A legacy of collaborations with Elisabeth Lesser, Co-Founder of the Omega Institute
If you’re an explorer of holistic wellness, you might be familiar with The Omega Institute. In its latest manifestation, as a description, it’s defined, on their website, as “a nonprofit, donor-supported, educational organization at the forefront of holistic studies. Located on more than 250 acres in New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley, Omega offers a wide variety of workshops, retreats, conferences, and professional training, in-person and online. Since 1977, more than one million people have come to Omega for reasons big and small—to spark creativity, explore spirituality, improve well-being, and connect to a community of lifelong learners.“
While it’s not the current logo, as noted above, one of my early interpretative renderings is still a welcoming greeting on campus signage, photographed by Kevin Wieland.
Image used under CC BY-SA 2.0
The art for this earlier identity draft comes from a string of collaborative efforts with mentor and friend, Elizabeth Lesser, best selling author, speaker, educator and remarkable person. I’ve learned so much from her, in the decades of our friendship and collaborations.
You can learn more from her, and about her, here.
A media picture of Elizabeth from her website.
My introduction to Elizabeth came circuitously, first through publication designer Robert Ciano, a legendary art director at Life Magazine and later Travel&Leisure. I worked with him on both magazines, And he referenced, another introduction to an art director of LOOK magazine on American photography, first, Will Hopkins. Then Shems Friedlander—he talked to me about working as a designer for Omega, then suggested to Elizabeth that we should collaborate on marketing promotions for the Omega Institute. I learned, later, about Friedlander’s long-running scholarly and artistic efforts on the Mevlevi Sufi order—a Tariqa founded by Mevlana Jalâl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī in the 12th century—his books and photography.
What follows is a history of that collaborative effort—each year, an evolution.
The beginning in 1981, now—as noted above—hand-scribed in signage on site at the Omega Institute.
Obviously, I don’t have ALL of them, the catalog covers, but in our moving and relocation cycle, I found most—and it’s an intriguing recollection of my collaborations with Elisabeth Lesser—the spirit of the times, what needed to be illustrated, expressed, and brought out.
Mostly capturing:
serenity, warmth, humanity, consciousness,
exploration, awareness and learning.
I recall each of these efforts.
The intensity of connecting ideas to image.
Ever onwards.
Journeyer, check Omega out.
Tim
Co-create. Collaborate. Connect.
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