Welcome to MyaLuise.com
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Artist Biography
Mya's Design Ethics and
Inspiration
As human beings, we are living and breathing amalgamations of the experiences we experience, places we live and visit, and people we see and know. My work is hard to categorize and may seem to be without a common theme. The reason for this is to deter monotony or predictability.
I always consider the environment and its creatures in my designs-having ethics and morals. Ethnic and tribal cultures around the world inspire me immensely; therefore influence my overall design aesthetic. I appreciate their dedication in each culture to certain motifs, fabric choices, and traditional garments. I travel a lot and collect artifacts and talismen everywhere I go. On the other end of the spectrum, I love feminine and intricate styles stemming from early 20th century Victorian, with a mix of the 70's free-flowing bohemian. Nature plays a big role in my aesthetics as well- with organic shapes, colors, and natural irregularities blending all within. I enjoy using innovative textiles, new forms of textile manipulations, and embellishments that have traditionally not been applied to the body- which is extremely captivating to me, and a prime element in most of my designs. I am involved with Aid To Artisans where local women in Afghanistan have a belt that a CCA classmate and I designed to create locally and sell to tourists- to earn deserving wages.
Inspiration
As human beings, we are living and breathing amalgamations of the experiences we experience, places we live and visit, and people we see and know. My work is hard to categorize and may seem to be without a common theme. The reason for this is to deter monotony or predictability.
I always consider the environment and its creatures in my designs-having ethics and morals. Ethnic and tribal cultures around the world inspire me immensely; therefore influence my overall design aesthetic. I appreciate their dedication in each culture to certain motifs, fabric choices, and traditional garments. I travel a lot and collect artifacts and talismen everywhere I go. On the other end of the spectrum, I love feminine and intricate styles stemming from early 20th century Victorian, with a mix of the 70's free-flowing bohemian. Nature plays a big role in my aesthetics as well- with organic shapes, colors, and natural irregularities blending all within. I enjoy using innovative textiles, new forms of textile manipulations, and embellishments that have traditionally not been applied to the body- which is extremely captivating to me, and a prime element in most of my designs. I am involved with Aid To Artisans where local women in Afghanistan have a belt that a CCA classmate and I designed to create locally and sell to tourists- to earn deserving wages.
Mya's very first jewelry collection created in a summer jewelry camp in 1991 out of "Friendly Plastic". This sparked her interest and obsession with everything wearable.
BIOGRAPHY
Mya Luise Schmalz has always been involved in many art forms including dance, violin, drawing, creating jewelry, and fashion design. The daughter of a dancer and a lawyer, she has the dual thinking processes of creativity and practicality.
Mya realized that she would follow her interest in fashion design after studying it at Palatine High School in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Her experience was extremely fulfilling, and she pursued an Associate's Degree in Fashion Design at William Rainey Harper College, also in Illinois. During those years, she travelled with the fashion program to Paris, New York City, all over China, and appeared on WGN Chicago's Morning News "Time Out For Talent" segment. Once she received her Associate's Degree in Applied Science in Fashion Design, it was off to the west coast. She was accepted to California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts) in Oakland, California in 2003. She was thrilled with the idea of taking classes in and out of her major...enter metalsmithing. Her Senior thesis gallery exhibition was a success, and she graduated after two years with a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts in Fashion Design.
Ready for more adventure, she moved south to Los Angeles in the summer of 2005, and began the rat-race of "real life." She worked for many designers and companies including Seven for All Mankind, Kira Craft, The Jackrabbit Collection, Chan Luu, BoJc, StyleFirm, and began her freelance career as a costume/ wardrobe stylist. Her work has been featured on celebs such as Lucy Liu, Shana Halligan (of Bitter:Sweet), Gavin Rossdale, and Mena Suvari.
Thirteen projects later, Mya has moved back to the midwest, designing jewelry and continuing with costume. She is currently working on her triple jewelry line. You can see a few of the pieces in the "Jewelry" section.
