feels like something large is just around the corner. As if all I am is potential - kinetic energy - and nothing else.
All of that brings me to this Friday's collection drop.
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