Hu - More!

Because humor is such an essential life ingredient! I really love what John Cleese had to say during a talk on Creativity, in which he points out that humor is one of the main ingredients in the creative process:

"And now, the last factor, the fifth: humor.
Well, I happen to think the main evolutionary significance of humor is that it gets us from the closed mode to the open mode quicker than anything else.
I think we all know that laughter brings relaxation, and that humor makes us playful, yet how many times important discussions been held where really original and creative ideas were desperately needed to solve important problems, but where humor was taboo because the subject being discussed was {air quotes} "so serious"?
This attitude seems to me to stem from a very basic misunderstanding of the difference between 'serious' and 'solemn'.
Now I suggest to you that a group of us could be sitting around after dinner, discussing matters that were extremely serious like the education of our children, or our marriages, or the meaning of life (and I'm not talking about the film), and we could be laughing, and that would not make what we were discussing one bit less serious.
Solemnity, on the other hand… I don't know what it's for. I mean, what is the point of it? The two most beautiful memorial services that I've ever attended both had a lot of humor, and it somehow freed us all, and made the services inspiring and cathartic.
But solemnity? It serves pomposity, and the self-important always know with some level of their consciousness that their egotism is going to be punctured by humor -- that's why they see it as a threat. And so {they} dishonestly pretend that their deficiency makes their views more substantial, when it only makes them feel bigger.
{John blows "raspberries" with his tongue.}
No, humor is an essential part of spontaneity, an essential part of playfulness, an essential part of the creativity that we need to solve problems, no matter how 'serious' they may be.
So when you set up a space/time oasis, giggle all you want. (25:39)
And there, ladies and gentlemen, are the five factors which you can arrange to make your lives more creative:
Space, time, time, confidence, and Lord Jeffrey Archer."

© 2014 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou

Prayer

There is an incredibly beautiful prayer, that Robert Holden shares in his fabulous book 'Loveability', I often come back to during times of self doubt and confusion. It is a prayer by a Benedictine nun named Macrina Wiederkehr:

'O God, help me to believe the truth about myself
no matter how beautiful it is! Amen'

This is an illustration inspired by it.

'Life Drawing' Poem

In 2003, while at art college, during life drawing classes, I would sometimes look at the model and the set up and write a poem instead of draw. For some reason this 'life drawing' poem I wrote that year drew my attention this morning...

'Don't die with your music still in you' !

'Don't die with your music still in you' - I love this quote by Dr Wayne Dyer and was inspired to make an illustration expressing it. It means that you don't allow yourself to live any life other than the one you were born to live! May we all remember , remember, remember this... :-)

'Don't die with your music still in you' © 2014 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou

Summer Solstice 2014!

It was Summer Solstice a couple of days ago and I made a collage to celebrate the light! Summer Solstice is the mark of the first day of summer. On the day of the Summer Solstice the Sun appears to stand still in the sky. The Sun graced us with his presence and warmth for an extraordinary length of time on this day and it's the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. At the Summer Solstice, we're reminded of the light in our lives, that Mother Earth sustains. The Sun's rays allow Mother Earth to continue to do so. Everyone feels noticeably more vibrant in the summer months thanks to the extra rays of Sun beaming on us. Life is "in our face" at the Summer Solstice. Enjoy with gratitude!

'Summer Solstice' © 2014 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou

June Friday the 13th Sagittarius Full Moon!

It was a gorgeous Full Moon in Sagittarius last night, Friday the 13th... and my birthday! You can read Rebekah Shaman's lovely Lunascope for this Full Moon here.

'Sagittarius Full Moon' © 2014 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou

Osho quote: 'Take life easily...'

I love this Osho quote... 'Take life easily, lovingly, playfully, non seriously. Seriousness is a disease, the greatest disease of the soul, and playfulness the greatest health' - Osho

'Take life easily, lovingly, playfully, non seriously' © 2014 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou

Flower Power - Inspired by Seth Newman

Recently I was inspired to make a collage capturing how I feel sometimes after a Bioenergetics session with a bit of dancing on top :-) For a few months now I have been attending classes by a great teacher, Seth Newman, during which we do a series of Bioenergetics exercises designed to gently release trauma stored in the body. I have come to strongly believe, especially recently, that the way to 'freedom' is through our bodies and I love such methods which alchemically help one to grow via movement rather than thought :-) To find out more about dates and locations of upcoming classes you can join URUBU (You Are You Be You) - an umbrella under which Seth organises a variety of fabulously life enhancing events, including dances and sound healing meditations - on Meet Up here and 'Like' Urubu's Facebook Page. Follow @U_R_U_B_U on Twitter.

'Flower Power' © 2014 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou

Scorpio Full Moon 2014 - Inspired by Rebekah Shaman

Recently I have been following Rebekah Shaman's beautifully written and insightful Lunascopes. During the previous Full Moon in Scorpio (we are now under the influence of a Gemini Moon!) I was inspired to do this illustration :-) Rebekah says: 'This Scorpio full moon is the most passionate, sensual and illuminating moon of the year. It is under this moon that Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and death are celebrated. Take some time out over this moon to be with yourself to strengthen your commitment to your path.' You can read her full Scorpio New Moon Lunascope here. You can also read her current Gemini New Moon Lunascope here.

'Full Moon in Scorpio' © 2014 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou

London Fashion Week A/W 2014 Fashion Illustrations for Amelia's Magazine

True, this is being posted quite a bit after the event... but here I wanted to share a group of fashion illustrations I did for Amelia's Magazine during London Fashion Week A/W 2014.

© 2014 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou - read Amelia Gregory's Hiroko Nakajima A/W 2014 review here.

© 2014 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou - read Amelia Gregory's Min Wu A/W 2014 review here.

© 2014 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou - read Amelia Gregory's George Styler A/W 2014 review here.

© 2014 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou - read Amelia Gregory's Xiao Li A/W 2014 review here.

© 2014 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou - read Amelia Gregory's Yifang Wan A/W 2014 review here.

Fashion Illustration for Simon Ekrelius A/W 2014 interview in Amelia's Magazine

I really love the Simon Ekrelius A/W 2014 Collection, titled Monochrome and inspired by iconic model Lee Miller! This is a fashion illustration I did for the Simon Ekrelius A/W 2014 interview in Amelia's Magazine.

© 2014 Simon Ekrelius A/W 2014 by Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou

Roxanne Farahmand - Fashion East Menswear Installations: London Collections: Men A/W 2014

A fashion illustration for Fashion East Menswear Installations: London Collections: Men A/W 2014 Presentation Review in Amelia's Magazine, written by Matt Bramford.

© 2014 Roxanne Farahmand A/W 2014 by Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs

Plastic Seconds 'Shamaness' shoot illustrated for Cent Magazine

I was asked by Cent Magazine to create illustrations for the 'Shamaness' shoot I styled recently with a LOT of my Plastic Seconds jewellery - the result followed the magazine's JUXTAPOSED theme for November and you can see it published here!

'Shamaness'
Illustrated by Slowly The Eggs
Photography: Nyla Sammons Photography
Styling/Set Design/Props: Maria Papadimitriou
Jewellery: Plastic Seconds
Make Up: Babs Forman Hair & Make-Up Artist
Model: Hannah Pressman

Hannah Georgas 'Elephant' Illustration for Amelia's Magazine

'Elephant' - © 2013 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou, all rights reserved

Recently I produced this illustration for an interview with Hannah Georgas about her self-titled album in Amelia's Magazine. I was very glad to discover Canadian singer, songwriter Hannah Georgas, whom I had not heard of before, through Amelia's Magazine! One of my favorite songs on her self titled album recently released is the song 'Elephant' and the image below is inspired by it. The lyrics are beautiful and they go like this:
You are off kilter with me. Don't you know it's every other day of the week? Your win my feat.
These days I'm running to escape. Drenching my brain, soak in my mistakes. My mistakes.
Is there any love left for me? Is there any love left for me?
That dark sky yeah it's so big. Isn't anybody wondering? Isn't anybody questioning what this all is? As I age it sinks deeper in. This life is temporary, it's all gonna end. This is all gonna end.
It's just a little love that I need. It's just a little love that I need.
There's an elephant in this room and I'm white as a ghost.
Show me the road.
All these moments become memories. I don't wanna wake up one day thinking what did I miss. I fear my own fate. I don't wanna wake up one day thinking where the hell have I been.

New Slowly The Eggs Illustration Portofolio Website Now Online!

*** www.slowlytheeggs.com ***

'Legg it!' - copyright 2011 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou, all rights reserved

London Fashion Week Fashion S/S 2014 Fashion Illustration for Amelia's Magazine

This season during London Fashion Week it was great to have the opportunity to contribute again to Amelia's Magazine by writing a number of reviews of catwalk shows and providing fashion illustrations for some of them. In my illustrating work I often find it rather tricky to stick to one particular style, as I can be in so many different moods when I seat down in front of paper, I have so many varied inspirations and I am not only one particular person.... But with fashion illustration, perhaps, this is somewhat of a strength as I do think each designer and collection have their own tone and feel which is interesting to try and convey via sometimes completely contrasting image making techniques.

Little Shilpa S/S 2014 - © 2013 Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs - read my Little Shilpa S/S 2014 presentation review in Amelia's Magazine here.

Helen Lawrence S/S 2014 - © 2013 Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs - read Amelia's Helen Lawrence S/S 2014 catwalk review here.

Yeashin S/S 2014 - © 2013 Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs - read Amelia's Yeashin S/S 2014 catwalk review here.

Charlie May S/S 2014 - © Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs - read Amelia's Charlie May S/S 2014 preview interview here.

'Tigress' illustration for Ada Zanditon S/S 2013 and Panthera

'Tigress' ©2012 Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou for Ada Zanditon and Panthera

The Tiger is the world’s largest cat, but it’s threatened with extinction. One hundred years ago, as many as 100,000 wild tigers roamed the forests and grasslands of Asia. Today, fewer than 3,200 tigers remain in the wild in 13 countries (source: Panthera.org). Inspired by the boundless majesty of the Tiger, designer Ada Zanditon created for S/S 2013 a sensual collection of elegant sculptural ready to wear entitled 'Tigress Reign', and commissioned a number of illustrators to create images to accompany her collection and support Panthera's campaign. Here is the image I created inspired by one of the primary threats facing tigers, namely that wild tigers are being directly hunted to meet the demands of the illegal wildlife trade market. Tiger parts are consumed for traditional medicinal purposes across Asia, with a heavy demand in China. The international illegal trade in wildlife products is a booming business, and is estimated to yield more than $6 billion a year.

Inspiration: Bobby Baker Diary Drawings

I first became aware of Bobby Baker a couple of years ago and loved watching videos of her performances and looking at her drawings. Towards the end of this summer during the Unlimited Festival at the Southbank Centre some of her original diary drawings from her book 'Diary Drawings: Mental Illness and Me' - in which she documents through drawing various stages in her journey to recovery - were on show in the Royal Festival Hall. I find them really inspiring and imaginative so I wanted to share some here.

Secret Garden Party illustrations for Amelia's Magazine

Plastic Seconds - me jewellery brand - and me went to The Secret Garden Party in July! Upon my return I wrote a review of The Secret Emporium at The Secret Garden Party in Amelia's Magazine and below are some illustrations I did for it :-)

'The Secret Emporium at The Secret Garden Party 2012', copyright 2012 Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs

'Tell Tails at the Secret Emporium 2012' copyright 2012 Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs

The Future We Choose Book Launch

This is another post I have been meaning to publish for some time. Back in January 2012 I blogged about Think Act Vote's Future's Project. Earlier this summer, 'The Future We Choose', a book result of this project by Think Act Vote was published and a book launch event took place at The Arch Gallery in east London. Below are some images of my contributions in the book, both in terms of words and images and some pics from the launch event. If you would like to read a more detailed account of the event and the book's background then head over to Amelia's Magazine and have a look at my review of the event there. You can buy the book here.

One of my illustrations in the book

I found Michael Norton really inspiring - do check out one of his books 365 Ways to Change The World