Shoes, Shoes, Shoes!

Manolo Blahník at the Wallace Collection Londo, Oct 2019

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Prologue

"I need to go back." I was scrolling through the photographs I had taken two days before. My camera had captured absolutely stunning paintings and even more amazingly sexy and glamorous shoes. Yet still, I felt as if I had not even touched the heart of it.
"What? But why?" My friend and her husband were looking at me.
"Something is amiss here, and I have to find out what it is."
"Want my car?" My friend offered.
"No, thank you. I'll walk. I need to think as well."

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Thirty minutes later I stood again in the entry hall of the Wallace Collection in London and was still wondering what it was that made me come here again. Slowly I entered the first room, absorbing anything- the warm light, the creaking of the floorboards, the smell in the room, the opulence and splendour of the interior.

Entry hall of the Wallace Collection, detail of the staircase.

Suddenly I understood. It was not at all the question of why Manolo Blahník was collaborating with the Wallace Collection. To my surprise, it was not at all the question of which details and themes in a painting were recognisable in his, although breathtakingly incredible, shoes. The questions I had come to find the answer to were how do we get inspired? What motivates us to carry on with what we think is right? What helps us to find beauty and gratification in the things we do and stand for? How to use ideas and encouragement on a daily basis for ourselves?

Are not these beautiful and close to perfection?
Manolo Blahník at the Wallace Collection Oct 2019

Well, we are all born with a natural creativity; we all can rely on an inherent artistry and inspiration. The point is, and I think this makes all the difference, how to excercise our capability to see. Sometimes it seems we have lost it comletely, or it is not there when we need it. Often the very small things, things we are sometimes inclined to ignore or overlook, can change the whole direction of your life. The merest hint of a smile that is directed on you in the morning, for example, can make your day. A random moment that lets you overhear a chance remark can resonate to you like a calm after the storm. A first encounter with someone can connect like a meteorite impacting your earth.  Lives have flourished and changed on the content of a book or the meaning of a wonderful painting.

Fraçois Boucher Cupid a Captive, c. 1754
Wallace Collection

The challenging thing with inspiration and therefore seeing beauty is that we always need it when we happened to have opened Pandora's box. We need it when we want to make an improvement to something we are not happy with. We need it when we want to do things better as we do them now. No matter what part of life is concerned, inspiration is needed when we want to become a better person. We need it to be good at interacting with other people, and to touch their lives profoundly. We also simply need it when we want to be creative; when we want to talk or write about a theme, and we do not know how to approach it. Now has Manolo Blahník perhaps not thought of this, he probably has also not just snapped his fingers and all the fabulous ideas of man-eating heels came flowing out. What he did, however, is the secret to any happy life. He worked for his inspiration. Very hard.

Manolo Blahník at the Wallace Collection

First, there is a thought. There is also an understanding of yourself. You want to change something and here you are. No one knows better than you do how your thoughts work. Rely on that and use them, spend some alone time with them and explore in any thinkable direction as if you were little Charlie Bucket going to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory and want to see as much as you can on that tour. Think, think, think whilst already being on the move. Once you are in the process of thinking and playing with your imagination it is mostly only a matter of time before a concept materialises from that beautiful mind of yours. It is your creativity in other words.

Manolo Blahník at the Wallace Collection

Your creativity, you might agree then, finds you in times when you at least expect it. Do not wait for it, it can happen in the supermarket where you do your weekly grocery shopping. It can happen whilst you are driving home from work listening to your songs. Everywhere and out of nowhere inspiration can search you out, and when it comes make sure to be ready. Document your thoughts, maybe type them into your phone. Scribble over your shopping list. If it is a melody, sing the tunes and record them with your mobile. Sketch a painting whilst you wait for your turn at the dentist's. Anything you do does matter and is worth to be saved. If you can't use it right now, it might be the inspirational source for some magnificent work in your creative future.

Ah, there she is. The woman Thomas Gainsborough was deeply in love with.
Mrs Mary Robinson Thomas Gainsborough, c. 1781
The Wallace Collection

If you prefer, however, to keep your thoughts for yourself it is of course no question about respecting that. Sometimes the time is not right. But when it is, do not limit yourself to what other people could think or comment. Your difference and otherness are what is beautiful. They are what distinguishes  you from the crowd and let you so stand out. Be brave and show them who you are. Do not be afraid of being misunderstood by others, there is always the chance that they do understand, right? Manolo Blahník, I think, believes in the power of his mind. He believes in his ability of doing the right thing, and it is what keeps him going. We should do the same, don't you think? It is these beliefs that shall make us mentally strong and possible for us to carry on when our bag of ideas and motivation seems empty. They are also called confidence and match exceedingly well with the creativity that is inside each of us. And this, again, has a lot to do with love.

Gosh, how wonderful. I wanted them all.
Manolo Blahník at the Wallace Collection

Thank you so much for reading! Have a lovely Saturday.

Ute.

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References: images my own, October 2019