COVID 19 has forced us into isolation and has stopped programs, events and businesses from operating as they did in the past. Marilyn R. Wilson has published a series: Entrepreneurs and COVID-19 and I thank her for the idea to share what Designers and Artists I know, are affected by it. I know that Fashion Programs are going ahead virtually, but how do students maintain their inspiration and keep their work in the public eye? How can they share their talents and continue to contribute to community, when they may have lost sources of financial support?

I have long been fascinated with the art of illustration and because I think Fashion Events gain so much from coverage, including illustrations and the presence of Artists at work, close to the runway, I want you to meet Trip Taylor, a multitalented Fashion Program student at VCAD. Trip volunteered to attend VFW to support a fellow VCAD Designer, @Gundula Hirn, as well as to enrich the blog by sharing his illustrations and his first time at VFW. Thank you, Trip, for your reflections and strategies for moving on. Ever onward!

Trip shared his expertise again, VIFF, Vancouver International Fashion Festival, Vancouver, here. When students attend events like this, they not only represent the high calibre of instruction, but also bring their perspectives to the Fashion Community. Voluntarily making this huge contribution when events are on is one thing but how about now? I asked Trip five questions: 1) Please tell us about your work, length of time, audience, main goal, 2) How did you work with people before COVID 19? 3) How has social isolation affected your work and yourself? 4) What are some new strategies to reach your audience during this time? 5) Do you have a motto, mantra, mentor, role model that leads you on?

1) I’ve been drawing and making art as long as I can remember. It’s always been my passion. Growing up on the Gulf Islands, beautiful nature was always a influence on my work. During my high school years is when this hobby matured, as I qualified for the intensely competitive Advanced Placement Program and began getting commissions. I began being selected for and participating in exhibits on the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island. 

My work began quite simply with many Anatomy/Botanical studies. Once I picked up a brush, I began to explore styles and new subjects. I was (and still am) heavily influenced by the iconic surrealist painters. (Salvador Dali is my favorite). You may even find some subtle Dalí references in some of  my pieces. Now moving in to the Fashion World, I hope to inspire more and more people to think outside the box. Don’t shy away from the unusual or uncomfortable. Art, in all its forms, is a beautiful opportunity to expand our minds so profoundly. 

2) Before this pandemic, I mostly worked solo and sales and work were usually provided via word of mouth. Not much has changed in that regard, though I’ll admit...school keeps me very busy!

3) I think this isolation has most definitely influenced my work. The drastic changes in the world are both exhilarating and at times frightening and that most certainly effects the content being produced for most artists. Sometimes it can be rather hard to focus. So much time to think and so little stimulus can make the brain run rampant. I’ve been doing my best to just keep pumping out every idea I have in some manner and going back to reflect upon them later. 

4) Like most people during this time, I’ve been trying to utilize social media to show/promote my work. Thankfully I’m always producing something through school, so I haven’t lost my mind yet. I am keeping up my connections with fellow Designers and keeping future events like @VFW and @VancouverInternationalFashion Festival, in mind. 

5) A few of my artist role models include Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo and Ansel Adams. All fantastic people with wonderful stories where I find inspiration . 

I often reflect on a beautiful passage written by Walt Whitman that goes as follows: 

 “This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.”

I was the winner of this years Telio scholarship at my school (VCAD). Also to be noted I was the very first first term student to win. Selected as the upcoming artist at the age of 16 to participate at the “art and music in the gardens” in Saanich, which showcased more than 100 different artists. My drawing was selected to be the logo for the BCATA for a year and was printed on various merchandise (...2008, I think). I was the winner of the Fine Arts award on my graduating year (2010) from GISS (Gulf islands Senior Secondary) Recognition by School and Community leads me forward and inspires me further to share my journey.

I have a personal Instagram in which I post most of my artworks, but will be expanding to more platforms with professional accounts very soon.