Julie Gardner is an artist, working with multi formats, photography, design,and music. Her background is in the music industry as a Grammy recognized studio engineer and film producer.She started photographing when she was touring with rock stars / musicians and has had multiple photo exhibitions of her work. In 2014 she moved to America and founded Obscura Designs www.obscuradesigns.net “Obscura is art to be worn or framed and displayed. I create all my designs using my own photographs. I use a lot of photos of nature, Macro so I can get a very intimate perspective and long distance to find the overall spirit.I use respect as my underlining discipline; for the environment, nature, life and the fabrics I want my customers to experience on their skin, which is why I only use high quality luxurious natural fiber fabrics.”
“MAKE FASHION ART AGAIN!” “Marie Antoinette lost her head in France in 1793 because she was seen as a symbol of the excesses of the French Monarchy.My Marie Antoinette sits happy on a swing in Malibu, wrapped in a luxurious Obscura Designs Italian silk ‘Stork’ scarf. The Stork isa symbol of prosperity and longevity which seems apt for Marie Antoinette, (she was prosperous and undoubtedly the most known French Queen in all of history, so achieved longevity). Chess is a game of war, the chess pieces representing the divisions in the infantry. The Queen is the most powerful piece in the game and starts off in the middle, next to the king. Originally the queen represented the counsellor or Prime Minister but over time the word for the queen piece was feminized to be seen as a woman. For me it serves as an important reminder of the need to gain and stay balanced. We all have feminine and masculine power, no matter what gender we are. Using both is a beautiful, balanced way of being. Using too much of one or the other, might result in you loosing your head!”