Essays:An Essay on the Artist Murai
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| Native to California, '''Jonathan Farrell''' describes himself as a writer and an aspiring artist. With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, he followed the path of the social services field. While working in social work he decided to follow his heart's desire and began writing. | Native to California, '''Jonathan Farrell''' describes himself as a writer and an aspiring artist. With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, he followed the path of the social services field. While working in social work he decided to follow his heart's desire and began writing. | ||
| - | Once he accepted this new path then the journey toward art began. No sooner did he leave his job in social work when an opportunity to write for a neighborhood newspaper appear. While taking various part-time jobs, For almost ten years, Jonathan has been writing for various neighborhood publications among them are the ''Sunset Beacon & Richmond Review.'' And during that time he has pursued other creative interests such as: journalism, acting, collage, photography and cooking. | + | Once he accepted this new path then the journey toward art began. No sooner did he leave his job in social work when an opportunity to write for a neighborhood newspaper appear. While taking various part-time jobs, for almost ten years, Jonathan has been writing for various neighborhood publications among them are the ''Sunset Beacon & Richmond Review.'' And during that time he has pursued other creative interests such as: journalism, acting, collage, photography and cooking. |
| - | Finding the city of San Francisco to be "a place where the world is," Jonathan is continually inspired by the city's life and vitality. He hopes to be a truly cosmopolitan individual as he says, ''"To be a citizen of the world is a wonderful privilege and no better place to learn and grow in that sense of citizenship than in San Francisco."'' | + | Finding the city of San Francisco to be ''"a place where the world is,"'' Jonathan is continually inspired by the city's life and vitality. He hopes to be a truly cosmopolitan individual as he says, ''"To be a citizen of the world is a wonderful privilege and no better place to learn and grow in that sense of citizenship than in San Francisco."'' |
| </font></div> | </font></div> | ||
| |} | |} | ||
| - | That which is universal and timeless is what artist Georgianna Krieger strives to accomplish in her sculpture. | + | [[image:An Essay on the Artist Murai.1.jpg]] |
| - | Inspired by the ancients such as the Greeks, Krieger is not shy to say what's missing in the 21st Century, "it's anything but timeless, it's all about time and speed," she said. | + | Meeting Murai is a whirlwind of creativity. Her apartment in the Sunset District near Golden Gate Park is a life size collage in itself. An eclectic mixture of many things, she has canvas, fabrics, and sculpture with various projects in different stages of development which are in some instances, redevelopments. |
| - | The opportunity to visit her studio that sits behind a charming Edwardian style cottage in San Francisco's Richmond District was a rare glimpse into the life of an artist at work. | + | That is how this artist is. Creativity is all around her and within her. I first met Murai about ten years ago when writing for a local neighborhood newspaper, '' 'The Sunset Beacon.''' She had entered some of her works in the Open Studios program and we kept in contact over the years. I have to admit those years have flown by and her energy has not stalled in any way. |
| - | Krieger's home life is shared with her husband Michael and their baby boy Philo. Together they support each other in their new responsibility as parents. While Michael, a composer of music watches little Philo, Krieger is able to step through the wildflowers in the backyard to a shed she has converted into an extension of her studio. | + | Murai is always growing and moving with the flow of a life force. As soon as I walked in the door she was eager to tell me about "another stage of life." Since receiving her Masters Degree in Psychology from Sonoma State University she has been fascinated by Educational Kinesiology. |
| - | Apart from a few innovations/conveniences such as, silicon rubber moulds Krieger says, "I use traditional methods. I sculpt the same way the ancients did." The process of it is the same. | + | "It's the development of the mind through movement. That's old news we talked about that last time," said Murai. This is true. This is what she was working with in the 1990s. "But I want to tell you about my Quantum Critters™," she said. |
| - | (At the beginning of a) work with a small scale that is 1/6 to 1/3 of life scale (size) "I think of most of my sculptures as studies for a life-size or monumental scale work," Krieger said. | + | I tried to direct the conversation to the beginning of her life story but in her unique style she said, "Oh I told you my story before. I want to say something about my new endeavor." |
| - | There are dozens of works in process, all in various stages. Krieger explains, "When I studied sculpture, I chose the traditional figure as my path (of study) because I feel the human figures speaks to all people of any culture or time period." | + | Still connected with the body-mind focus in psychology she sees a holistic approach as very important in the development of human beings. Her Critters are an expression of that need to integrate the entire human being. Bright and whimsical these hand-drawn characters are an expression of the playful side of Murai as well as the most insightful. |
| - | She continued, "I took time to study anatomy and the Greek system of (poise and) proportions." This is found in the archaic examples left to us by the Greeks, known as the "Kouros" figures. | + | As she said, "Quantum Critters™ are packets of energy that pop up at random when you least expect them but need them most." |
| - | Emerging around the year 600, BC [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kouros the Kouros] is the ideal form of human beauty and strength. This ideal form was usually expressed through a youthful male figure. Some scholars hypothesize that the "youthful athlete" represented neither gods nor men but something in between - the hero. | + | And she added. "They have healing properties and are metaphors for change." "I want them to help me teach others that life is an art form." |
| - | [http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=12908 Scholars] also believe that this style was the prototype for the further development of Greek sculpture, and was most likely borrowed from the Egyptians. The similarities in various samples between Greek and Egyptian works are striking. | + | Murai has always had a gift for sharing her ideas and discoveries. She wants to also use her certificates as a diet counselor and nutritional educator to help people use nutrition to improve their health in a holistic way. |
| - | [[image:Seeking the Timeless- About Georgianna Krieger.1.1.jpg]] | + | The Quantum Critters™ emerged when Murai returned to college to finish her education. "I knew this is what I had to do but I was so frightened. The Critters helped me through it, " said Murai. |
| - | [[image:Seeking the Timeless- About Georgianna Krieger.1.2.jpg]] | + | |
| - | Yet the use and philosophies behind the sculpture of the two cultures are different. For Egypt as example, the sculptures were used for definite religious beliefs (surrounding the 'ka' or personality of soul of the deceased). This type of 'mystical' element in their sculpted helped with the idea of an afterlife. | + | Even her thesis for her Masters Degree has the critters on various pages as illustrations regarding theories of Educational Kinesiology in mind-body Psychology. In addition to developing a web page with the critters she has put together proto-types for dolls. The critters have now left the drawing page and have become three-dimensional. |
| - | Allusions to a realm of the 'metaphysical' might be obvious, but for the Greeks such notions of an afterlife were obscure and not afforded to everyone. The Kouros as naked male hero was a model for perfection. This was a tribute to beauty and strength. Unfortunately the esteem for this concept of perfection was not fully extended to females. | + | To understand her enthusiasm for these critters you have to go back and look at her life story. |
| - | Taken directly from the stance of the 'kouros' Krieger adapts the ideal just the same, as she points to her sculpture entitled, "Strength." "I think my work has some of the classical qualities but it is very much of this era. Being that "the reference is intended to say something about the world today." | + | Murai was born and raised in the Mid-west. "Kansas is where I was from and life there was ordinary. I always had a creative element within me but I felt that it was not affirmed in that environment," she said. |
| - | [[image:Seeking the Timeless- About Georgianna Krieger.2.1.jpg]] | + | The ordinary would over the course of time take the unanticipated step toward the extraordinary. She got married to an oil company executive. "We met at a dance in Kansas while she was still in college. 3 years late I was married," she said. |
| - | [[image:Seeking the Timeless- About Georgianna Krieger.2.2.jpg]] | + | |
| - | Krieger's figures are naked as in the classical sense, but in the case of this piece (Strength) she says, "I tried to say something about the strength needed by women every day in the contemporary world." | + | This marriage had her traveling to far off places that exposed Murai to the world. |
| - | Bringing that classical ideal of strength and beauty into the present day world, Krieger clothed the figure of woman for this piece "in jeans and t-shirt." Krieger upholds the idea that there is a "fourth dimension" which is the 'metaphysical.' | + | By 1968 she and her husband and their three children were living in Tripoli Libya. "This was before the revolution of Quaddafi who eventually overthrew then King Idris," Murai explained. |
| - | As she said, "Because we are ever moving, motion is inherent in the nature of our experiences. The human experience is shaped not only by our physicality but also by our intellectual capacity for memory and abstract thought." (This is what makes such pieces metaphysical). | + | She interacted comfortably with everyone, she said. "I met with (all people from) ambassadors to veiled women behind the high walls of their villas. Next stop was Rome!" Murai exclaimed as if her itinerary was not exciting enough all ready. |
| - | It was through Krieger's work with clay animation that as she said, "gave me an opportunity to do motion studies through time lapse photography. This is how I got to thinking about the fourth dimension." Not to say that all her pieces have to do with motion for as she noted, "some are still figures." "Those are about experiences when the world goes whipping past you as you think, feel or do something," Krieger said. | + | "We spent an exciting three year period in Italy. We lived in a penthouse with a swimming pool, dined out amid the Roman ruins and watched stylish Italians on the Via Veneto." |
| - | "I am thinking about geometry and formal composition when I approach a figure." Yet she clarified, "my figures (sculpted) take a form from life but they are not so realistic as they are idealistic," Krieger said. | + | [[image:An Essay on the Artist Murai.2.jpg]] |
| - | After her formal study in art school Krieger spend several years working in commercial art fields making designs. As she explained, "I wondered how my art would fit into the modern world." | + | Rome is where Murai began taking art classes and was as she said, "influenced by the beauty and elegance, our lives were enriched." |
| - | Not abandoning her admiration of traditional sculpture as she worked in commercial art, Krieger perceived/understood something significant. | + | Their tour abroad was "topped off" by four years in London. "It was while in London that I focused my studies to modern art history and fine art." For her "London was "the perfect springboard for travel and I traveled extensively," she added. |
| - | Doing design work and making art can be related but are distinctly different from each other. Krieger explained, "I keep the two separate. I think most people don't understand that the skills involved in vigorous art making are transferable to other endeavors like designing and inventing." | + | During that four-year time Murai's travels included most of Europe including Russia, the Middle East, parts of Asia and South America. It was also while in London in Knightsbridge that Murai had the first showing of her own work. And her works sold. Her collages were mentioned in the prestigious '' 'Arts Review''' of London. |
| - | This is why she seldom speaks of her artwork to the circle of acquaintances she knows in her design work. And consequently, "I seldom talk about my design work when talking about sculpture." | + | Being an awestruck admirer since we first met I had the impression that the name Murai was given to her by Japanese friends on a visit to Tokyo. "No, sweetie, you got that mixed up!" she said. My embellishments were way off. |
| - | Yet it seems Krieger is most enthralled by sculpture. When she spoke about her experiences with sculpture her expressions and conversation glowed with an enthusiasm. (As if the Muses were at her side.) | + | She corrected me. "I had my first showing in London and with a hyphenated name, Murray-Smith. When I went to the gallery at the last day to get my check for the items I sold, the owner handed me a check that was payable to the order of: Murai." |
| - | Drawn to sculpture from the beginning, her teacher at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Walter Erlebacher was "very inspirational," said Krieger. | + | So it goes! The name stuck and upon returning stateside with the end of her marriage to the oil executive she changed her name legally to Murai. (She discovered later from Japanese friends that Murai is an actual name in Japan). |
| - | It was his teaching that set the path of sculpture at Krieger's feet. Along with studying the ancients, she admired the great ones like Michelangelo and Bernini. Krieger found Manuel Neri's work inspiring because of "his use of color on figurative sculpture." | + | The children now in boarding school her life as a single parent was setting the stage for a new horizon. She decided to move to San Francisco. Murai had been making things out of fabrics and made them simply for herself. |
| - | She too uses color in her sculpture "not so much for realism but (that) it has to do with the emotions and the content of the piece," she said. And as Krieger noted, "the Greeks painted their sculptures." | + | Oddly, what she had made for herself and her own expression, "people wanted to buy." Confessing, "I really did not like to sew and I had made these things in ways that did not require a lot of sewing." "Inventing ways to make stuff look good," Murai devised techniques of binding and so forth that helped her to create. |
| - | She took a trip to Italy and the time she spent to observe the old world craftsmen was amazing as they "worked with the marble like it was butter." | + | One of these creations was a coat that she just happened to wear one day when she met with a friend from New York. "Bruce Katz was a friend I knew from New York and he too had relocated in San Francisco," Murai recounted. |
| - | Krieger understands that art is something to share and she praised the support of the artistic community through venues such as the Sunset Artists Society founded in 1999. The weekend of May 31 to June 1, 2003, the Sunset Artists Society is sponsoring a local event at the Hall of Flowers (at 9th Ave. & Lincoln Way) in Golden Gate Park. Krieger will have her work on display. | + | "He loved my coat and asked if I might be able to make some more." In saying yes to Katz, Murai opened the door to yet another adventure. As it turned out Katz had moved to San Francisco to be a buyer for I. Magnin and Co. |
| - | Krieger is also eagerly preparing for the annual "Open Studios" exhibit/neighborhood art shows sponsored by ArtSpan. A unique San Francisco institution that began literally in an artist's home not too many years ago, the event is a series of mini art shows featured at the home of participating artists over a period of consecutive weekends during the fall season. Krieger said, "This year my neighborhood (The Richmond District) will be the first on the list - weekend #1." | + | Murai with no prior experience found herself in a successful business that she called, "MURAI." Her designs were elegant hand-painted collages sewn onto coats, jackets and vests. This kind of clothing is known as art to wear. |
| - | (Incidentally for those of you who don't know San Francisco very well, Fall is when San Francisco has it's summer - Sept. thru early Nov.) | + | "I don't know how we did it!" said Murai. "Being a divorced woman, I had no credit cards in my name. Living abroad I always paid cash. Credit cards were not as easy to get for someone returning from abroad," she said. |
| - | (Incidentally for those of you who don't know San Francisco very well, Fall is when San Francisco weather is at it's best! September thru early November is the city's real summer). | + | It seems everything she got together for that very first show in the Beverly Hills I. Magnin in Los Angeles was serendipitous. Her coats were the main display in the store windows. |
| - | For Krieger's future endeavors she simply says, "I would be honored to have the opportunity to do large pieces for public spaces." | + | Murai continued. "The kids helped with the modeling and photography. My son found a second hand sewing machine at a garage sale and repaired its like new. My landlords were about to evict a tenant who just happened to sew and we made an arrangement so he could move into our flat instead and pay his portion of the rent working for me in trade." |
| - | Georgianna Krieger will also be teaching workshops on Figure Drawing and Introduction to Mould Making at Fogbelt Studio in SF's Sunset District. For more information about it visit [http://www.fogbeltstudio.com http://www.fogbeltstudio.com]. And for more information about Krieger and her work visit [http://www.shesculpts.com www.shesculpts.com]. | + | "How I got through that was something else. He didn't speak English very well but somehow we managed and things got done," Murai said laughing. |
| + | |||
| + | "Steve loved my stuff and I got a Rep in New York City to help me." With that initial success the "MURAI" clothing line took off and Murai was living in Pacific Heights with a staff and employees to manage in a wholesale clothing business. | ||
| + | |||
| + | "By 1985 I cut back and let go of some of my employees. I was tired." She said. "I loved the creating and the glamour but I did not like the wholesale/retail business." Murai finally sold out and let the business go in 1989. | ||
| + | |||
| + | This is when she decided to go back to school. Leaving the "high overhead cost of living behind," as she called it. Murai eventually moved to the Sunset District where she has been for the past 12 years. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Her Mid-west background never had "a sense of social strata and so going to work as a taxi driver was something I did not mind doing." In fact, she said "to drive a taxi cab was a fantasy I secretly harbored." | ||
| + | |||
| + | Her driving taxi at night and attending classes at San Francisco's New College during the day allowed her to achieve her goal. After receiving her Bachelor's Degree at New College she entered the Master's Program at Sonoma State University. | ||
| + | |||
| + | It was during her time in school she discovered she had dyslexia - a condition that makes reading very difficult. Frightened and yet determined to succeed Murai arrived at where she is today. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Murai is thinking about so many ideas some she all ready has in progress and others she is apprehensive about at the moment. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Yet if I know Murai she will proceed and succeed with or with out the help of her Quantum Critter™. For as an observer as well as a friend, I believe it is the creativity and the life force she has within her that will help her through everything. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Just to illustrate my point, at present Murai is making plans with a SF GOSPEL church to go to Africa some time this coming May. | ||
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| - | | [[image:Seeking the Timeless- About Georgianna Krieger.Georgianna Krieger.jpg]] | + | | [[image:An Essay on the Artist Murai.3.jpg]] |
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| <font class=annotation> | <font class=annotation> | ||
| - | '''Georgianna Krieger,'''<br> | + | Murai spent twelve years living in Libya, Rome and London. Upon her return to the USA she moved to San Francisco where she established a career in art, fashion and design. Her exclusive designs sold in such well-known stores as Neiman Marcus and I. Magnin. After a decade in the fashion industry she sold her business in order to return to college and prepare for a career in the holistic health field. |
| - | sculptor | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | San Francisco sculptor Georgianna Krieger received her BFA in sculpture from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia where she studied with Harvey Citron and Walter Erlebacher and was the 1990 recipient of The Philadelphia Plastic Arts Society Award. Her life in the arts began at home with her mother, artist Anna Krieger and continued at the Arts Magnet High School in Dallas, Texas where she studied art and music. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Over the years Ms. Krieger has worn many creative hats including commercial artist and designer, while continuing to work privately on her sculpture. Her work has included clay animation, murals, museum exhibit design, toy design as well as fine art. Believing that art is achieved through years of contemplative study and practice, she has worked to create a meaningful body of work. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | In late 2001 she premiered to the public a series of limited edition sculptures entitled ''Time And Space.'' Her figurative yet contemporary sculptures in bronze and other cast materials, are accompanied by a series of gesture drawings. | + | |
| - | Ms. Krieger lives in San Francisco's Richmond District with her husband, composer Michael Kaulkin and son Philo. She is available for commissions and her studio is open to the public in October as part of San Francisco's Open Studios. View some of her work at: [http://www.shesculpts.com www.shesculpts.com]. | + | She obtained a Master of Arts Degree in body-mind Psychology from Sonoma State University and became a certified 'Brain Gym' instructor and Educational Kinesiologist. The Institute of Educational Therapy in Cotati, CA has recently certified her as a Diet Counselor. |
| + | Her work comprises neurological changes through specific movement, biochemical changes through the use of food and motivational changes from her study of psychology and hypnotherapy: whole person techniques, which include spiritual integration through visualization and imagery-round, out the triune identity of body, mind and spirit. | ||
| </font> | </font> | ||
| |} | |} | ||
Current revision
by Jonathan Farrell
|
| Native to California, Jonathan Farrell describes himself as a writer and an aspiring artist. With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, he followed the path of the social services field. While working in social work he decided to follow his heart's desire and began writing. Once he accepted this new path then the journey toward art began. No sooner did he leave his job in social work when an opportunity to write for a neighborhood newspaper appear. While taking various part-time jobs, for almost ten years, Jonathan has been writing for various neighborhood publications among them are the Sunset Beacon & Richmond Review. And during that time he has pursued other creative interests such as: journalism, acting, collage, photography and cooking. Finding the city of San Francisco to be "a place where the world is," Jonathan is continually inspired by the city's life and vitality. He hopes to be a truly cosmopolitan individual as he says, "To be a citizen of the world is a wonderful privilege and no better place to learn and grow in that sense of citizenship than in San Francisco." |
Meeting Murai is a whirlwind of creativity. Her apartment in the Sunset District near Golden Gate Park is a life size collage in itself. An eclectic mixture of many things, she has canvas, fabrics, and sculpture with various projects in different stages of development which are in some instances, redevelopments.
That is how this artist is. Creativity is all around her and within her. I first met Murai about ten years ago when writing for a local neighborhood newspaper, 'The Sunset Beacon.' She had entered some of her works in the Open Studios program and we kept in contact over the years. I have to admit those years have flown by and her energy has not stalled in any way.
Murai is always growing and moving with the flow of a life force. As soon as I walked in the door she was eager to tell me about "another stage of life." Since receiving her Masters Degree in Psychology from Sonoma State University she has been fascinated by Educational Kinesiology.
"It's the development of the mind through movement. That's old news we talked about that last time," said Murai. This is true. This is what she was working with in the 1990s. "But I want to tell you about my Quantum Critters™," she said.
I tried to direct the conversation to the beginning of her life story but in her unique style she said, "Oh I told you my story before. I want to say something about my new endeavor."
Still connected with the body-mind focus in psychology she sees a holistic approach as very important in the development of human beings. Her Critters are an expression of that need to integrate the entire human being. Bright and whimsical these hand-drawn characters are an expression of the playful side of Murai as well as the most insightful.
As she said, "Quantum Critters™ are packets of energy that pop up at random when you least expect them but need them most."
And she added. "They have healing properties and are metaphors for change." "I want them to help me teach others that life is an art form."
Murai has always had a gift for sharing her ideas and discoveries. She wants to also use her certificates as a diet counselor and nutritional educator to help people use nutrition to improve their health in a holistic way.
The Quantum Critters™ emerged when Murai returned to college to finish her education. "I knew this is what I had to do but I was so frightened. The Critters helped me through it, " said Murai.
Even her thesis for her Masters Degree has the critters on various pages as illustrations regarding theories of Educational Kinesiology in mind-body Psychology. In addition to developing a web page with the critters she has put together proto-types for dolls. The critters have now left the drawing page and have become three-dimensional.
To understand her enthusiasm for these critters you have to go back and look at her life story.
Murai was born and raised in the Mid-west. "Kansas is where I was from and life there was ordinary. I always had a creative element within me but I felt that it was not affirmed in that environment," she said.
The ordinary would over the course of time take the unanticipated step toward the extraordinary. She got married to an oil company executive. "We met at a dance in Kansas while she was still in college. 3 years late I was married," she said.
This marriage had her traveling to far off places that exposed Murai to the world.
By 1968 she and her husband and their three children were living in Tripoli Libya. "This was before the revolution of Quaddafi who eventually overthrew then King Idris," Murai explained.
She interacted comfortably with everyone, she said. "I met with (all people from) ambassadors to veiled women behind the high walls of their villas. Next stop was Rome!" Murai exclaimed as if her itinerary was not exciting enough all ready.
"We spent an exciting three year period in Italy. We lived in a penthouse with a swimming pool, dined out amid the Roman ruins and watched stylish Italians on the Via Veneto."
Rome is where Murai began taking art classes and was as she said, "influenced by the beauty and elegance, our lives were enriched."
Their tour abroad was "topped off" by four years in London. "It was while in London that I focused my studies to modern art history and fine art." For her "London was "the perfect springboard for travel and I traveled extensively," she added.
During that four-year time Murai's travels included most of Europe including Russia, the Middle East, parts of Asia and South America. It was also while in London in Knightsbridge that Murai had the first showing of her own work. And her works sold. Her collages were mentioned in the prestigious 'Arts Review' of London.
Being an awestruck admirer since we first met I had the impression that the name Murai was given to her by Japanese friends on a visit to Tokyo. "No, sweetie, you got that mixed up!" she said. My embellishments were way off.
She corrected me. "I had my first showing in London and with a hyphenated name, Murray-Smith. When I went to the gallery at the last day to get my check for the items I sold, the owner handed me a check that was payable to the order of: Murai."
So it goes! The name stuck and upon returning stateside with the end of her marriage to the oil executive she changed her name legally to Murai. (She discovered later from Japanese friends that Murai is an actual name in Japan).
The children now in boarding school her life as a single parent was setting the stage for a new horizon. She decided to move to San Francisco. Murai had been making things out of fabrics and made them simply for herself.
Oddly, what she had made for herself and her own expression, "people wanted to buy." Confessing, "I really did not like to sew and I had made these things in ways that did not require a lot of sewing." "Inventing ways to make stuff look good," Murai devised techniques of binding and so forth that helped her to create.
One of these creations was a coat that she just happened to wear one day when she met with a friend from New York. "Bruce Katz was a friend I knew from New York and he too had relocated in San Francisco," Murai recounted.
"He loved my coat and asked if I might be able to make some more." In saying yes to Katz, Murai opened the door to yet another adventure. As it turned out Katz had moved to San Francisco to be a buyer for I. Magnin and Co.
Murai with no prior experience found herself in a successful business that she called, "MURAI." Her designs were elegant hand-painted collages sewn onto coats, jackets and vests. This kind of clothing is known as art to wear.
"I don't know how we did it!" said Murai. "Being a divorced woman, I had no credit cards in my name. Living abroad I always paid cash. Credit cards were not as easy to get for someone returning from abroad," she said.
It seems everything she got together for that very first show in the Beverly Hills I. Magnin in Los Angeles was serendipitous. Her coats were the main display in the store windows.
Murai continued. "The kids helped with the modeling and photography. My son found a second hand sewing machine at a garage sale and repaired its like new. My landlords were about to evict a tenant who just happened to sew and we made an arrangement so he could move into our flat instead and pay his portion of the rent working for me in trade."
"How I got through that was something else. He didn't speak English very well but somehow we managed and things got done," Murai said laughing.
"Steve loved my stuff and I got a Rep in New York City to help me." With that initial success the "MURAI" clothing line took off and Murai was living in Pacific Heights with a staff and employees to manage in a wholesale clothing business.
"By 1985 I cut back and let go of some of my employees. I was tired." She said. "I loved the creating and the glamour but I did not like the wholesale/retail business." Murai finally sold out and let the business go in 1989.
This is when she decided to go back to school. Leaving the "high overhead cost of living behind," as she called it. Murai eventually moved to the Sunset District where she has been for the past 12 years.
Her Mid-west background never had "a sense of social strata and so going to work as a taxi driver was something I did not mind doing." In fact, she said "to drive a taxi cab was a fantasy I secretly harbored."
Her driving taxi at night and attending classes at San Francisco's New College during the day allowed her to achieve her goal. After receiving her Bachelor's Degree at New College she entered the Master's Program at Sonoma State University.
It was during her time in school she discovered she had dyslexia - a condition that makes reading very difficult. Frightened and yet determined to succeed Murai arrived at where she is today.
Murai is thinking about so many ideas some she all ready has in progress and others she is apprehensive about at the moment.
Yet if I know Murai she will proceed and succeed with or with out the help of her Quantum Critter™. For as an observer as well as a friend, I believe it is the creativity and the life force she has within her that will help her through everything.
Just to illustrate my point, at present Murai is making plans with a SF GOSPEL church to go to Africa some time this coming May.
Murai spent twelve years living in Libya, Rome and London. Upon her return to the USA she moved to San Francisco where she established a career in art, fashion and design. Her exclusive designs sold in such well-known stores as Neiman Marcus and I. Magnin. After a decade in the fashion industry she sold her business in order to return to college and prepare for a career in the holistic health field. She obtained a Master of Arts Degree in body-mind Psychology from Sonoma State University and became a certified 'Brain Gym' instructor and Educational Kinesiologist. The Institute of Educational Therapy in Cotati, CA has recently certified her as a Diet Counselor. Her work comprises neurological changes through specific movement, biochemical changes through the use of food and motivational changes from her study of psychology and hypnotherapy: whole person techniques, which include spiritual integration through visualization and imagery-round, out the triune identity of body, mind and spirit. |
