Many of my friends hear me talking about the Artistry of Living and they say: “It sounds nice and we would like learning more about and understanding better what this is”. The Art of Life can definitively mean many things to many people, therefore what I share here with you is only my own meaning, my own interpretation. 

The word Artistry is a synonym for Art. This means something created, manufactured; it is not a given, it comes not naturally, it is a man-made reality. It is a design of the life one wants to live. This one person has a dream, imagines how his / her ideal life would be, makes a plan how this life can be achieved and, most important, takes actions towards transforming this beautiful ideal dream into reality.

For me personally, the Artistry of Living means living my life beautifully, bringing significance, beauty, quality, wellbeing in an abundant way into each aspect of my life. As an interior designer, living beautifully can start with creating an inspiring environment around me, where I live, where I work. That means for me creating artistic ambientes in each room of my house, with the help of colours, selected art pieces, furniture items, flowers and plants, allowing the energy to flow within the room and from one room to the others. 

Any interior can be enhanced no matter which budget we have. The one – two – three special items which may require a higher budget will blend very nice with the rest of the furniture, as long as they have been carefully selected and a design concept applied.

A space is exactly like us, imperfect, with qualities and imperfections and that makes us unique. The same individuality should be reflected in our homes as well. We do not want having a picture-perfect room, similar to a showroom where no one should touch the items on display. We want a perfectly-liveable space, where our eyes enjoy the beauty and, in the same time, our bodies are pampered with comfort and functionality. 

The Artistry of Living can be reflected furthermore in our kitchen. How we choose our food, how we prepare it, how we present it and how we enjoy it. I am taking about the Savour of Life. Our food should nourish our bodies, along with our souls and our need for esthétique.

There is a certain pleasure in going to fresh-food markets, especially French or Italian ones, in filling our lungs with all the tasty smells of fresh produce, enjoying the mix of people and noises, talking to the sellers, learning about them and about their products, making acquaintances and friendships. There is an entire process of smelling, seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, beginning with the cheese stand, finest salami & hams, olives, vegetables, fruits, till the mandatory coffee & croissant which successfully end our market experience for the day.

We have selected the finest and freshest produce and now we go home to prepare the most delicious dishes for us and our families and friends.

The cooking process is quite an experience in itself, especially when we do it together with our family members or with our friends. I personally enjoy every step of it, from the moment when I put my apron to protect my clothes and till the dish is ready to be served. I am personally blessed with a life partner which joins me gladly quite often in this cooking process, especially in the evening. We begin by pouring ourselves a glass of prosecco or wine, start our favourite playlist on Spotify, put our aprons and we are ready to enjoy a fantastic evening together. 

I love making beautiful arrangements for our table, using our best tableware, glasses, napkins, candles and flowers. As an artist of life, I like transforming an ordinary day into a special day without waiting for a special reason or event to enjoy a festive dinner with tablecloth and candles.

I consider myself now a conscious designer of my life. It was not like this my entire life. For many years I was mostly just reacting to situations which were appearing in my life, feeling more like a victim and not a creator. Unconscious I was a creator, because every reaction creates an action. Without having my own meaning of my ideal life and a plan how to achieve this, I was just a creator of someone else’s ideal life. It was the life of the people whom I was reacting to. It was a long process of awakening which took me quite a large portion of my life, but I am grateful that now I have changed this and I am an active and conscious designer and creator of my life.

Having daily rituals is one of the methods which anchors me in the present moment. I add beauty and significance to each of these rituals and they provide me regularly with a splash of grace and charm as well as with a blissful state of mind. I have practices like morning rituals (meditation, yoga, tea / coffee time, fasting), bathing rituals, home & inner energy cleaning, etc. Personal cultivation and development are a permanent activity in my life and, like an interior designer and artist of life, I am taking care of my interior (mind, body and soul) by adding each day a drop or two towards becoming the best version of myself living in my ideal reality.

Living beautifully is reflected as well in how we dress ourselves, how we speak, how we hold our bodies. Our wardrobe talks about us and makes an impression into the world way before we have a chance to speak. I cannot say if that is good or bad, I am just taking it as a fact.

The clothes and accessories we use, the colours, the textures, the shapes and cuts, all of these are our ambassadors and are projecting an image of us in the world. I am now an active and conscious designer of my image and I make my best in presenting myself to the world in my best real shape. Without targeting the unattainable perfection any more, I am just looking for the best of who I am in this moment, in this day. Tomorrow it will be a new version “best of me”. And the day after a newer one…and so on. The most important is that this “best of me” version is real and is aligned with who I am.

Of course, we can extend this concept of “Artistry of Living” to every single aspect of our life. Like in any good thing, everything requires moderation and consideration. Naturally will come also days with less glam and bliss, that’s part of our lives too. The most important is to keep continue seeing the best side of everything and the full part of our glasses. That will feed our motivation and help us progressing on our journey towards living a life which is worth living.

As unique as we are, each of us has its own view of ideal life. I am wandering, my dear friend and artist of your life, what means for you a beautiful life? What make you feel alive? What brings joy and sparkle into your eyes? I would be extremely happy hearing from you, my dear artist of life.

Yours,

Madra