Inspiration: Wedding Traditions

I just came back from spending several days in Oklahoma City, where one of my best friends got married over the weekend. She has been a beautiful, strong, and noble force in my life, and I am very thankful she has found the right person to share her life with. It was beautiful to witness their union in a traditional Muslim Indian ceremony, the way she had always wanted it to be.

Traditions can be a tricky subject, as ethical issues can be overlooked for the sake of doing what society deems as right, but if practiced mindfully, traditions can have an incredibly grounding effect, as it was the case for this wedding. There is something humbling and fulfilling about the slow finessing of ceremonial rituals and crafts, the coming together of family and friends, and the acknowledgement that there is something greater than our individual selves. This inspired me to research different wedding traditions, as I am working on a line of wedding dresses for this spring. I learned that in many Eastern cultures, the bride wears red, as a sign of good luck, auspiciousness, or sexual awakening. In traditional Arab, Turkish, Muslim, Hindu, and Jewish weddings, the bride’s hands and feet are decorated with henna in intricate patterns, also a sign of good luck and auspiciousness.

Bride in traditional Chinese wedding attire

Birdes at a mass Muslim wedding ceremony

Traditional henna decorations

Native American weddings are hard to categorize as they differ greatly from tribe to tribe. In Northern California traditions, the groom weaves the bride’s gown in symbolic colors: white for the east, blue for the south, yellow for the west, and black for the north. Jewelry is worn to prevent hunger and poverty.

Wishram Bride

In Meso American traditions, the bride wears a heavily embroidered huipil and a natural white cotton skirt, the groom wears an embroidered outfit as well. Family and friends wear simple natural white cotton outfits, and no shoes are worn to absorb the spiritual energy created by the ceremony.

Mayan Brides

The one thing in common that all these wedding traditions have is that they are performed to wish newlywed couples protection, health, auspiciousness, and abundance. Which is what I wish to my newlywed friend, and what I will be thinking of everytime I sit down to make a wedding dress.

Artist of the Week: Cynthia Vardhan Ceramics

One great thing about Etsy is that you stumble upon great talent all the time. I stumbled upon artist Cynthia Vardhan last week, and couldn’t stop looking through her work. I absolutely love how she painstakingly decorates each piece- all her pieces scream: I love what I do! I also appreciate how she uses pigmented clay to make the patterns raise above the surface, so you can both see and feel them. Inspiration for her patterns comes from various places, she says, “anywhere from European lace doilies and henna patterns from India to the traditional fabrics of West Africa & Bali.” Here are some pieces that caught my eye:

Happy Monday everyone!

Inspiration: Everyday Heroes

One of my favorite sources of inspiration comes from hearing stories of individuals who do what they love and believe is right, against all odds.  Sometimes doing what we love requires great will and creativity, a dynamic and unstoppable duo. Seeing this strength and courage in other people fills my body with hope and vitality. The story of Luis Humberto Soriano did just that. He is a teacher who goes to the smallest, hard to reach, violence-stricken towns of Colombia with his mobile donkey library to read stories and teach children how to read and write.

And here is a video with subtitles:

Don’t forget that we all have the potential to access this great strength and creativity to do what truly makes us happy in ways that also benefit those around us…

In Appreciation…

Will you be my Valentine  : )
In appreciation for all the for the support and friendship we have received this year already, we are having a 10% discount on all items in our etsy store from now until 2/14. Coupon code: lovely

Inspiration: Branches

I have always dragged branches that seemed either interesting, useful, or simply beautiful into my home, my whole life. As of lately I have been seeing a lot of photos online of branches used in ingenious and beautiful ways, I feel relieved I’m not the only one with this obsession. When I say I have been seeing photos online, I mean in Pinterest, a online pinboard that I have been fascinated with the last few days. I made a search of branches and all these beautiful images and ideas came up…enjoy!

The Blessings of Thick and Unruly Hair

When I found this installation on Colossal, an art and design blog, I remembered how grateful I am for my hair. I used to do art installations with my hair back in the day, I wish I kept pictures. In this installation piece, artist Jenine Shereos, has stitched and knotted every strand of hair to create intricate leaves, truly beautiful.

Hair has always been something I feel passionate about, in positive and negative ways. My mom’s side of the family has incredibly thick, strong, unruly, dark hair. To this day, I have not found anyone with thicker hair than mine. I used to think it was a nuisance that it had a life of its own, it would not stay in place no matter how many barrettes, braiding techniques, or products I used…and let me tell you, I tried everything. I was incredibly envious of those girls whose hair remained tame after brushing, for me it meant static wonderland.

Now that I am older, I realize that once I learned to surrender and live side by side with my enemy, this long, thick, unruly hair of mine became a blessing. I realized how fun and useful it can be. Growing up in a place were the mentality of re-use is nothing but second-nature, my mom and I always had use for our hair whenever stuck somewhere with limited tools. I remember tying, sewing, and even flossing (I know it sounds gross) with my hair thanks to my mom’s advice. I made art installations and jewelry when in art school, I specially remember making a beautifully braided bracelet for one of my boyfriends.  Now I mainly use it to keep my neck warm in winter, for shade in the summer, as an accessory to dance with, and as a tool to reclaim my personal space. All I need is a few head shakes to make anyone step back. But more importantly, I use this hair to remind myself of my strength, that I come from powerful and resilient people who lived in rough environments, who experienced struggles of all kinds, and somehow managed to survive. Thank you mom for this beautiful gift!

Happy Friday everyone!

Helping our Communities: Stress Management Classes

We have united with Sita Movement to promote health and wellness throughout underserved communities of color in the Bay Area of California. For every five items that Zelaya Design sells, we take a percentage and help pay for one low-income woman of color to attend a Stress Management class. These classes are culturally relevant and include dance, yoga, and meditation. Sometimes guest speakers are invited to talk about subjects such as nutrition, anatomy, and introductions to different types of healing modalities. Our mission in joining efforts with Sita Movement is to encourage self-awareness and help individuals gain control over their health and that of their communities.

Sita Movement seeks to integrate mindful practices, and services to make them accessible to culturally diverse communities. Stress management and yoga flow classes borrow from several mindful disciplines to form a unique practice that helps develop awareness and inner peace, while gaining balance, flexibility, and strength with grace.

Currently, Sita Movement teaches a class in Fruitvale, Oakland, CA for Clinica de La Raza, a non-profit organization that seeks to improve the quality of life of diverse communities by providing culturally appropriate, high quality, and accessible health care for all.

If you are in or near the bay area, Sita Movement also offers classes in Berkeley, CA:

Location: 
Niroga Center for Healing 
1808 University Avenue
Classes:
Dance and Yoga Flow en Español: Mondays @ 4:30pm
Yoga Flow en Español: Saturdays @ 8:15am