Cover Artist: Ruby Cohen Love

Ruby Cohen Love is an artist, creative director and researcher born in Guatemala. Ruby moved to London in 2015 to pursue her studies at Central Saint martins in fashion communication.

Go Inspire: What was your inspiration behind the cover artwork?

Ruby: The inspiration for the cover came from cultural diversity and solidarity amongst women. I chose to design the characters on the cover with a similar face to those of traditional dolls in different countries, including my own; Guatemala. They all have similar expressions and faces and the differences are the costumes which I wanted to use as a reflection of how women are similar but have cultural differences and how women are all together but have separate identities, reflecting and celebrating opposites at the same time.

GI: How did you find the creation of the artwork? What was the process like for you?

RCL: From the early stages of discussion with Go Inspire, I had a clear visual of the cover artwork from the outset. The process is always interesting to see how that first vision your mind becomes a reality and how I can match that reality as close to the visual fantasy as possible. I started with a line drawing by hand and applied ink and finished the colour on photoshop so it was a creative mix between analogue and digital which I have recently started to incorporate into my illustrative work.

GI: Go Inspire is focused on inspiring women across the UK. What or who inspires you?

RCL: Nature is a big factor when it comes to inspiration for me. I love the feeling of all that I have [before] nature. It could be an animal, a flower, a tree, a river...it doesn't matter. The feeling of natures vastness in comparison to my size gives perspective to how small certain problems may be, in reality. That allows the important to be big.

I think most of the time we cannot be creative and I want to talk about creativity as the important element. We overload our mind with everyday problems that don't allow us to be creative. When I stand in front of the beauty of a flower, those problems minimise and then there is space in my mind to be creative. This is incredibly important to me.

The second thing that inspires me deeply is art. Seeing architecture, museums, in particular ancient art; Roman, Greek. Even Pre-Raphaelites, Renaissance, I will never stop feeling inspired by the art produced during these times and it's always something I am go back to.

GI: We saw that you like to dance, specifically Bachata and you practise Yoga. What do you enjoy most about these?

RCL: I enjoy being in my body, to be aware of where I am in space and to feel like I am living from the tip of my toes to the crown of my head. I think that if we are sitting in front of our computer, for example, we are not even thinking where our legs are. I have the sensation when am in my body practicing Yoga or dancing Bachata that I am living fully and that every single part of my body is present and not only my mind. You can be very present with your mind and forget about where your body is. I have the concept of living fully both being in my mind and in my body, and of course in spirit but I would say that this is why I enjoy physical practices as much as intellectual or creative practices.

GI: Can you tell us about your cultural heritage and growing up in Guatemala. What was it like moving to London from there?

RCL: I was born and raised in Guatemala City but I always felt like a fish out of water. I had a lot of friends, I had a good time in school but I was very different from my friends because I was brought up in the cultural and artist scene in Guatemala so nobody else around me had a similar background and in a way it felt lonely. On the other hand people were always interested in what I was doing and how my life was because it was very different from everybody else's. I always had the need, rather than want, to move to Europe. I always had the feeling that Europe and the culture was my place. The decision to come to London was based on my studies at Central Saint Martins. I had always been interested in fashion and felt this was the best place to study. When I came to London it was a cultural shock for sure! But it felt incredible to be surrounded by similar backgrounds to me and somewhere where I could learn from other people. It has been tough, I would say that is has taken me about 8 years since I have been here. Maybe 2 years ago London started to feel like my home and I can now call myself a Londoner!

GI: Could you tell us more about RubyBonBon and your art patisserie?

RCL: RubyBonBon is my dream! It is a luxury cake startup which I have been developing for just over a year. The idea is to have a fantasy, a world that surrounds the patisserie which will bring together my fashion world with the patisserie world and communicate that to the audience which will specifically be fashion and art audiences and in general luxury. It will be a cake brand which will be known for its advertisements. I would like to sell cakes as if they were perfumes, for example, if you watch a perfume advertisement, you do not know how the perfume will smell through a screen, instead you buy into the fantasy and the lifestyle and the idea in the advert as an image or a film and you invest in the fantasy and not the perfume itself. Of course the perfume is great! And the cake will be fantastic! My communication will be strong and focussed on the luxury in the images, it will be distinct about the brand and hopefully it will be the go-to for fashion events. I am looking forward to seeing it grow, stay tuned!