Zelda Kaplan

The life of Zelda Kaplan, a New York artist, is an interesting one, detailed in the article I have linked to this post below (highlighted name "Zelda").

I have recently begun an amazing assignment, working as the "hands" of an extremely experienced French dressmaker/couturier, living in New York, who is just overflowing with creativity and ideas.  She is as talented as anyone can possibly be, and working with her is like being paid to take one of the best classes I have ever taken.  And what I am learning is not what one learns in design school... it is about the art of the craft, the philosophy of fashion, the amazing turn a dress can take when you turn a "V" shaped neckline into one that is squared off at the bottom.  The best part of all, is that I am in the right place in my life, professionally, and personally, to appreciate and absorb what she has to say.  While her clientele and friends are and have been names we all know, she is as personable, sweet, and grounded as any person can be.

Oh, Zelda.  I didn't know her personally, but this fashion-forward nonagenerian inspired so many, and will truly be missed.

The things we make have one supreme quality; they live longer than us. We perish, they survive. We have one life, they have many lives. And in each life, they can mean different things - which means that while we all have one biography, they have many.

-Niel MacGregor, Director of the British Museum

I take fabric, cut it, shape it to fit an individual human being, sew it, tweak it, finish it, and send it on its way. I gave birth to it, and then it travels on to be with its owner.  I love being involved in the process.  The above quote sums it all up so well.  Some people make things because we simply must.  I can't control this desire to create.  I have long quiet periods of deep thought, but they are vital to the process.  I must have spent a full hour in silence this morning, imagining twists and folds and calculations... Let's see what today's work yields...