Bridge Four Reflection

My name is Alec Ohanian. I am a self-driven, innovative 18-year-old who has designed and created dresses and gowns since the age of 14. As a women’s wear designer on the rise, my work embodies intricacy and innovation for the discerning and elegant woman. My passion is based on the belief that each garment deserves its unique process of creation. From the first creative thought to the final stitch, my work incorporates flow, elegance and subtlety. My desire for custom specification is deeply rooted in the belief that the connection between the designer and his model is vital and sacred to the creation of individuality in one’s work. At this stage in developing my talent, I am driven by a deep hunger for learning.My family is Armenian. I was born in New York and so was my mother but my father was born in Germany and has lived in France, Iran, Spain, and Switzerland. It was not difficult for me to decide that I wanted work on becoming a fashion designer because I didn’t choose to. I can only pin point the transition I made into the fashion industry to my time on the stage. As a young boy I absolutely adored the theatre and still do. But at the time I believed my interest in the arts meant I was to be an actor. I eventually grew very interested in theatrical costumes, sewing and replicating the ones from the stage until I found the world of Haute Couture. Haute Couture introduced me to the world where theatre and fashion collide. This subtle version of costume design offered all that I loved about theatrical costumes while on the runway. From Haute couture I transitioned into a focus on the great couturiers of fashion and have remained ever since. This transformative journey through passion has been absolutely terrific and I am so proud that I now study at one of the most reputable schools, globally.

With regard to our bridge projects this semester I now that the final project was the most interesting for me. Bridge four allowed me to focus upon a topic with which I was unfamiliar while still remaining engaged due to its roots in a familiar place (home).Bridge four: The task for our final bridge project was to locate a place which for you resembles “home.” Once we had found that place we were asked to focus on a topic which relates to the place. This topic could be a social issue facing the area, or even a prominent person from the place. Whatever we decided to focus upon we need to develop 10 haiku poems based off of the topic. For seminar we researched our “homes” and topics and created annotated bibliographies. During seminar we also focused upon the construction of our poems. During studio we focused on the accordion book which all of our poems were to be displayed and presented.

There location that I decided to focus upon was the town that I was raised in, Roslyn Harbor. Quite close to my home there is a natural preserve and museum called Cedarmere which is dedicated to the nineteenth century poet, William Cullen Bryant. The location was once the home of Bryant and has since become a popular destination for literature and natural buffs. I had always known that the place had something to do with the same man that Bryant park was named after but had no further knowledge. So when asked about something I wanted to learn about home, I immediately thought of this mysterious place. I found that almost instantly I was engaged within my research. After learning just how respected this man was I felt instant pride to have grown up in the area which inspired so much of his poetry. Bryant’s poetry heavily focused upon the idea that man can turn to nature in times of doubt. His writings dissolve the division between indoors and outdoors which results in the revelation that man and nature are not separate beings. they operate as one and rely on each other constantly.

As far as my poems I found that surrounding myself within the nature of the location is when my writings really took off. I dedicated each haiku to a separate location within the property. These locations included a stone foot bridge, a large pond, and the main building which Bryant called home. For my research I focused on photographs, articles, and poems. The poems I focused don were all by Bryant and assisted me in understanding visual-mental relationships. I decided to focus on a photograph also in order to see the difference between writing based off of a photo vs. writing while actually at the location depicted in the photo.

The actual presentation of my booklet was difficult to decide upon. I struggled to decide whether or not the book should be folded in a complex manner or simply in a basic formation. I finally decided that my haikus stood for themselves and did not benefit from intricate folding techniques. I did however decide to present my booklet within a button closure envelope after coming across postcards of Cedarmere from 1908. I also placed the envelope within a hollow out book of William Cullen Bryant’s. This presentation was meant to represent the way that his poetic works inspired mine.