Hi, all. First-person Pete VR, here, to elaborate on how Existential Garnish is born.
Everything I create is based on concepts from one source: my brain.
Originality is my one-word mantra and creed.
In other words, “Hey, I saw this idea on the Internet and now I’m going to tweak it a bit and call it my own” is not something I’d ever say. Or think, for that matter. It’s anathema to my being.
My creative process is simple:
- Think
- Conceive
- Check
- Execute
Steps One and Two always come first. Once I’ve conjured the idea in my mind and developed the concept enough to consider it viable—and only after that—I’ll move to Step Three and do some top-level searching: has this name, phrase or design been trademarked? Has a domain name been registered? Is the Internet saturated with this idea already in my areas of focus: retail apparel, art or design?
Many times, my searches will yield absolutely nothing. Zero Google results … the ultimate seal of originality.
When related content does appear, I assess its relevance to my idea. Some I pursue when the similar content is unrelated. However, countless ideas never advance to Step Four: casualties of my commitment to one-of-a-kind art and design.
Concept Execution
Once the idea moves to Step Four, I use the artistic approaches necessary to execute the concept most completely. Typography, collage, freehand line art, digital painting and photography are just some of the methods I’ll employ. Often those elements are of my own creation; other times I’ll incorporate preexisting items to which I have full rights to use.
Again, around here, originality of concept is paramount, and executing each one to its highest level comes in a close second, so I use everything available to craft the finest expressions of the concept in each finished product.
It’s a long-winded way to reiterate an old tagline I created for my endeavors a while ago. It’s simply “Everything You Can’t Find Anywhere Else.”
Pete VR 