Clarisse Teresa I. Provido
Clarisse Teresa I. Provido
Illustrator + Art + Creative Direction / Fashion Designer, Founder of Clarisse The Label and CPD
New York, NY
www.clarisseprovido.com
instagram: @sentimentalsediments
@clarissethelabel
pinterest: @sentimentalsediments
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I’m Clarisse Provido, a Filipina Mixed Media Artist + Designer based in New York, NY”
who creates stylized illustrations + graphic design + branding + wearable art that resonates.
My goal is to intersect sustainability, expressive arts, together with meaningful and unique experiences in my work. I house my work under Clarisse Provido Designs(CPD) Studio for local and international clients based in New York City and Manila, Philippines.
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
At the age of 2, I have been drawing anything that sparked my interest. I used a large, brown Manila paper placed on the floor as my canvas for sketches of forms and shapes. When I was 10, I designed a pink-colored plaid terno (Filipiniana - the Philippine national dress) in celebration of Buwan ng Wika (National Language Month in the Philippines) in our school. I fell in love with my design on paper that I begged my mom to have a real one made.
At 15, the faces on the newspaper turned out to be handy for my playful imagination as I created stylized outlines to distort their looks. These imprints from my childhood always make me feel giddy of my journey. Like any other kid, I was dumbfounded on what course to take as my undergraduate course but my brother (a.k.a. mentor) pushed me to pursue BFA Advertising Arts. This course provided me a spectrum of knowledge on marketing, psychology, traditional and digital mediums which are vital in creating a “big idea” or concept, and creative executions for an ad campaign.
From my fascination to further education, I have fully formed the passion for multimedia arts and fashion - with a dream to create something beautiful, inspiring and worthwhile.
Since then, I have explored and focused on expressive arts and fashion design with this goal in mind: "To solve design needs and challenges while creating intentional, meaningful concepts leading to beautiful experiences."
I just moved to Manhattan, New York as a US resident, hoping to further my experience and hone my vision and experience as a Filipina designer and illustrator.
I also aim to sustain and continue to support creative, sustainable initiatives for the Filipino culture and textile communities through my work and collaborations.
HOW DO YOU STAND OUT IN YOUR FIELD?
I strategically discern the client’s specific needs (e.g. custom illustrations, paintings, and businesses) through a series of questions, immersive brainstorming sessions, and personal journals for the project as to extract the purest form of the objective and create possible solutions to meet it. My goal is to align the client with their objective, strategy, and personal values and identities by translating it into a visual narrative.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
I’m currently working on a super fun branding and production project for a Korean Restaurant, and a relaunch of my friend’s business! I’m also doing research and visual design development for a graphic novel. On top of those, I’m still working on traditional paintings on canvas that I plan to sell and include in my portfolio since I have been receiving requests for ready-made art.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
A collaboration - An intersection of production, fashion styling, wearable art, Illustations (for the lookbook) in one project.
WE ALL HAVE MULTIPLE SKILLS OR WORK IN VARIOUS INDUSTRIES, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD FOCUS ON MORE?
I find it frustrating to keep the momentum to consistently make progress with my sewing and pattern-making learning endeavors. As it takes time to produce detailed pieces backed up by comprehensive research, my vision is often muddled with frustration. Sometimes, I feel a bit discouraged when I think I am taking too much time on certain things but I always remind myself that I will be putting my creative paychecks and learnings to my goal..
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
I would ask them to do the following:
• Read and research on the relationship of art, psychology, and tech with design trends and ideas
• Provide three brief key points every day
• Gather data and statistics on my work and insights as to trace the metrics of my works
• Create a more organized Trello board and schedule I would like to reassess the value of my work and by hiring someone to these tasks, I would be able to improve my performance for life-work and everything else in between.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
I would ask them to read and research on the relation of art, psychology, and tech x design trends and ideas - make them do a short 3 brief key points every day. Also, I’d like to ask to get statistics on my work and get observations - to know what good metrics are to measure the value brought by the work, what is the best way for my work to connect/resonate and probably the proposal easy to do action points for marketing. Also, to create a more organized Trello board and schedule - to reassess what is the best time to do something and for how long to improve life-work-everything else performance.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
I wish I could have told myself:
“You are beautiful in your own body, in your own space and in your own moment right now. You are enough. Embrace the struggle and wins. It will always be a process of knowing yourself. You will be alright.”
During my teen years when I would be so indecisive and anxious about anything.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
Focus.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
I’m looking for editorial/commercial illustration projects to represent a brand, person, product/service - basically to use it to catch attention and convey a message. I’m also open to collaborations on fashion styling and placement of my wearable art from Clarisse The Label.
Occasionally, I’m also open to branding projects for clients that I find as the right fit for me. For custom art, I am looking for individuals who would like to celebrate a milestone and translate it into a tattoo or art on canvas.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
My ideal job / collaboration would be an intensive meeting between me an individual / brand as I ask the tailored questions through journals, questionnaires and interview. I aim to translate what their milestone into wearable art or a customized painting by providing a visual art that both the client and I can proudly identify with.
Sourcing for raw materials, hands-on product development, and conservations with the client are fun activities for me to make wearable art.
WHAT IS YOUR HOURLY RATE, RETAINER, OR SALARY RANGE?
I usually offer a free 15-minute consultation to discuss the overview of the project/design work. After the discussion, I will send a preview of the full proposal on the design execution along with the quotation. If you are interested, please send an email to design@clarisseprovido.com including the client name/brand including the creative brief or general information.
WHO IS A CREATIVE THAT HAS HELPED YOU ELEVATE YOUR WORK?
My mentor and an internationally celebrated Filipina Fashion Designer, Patis Pamintuan Tesoro, has helped me by asking the right questions and influenced my design perspective. She made me realise the importance of knowing your materials, market, farmers, and other aspects of the design process. She taught me to be unapologetic with myself personally and to always keep in mind what I like and don't like. Her Instagram is @patistesoro.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
Tell me about your values, what you want to celebrate/commemorate/feel, things you are attracted to and I'll share mine and hopefully, we're a match/balance each other for a project!
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
Sleep, Eat, Spontaneity, Learn, Resonate and Laser Focus!
This member profile was originally published in August 2019.