It has come to my attention that I should open a spa. I love the spa. How wonderful it is that spa visitors can come in, get facials, get fillers, get makeovers, get consultations, get whatever, get results, and leave a beautiful, enlightened, radiant supershadow of themselves. Estheticians and beauty workers become lifelong friends, teachers, shamans.
I had a premonition of opening a physical location for the Valentine Enterprises business, but it was unclear as to what form it would take. The success of Space Castle made me certain that when our destination is unveiled, it will take the form of a spa.
The makeshift Space Castle spa went over so well that I'm now gathering to open a spa in real life. I've enrolled in the lovely Aveda Institute to study for my esthetician license. I'm doing the extracurricular research. I'm going to the spa as often as I could afford. Having a spa-themed arty was instrumental in developing the courage, information, and look of how a real spa could be constructed. Thanks, Space Castle. Even before then, friends and guests at my home would always tell me my room looked and smelled like a spa (the ultimate compliment).
The ambiguity of Valentine Enterprises lends itself well to rebranding and recalibration. I've toyed with the idea of opening a studio or art space, but being too close to my art practice would drain any creative energy I put into it. A spa, however, or a spa(ce) that primarily functions as a refreshing health oasis and secondarily as an art gallery for monthly events, is pretty close to my vision of the ideal work habitat, and won't tear out creative energy.
As a different type of creativity altogether, I love that esthetics brings together art, science, nature, healthcare, and human interaction. I love the Aveda philosophy of natural healthcare, organic plant-based ingredients, and kind-hearted values. Being in nature is the true serotonin spa. Here, throughout this petite post, are pictures of pastoral Russian landscapes I travelled to this summer.
To say that they are visionary and inspiring is not enough.
The holographic sunsets and nearly neon golden hour light is embedded in my aesthetic as something to capture and reflect in however my artificial sparadise will look like.
None of these photos are edited, either. It's all in-camera settings and ~natural beauty~
Except this one. When in Russia, gotta have some bears.
There's a nice window into the pastoral landscape in this mini trove of pics, and there are more to come!
Friends, thank you for any and all support! I hope that you will accompany me and Valentine Enterprises on the journey to spa illumination. It's going to be a chill one.
PS. What kind of Russian would I be without a picture of the Red Square and some Adidas??
PPSS. Pug life. Pets will have to be welcome to the spa! I love them all! Inclusivity for all pets and humans regardless of race, sexual orientation, religion, etc! If you are chill, you are in! And if you are in, you are chill!