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Yamidé (Lisa
Marsh)
“I’m
intrigued by raw nature but plagued by the need to refine it.”
-Yamidé (yah-mi-dey)
Story of her life? Maybe. Story of her art? Definitely.
All her life she has been refining and redefining herself from
journalism, to fashion design, to the music industry. But only
one definition fits: artisan.
Born on November 26, 1965 in Kingston (Jamaica), Yamidé moved to
Los Angeles (California) at the age of 16.
She studied journalism at Santa Monica College but soon lost her
appetite for the plastic perfection of life in the Valley and
moved to New York. Being there allowed her to take a
revitalizing bite out of the big apple and acquire a taste for
the crude texture of urban life.
In 1988 she moved to Trinidad where her desire to create was
awakened and a restless endeavour to reshape her true creative
self began.
At first, her experience in Los Angeles and interest in high
style and fashion evolved into the
Elizabeth Marsh
line of clothing for girls.
Still, her full artistic expression was yet to be discovered…
…in music? Alas, a brief European tour with a music group,
albeit educational, proved to be unfulfilling.
In 1994 Yamidé moved to Tobago and, as she began to acquire a
taste for the eclectic juxtaposition of the savage elegance of
the island’s landscape, a familiar hunger to create began to
grow. As creative juices began to flow an interest in the
natural form and shape of wood was aroused in her and she felt
compelled to maintain its innate beauty but at the same time
refine it.
She returned to California (San Diego) to complete an
apprenticeship at the ALPINE STAINED GLASS STUDIO and began
experimenting with steel and glass.
A dilemma, which would soon prove to be her creative impetus,
began to manifest itself in her work. Rustic charm and whimsy
versus high definition and practicality. Why not both?
Her artistic mission was, and still is, to use steel and glass
to compliment and refine wood without compromising its natural
shape and form. For Yamidé, every piece of lumber she comes
across has got the diamond-in-the-rough potential to become a
masterpiece and her creative impulse finally has a structured
outlet in furniture design and usable art.
Yamidé currently lives in the northern countryside of Tobago and
works out of her multi-faceted atelier alongside her husband
Pepe and son Yanik. She draws inspiration from travel and the
colourful blend of contrasts that make up the mosaic of her
life.
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