Meet Emily Peters | Artisan & Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Peters and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I don’t think about risk. If we want to view the world in those terms, we will find plenty that is risky, and plenty of possible directions to either lean into risk or avoid risk. I don’t see the world in that way. When I investigate direction for my life, my art – and those two in the form of work, business, or career – I get still and quiet so that the natural unfoldment of the direction reveals itself. When it appears like a decision is arising, I stop and I listen. When I stop and listen, I find that there is really no decision. The way is clear. The direction already knows itself, and I already know the direction too.

This knowing might be misunderstood as intuition, and though it may be felt like that sometimes, it is in fact deeper than intuition. Tuning into intuition might also involve getting quiet and still and listening, but there are two identities created in this process. There is an identity created in the form of the person and another in the form of the intuition. There is a split in the person. In my experience there really is no processing, and there really is no difference between my own identity and the “direction” or “decision”.

I know this may be a deeply confounding concept for many. Maybe especially in this arena, where I’m being interviewed for an article supposedly about business. In mainstream thought, the prevailing ideas about business don’t usually even mildly come in contact with any concept that isn’t tangible, quantifiable, or measurable. In the fringe mainstream, new age and metaphysical concepts like the law of attraction and self care have started to take a solid hold. However, if you notice, the effects of these two natural universal phenomena, can be measured, and so can their effect on business. It could be said that the experience that I’m speaking on is deeper than metaphysical concepts, but more truthfully, it’s far less effort than deep and far closer than the word “deeper” implies. And, it cannot be measured, only experienced.

For me, even holding the concept of business is not happening. Sure, I have tried in the past to conform to that box, but it has never been fruitful or enjoyable, and neither has it been a true experience for me because it is a contrived existence. I always return to this effortless being, and as effortless being unfolds, risk and success don’t truly exist.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
In art and business, the collective assumption is that they are competitive environments. In that form of mind, there is a survival of the fittest mentality projected onto these activities. That phrase – which has been incorrectly attributed to Charles Darwin, but was actually coined by philosopher, Herbert Spencer and criticized by Darwin – was really meant to mean survival of the friendliest, or most community oriented. As Darwin wrote,“Communities, which included the greatest number of the most sympathetic members, would flourish the best, and rear the greatest number of offspring.”

We could point to a lot of subconscious social conditioning that has led to that great big misunderstanding, primary among them: white supremacy and toxic patriarchy. However, since I’ve discussed those social ills at length in previous VoyageMIA Shoutout articles, today, let’s direct our attention not on what sets us apart, what separates us, but what unifies us in these realms of art and business.

At the heart of these matters are our hearts. For many artists, its common to hear them say that they make art because they have to make art. It isn’t a choice for us; there is no choice, there is just art. For many in business, what they choose to enterprise isn’t really a choice either. It’s there in our hearts. What we love and what serves our communities, thrives. And what we love the most holds the greatest potential to best serve our communities.

What’s in my heart is art and music. I express my art through adornment and my music through voice, guitar, mandolin and various keyboard instruments like harmonium and synthesizers. Although those arts have been defined by most of society as an industrial business, they are not those things to me. Could they be viewed in that context? Sure! No problem whatsoever. The experience of creating my arts and letting my arts interact with the world is not commerce or industry or business, the experience as a whole is a living, breathing unfolding of realities.

To experience the unfolding, check out my latest sustainable art-to-wear jewelry collection – ETHERS – my zero-waste, open, rolling, never-ending clothing collection – TREES – and stay connected to experience my two forthcoming singles – On Air and Rose.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My favorite spots in town are nature spots – the ocean is best any time of day or night, the Miami-Dade, Broward and State of Florida parks systems are pretty fly, and there are some awesome urban farms, gardens and greenhouses which offer public programming around town like Earth n Us, Little River Cooperative, Finca Morada, and Center for Subtropical Affairs.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To Ramana Maharshi, who had a panic attack, laid down on the floor and welcomed what his thoughts told him was death, but was instead the full awakening of his true identity. And to H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji), Anthony Moo (Mooji), and Toni Roberson (Gangaji) for waking up too, and continuing to guide us all to all our true effortless selves.

Website: https://www.ateliere.org &  https://www.eeiiyy.com

Instagram: @e.atelier.e & @e.m.i.l.y.sings

Image Credits
1st two portraits in Pandanus Dress Nadina Liberatore – photography Emily Peters – photo art Ethers Collection & Rose album cover: Emily Peters – photography On Air album cover: Jacqueline Soir