\u201cIt\u2019s a material that is half not there and I find that fascinating.\u201d\nHey everybody, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It\u2019s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I\u2019m so glad you\u2019re joining me on this journey!\n\nFor today\u2019s episode, I talked with artist Benjamin Shine \u2014 he may not seem like a tutu guy, but he has a background in women\u2019s wear and makes fantastic art with single pieces of tulle fabric. In addition to tulle, Benjamin uses other unconventional materials and tools, such as irons and fence metal, to make some stunning pieces.\xa0\n\nFinding clarity from chaos, Benjamin Shine reached success in the art world by using gravity and the density of material to create form rather than still images. I brought Benjamin on the show today to talk about the pivot from his fashion career, his graveyard of old iron, his spiritual journey with art, and so much more.\xa0\n\nBenjamin Shine is the perfect example of a Creative Alchemist \u2014 by using unconventional tools, excellent business strategy, and tying it all back to his spiritual experiences, he has made a career in the art world that truly stands out from the rest.\n\nWithout further ado, let\u2019s dive into the interview.\nWho Is Benjamin Shine?\xa0\nBenjamin Shine is a multidisciplinary artist who is most known for his work using tulle, which centers on ideas of energy, impermanence, and the relationship between the spiritual and the superficial. In addition to having several of his works displayed around the world, Benjamin has collaborated with several celebrities and famous designers, including John Galliano.\xa0\n\nAfter being encouraged to leave fashion school in his third year, Benjamin focused his efforts on creating two items of clothing from a single piece of fabric before going down the inventor-designer rabbit hole. Now, he\u2019s creating revolutionary tulle portraits. If you haven\u2019t seen his work, you need to go over to his Instagram right now @benjaminshinestudio. His work with tulle is absolutely breathtaking.\xa0\n\nHe has an amazing technique where he uses an iron and creates depth and shadows by fusing pieces of the tulle together onto a canvas. If you check out his Instagram, you can watch videos of this technique in more detail!\xa0\n\nI met Benjamin\u2019s wife, Danielle Shine, at an event a couple of months ago \u2014 she\u2019s an amazing nutritionist, chef, and human being, and she connected me with her husband so I could interview him on the podcast. We talk about so much today, so make sure to listen to the full episode to get all the details. With that, let\u2019s get started.\xa0\nPivoting From Fashion to Investor Design to Fabric Portraits\xa0\nAs I said above, Benjamin began his artistic career in fashion. He attended two universities \u2014 one in the U.K. and the other at St. Martins \u2014 and he specialized in women\u2019s wear. At the time, he didn\u2019t really know anything about fashion besides a tiny bit of work experience from when he was sixteen.\xa0\n\u201cWhen I got there, I sort of discovered that I really knew very little. \u2026 All these other students \u2026 knew all the designers. I really didn\u2019t know how to serve. So I was starting right at the bottom. But I picked it up pretty quickly and I just loved working with fabric, which was a totally new medium. \u2026 I was like the art kid [who] was good at drawing and painting, but we were never taught to venture outside that \u2026 so it was a whole new medium.\u201d - Benjamin Shine\xa0\nAfter designing some t-shirts when he was 16, Benjamin saw that fashion was a potentially profitable career. In school, he learned very quickly and loved being able to experiment with new materials, such as tulle. It was in his third year of school that he developed an obsession with the fabric:\xa0\n\u201cBy the third year, I sort of developed an obsession for making clothing out of one piece of fabric. It was outside of the idea of fashion trends and that sort of ...