S5E04 Breaking the Average with Lidi Bus

It is always super fun to talk to fellow Dutchies. Lidi Bus talked about her journey as an artist, how she came about her inflatable design and their colorful combination but also about vulnerability and her quest to break free from average. 

Born Dutch, Lidi designs and fabricates unique inflatable props and set pieces, definitely not modern art to be stared at in silence. Her creations are striking expressions of applied art aimed at fashion, interior design, product presentations, photo shoots and events. Inflatable items with specific dimensions and colors can be created on request. Break free from average is her motto and she certainly does.

Lidi Bus inflatables serve as an extension for storytellers to help them create eye-catching presentations. They resonate with creators who see value in an exceptional approach, and seek to stand out from the crowd. Exclusive, bold and unique. Lidi embraces extraordinary projects, far removed from the mundane, making a statement: average is simply not enough.

The very essence of her work is based on a mix of observation, gathering useful and interesting working materials as well as ongoing research into the technical details, including the inflation system and intricate details of finishing. It is from this playful approach that the rough ideas emerge and are then carefully filtered: from broad to narrow, making room for the true concept and final result.

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Transcript

Judith van Vliet: Welcome, everybody, to The Color Authority podcast. Today I'm going to be talking to Lidi Bus, born Dutch designs and fabricates unique inflatable props and set pieces. Definitely not modern art to be stared at in silence. Her creations are striking expressions of applied art aimed at fashion, interior design, product presentations, photoshoots and events. And of course, they are super, super colorful inflatable items with specific dimensions and colors, and it can be created on request. Her main motto is to break free from average. Good morning, Lidi. Welcome to the color authority. How are you today? And I'm so excited to have this conversation with you.

Lidi Bus: Hi. Good morning, Judith. I'm doing great, actually. Really looking forward to have this conversation with you. I'm a big fan of your work.

Judith van Vliet: Well, we were just discussing before we actually started that you're actually wearing my branding color of the color authority podcast. So I do that on purpose. But I do appreciate very much.

Lidi Bus: Thank you. Thank you. No, it's my, well, it's one of my favorite colors, obviously.

Judith van Vliet: Well, we're going to be talking a lot about color because what you do is extremely colorful. So that's next. Exciting. But the first question, the same as for everybody else, which is, what is color to you, Lidi?

Lidi Bus: For me, color is like a material. The material I use is it supports color and it carries out color in a certain way. But color is, it's really connected, a really connected element with my work and with my design. So I cannot see color apart from the design.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah. So it's part of your thinking when you're starting to think about one of your designs, color is immediately part of that design.

Lidi Bus: Yeah, that's totally true. Color is there right from the start. I have a design in mind, and it comes, comes in at a certain color. First, I'm going to draw, and I often do imagine they're a color. I often make sketches in clay, so I get my head around about the shape, meaning that I understand measurements and curves and stuff like that. I use this in a scale, as a scale model, and then I paint it as soon as it's dry in a certain color. This gives me a clear idea of how the inflatable looks like. Should I also tell about my color inspiration right away? Yeah.

Judith van Vliet: Yes, please. And also, I'm also curious. So, first of all, where you get your color inspiration. Also, second of all, you start with clay, which obviously your product is not in clay. It also, yeah.

Lidi Bus: So that's something.

Judith van Vliet: Translate that, because color on clay, obviously will look different, totally different. And on your final material. How. How do you do that? Matching.

Lidi Bus: So, as I was saying, I see color as an apart, a material persé. I don't know if that's a good word in English. And when you use a material under it. So, like paper, clay, fabric, it totally has a different view. And also it has to do with structure and stuff and tactical stuff. So I first start in paper, and then I, I make this drawing I have in clay. And then I paint the clay first white. So I do a really big white layer, and then above that, I will adjust the color. But it's just a sketch. So it, obviously, when I work with fabric, which is the end of the project, the color is really different. So I have to keep in mind what kind of fabric am I going to use? Because sometimes it's a little bit transparent or it as a structure, and it's. Yeah, that's all part of the process.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah. And it changes the color inside, because clay is obviously 100% opaque. Yeah. As soon as something is transparent, there's light coming through, so the color saturation completely, completely changes. You adjust. So you have to adjust what was in your mind. Yeah. And then in the end, it will look different. Yeah, totally true.

Lidi Bus: And also, when you place colors next to each other, also the light is different. So when I use, for example, kite fabric, and if kite fabric has the light part above, then the light comes from above and it goes through the inflatable, and it totally looks different. So it's all in the process. Man. I cannot say I see the whole making art process as playing. I really need to.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah.

Lidi Bus: Well, first I go to the studio. The studio for me is really a safe space, a space where I can totally feel free from any rules or any, actually anything out there. When I'm in the studio, I first have to relieve myself from all the stuff I should actually do. So I feel guilty for a little bit. And after that, after I'm done with feeling guilty, I started to play. And then this is how the whole process came about. And I call this the open mode. There's a really famous speech of John Cleese about being creative, and he is. I learned this from him. To work into the open mode, you need to have a little bit time to just do nothing.

Judith van Vliet: Be bored. Yeah, to be bored.

Lidi Bus: Or he's saying, pottering about. That's funny. I think that's fun. And. But then after that, you can be open, and then there are no rules. Nothing is wrong. You can start from nothing. And I see it as plain this is how I work.

Judith van Vliet: Going back to that guilt feeling. What does it mean? You feel guilty because you're supposed to, I don't know, do household work or what.

Lidi Bus: Exactly. Exactly. I'm a mom of three kids, right. There's always stuff to do. I also teach art. I mean there I have students. I mean, yeah, it's a busy life. So when you are in the studio you really need to put that aside and make room for being creative. That's a really, really clear choice you have to make there.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah, well, you come from a family where art is. It's in your veins, it's in your blood. You're an artist like your grandpa. But like most journeys, it's not the easiest journey. You know, I think nothing in life is easy, but it comes with ups and downs. Can you talk a little bit about this journey? Because you just talked about the guilt feeling. I think guilt feeling is a typical female thing, but I think it's also a dutch thing. Yeah, I think it's a little bit of a dutch thing. Like you have to earn your free time. You have to earn the joys of life. I think it's especially in the northern part of the Netherlands. So it's funny. So can you talk a little bit about that journey? Like that moment that you knew you wanted to be an artist and how that came about to where you are now.

Lidi Bus: Okay. So the journey was quite hard actually. I started 3000 years ago as an art teacher. Now I did Koning, William de Koenig. And after the first year I said to my dad, he is the son of the artist. Well, my granddad was an artist. He was a sculpture artist, Dirk Bus. And I said to my dad, now I want to become an artist. And then I said, no, that's no option. And I said, why not? Because you don't have any money. And you that whole story. So he advised me to become a teacher, an art teacher, which I did. I did. I get my teaching degree and then I started teaching. And I did that for a long time. And then I gave birth to my three sons, obviously. And then a couple of years ago I was like, oh, am I going to teach for the rest of my life? Is it what I really want to be? And then the answer was no. So I went to do my master degree in Groningen. I went to the Frank Moore Institute. And yeah, for me it was a really difficult journey to break free from my, from the. Actually the idea of my family, what art should be. So my family had a really strong opinion about that. And I grew up with that from when I was really little, I really had to break free. So because my family always my. So my granddad, he's a sculpture, and he figurative. So art was always figurative. There were always figures in there, and figurative is what it's supposed to be. And abstract art wasn't less appreciated in our home. So I used my master degree to form my opinion, what art for me meant for me, and what I think it actually is. And I started to put artists next to each other, and I wrote down what I appreciate about them and what I liked less about them. And then along the way, during those two years, my taste changes, and I made a list of true heroes to myself, what kind of artists I really like, and what I think they were really cool. And which elements, obviously, color was a big, important element. And this list, I still have this list, but it's constantly moving and shifting around. And I started with most figurative artists, and now today, it's, most of the artists I really like are abstract.

Judith van Vliet: Which one are the ones that you really like right now? Like the ones that are now today on your list?

Lidi Bus: That's a good question. So I'm now really into photographers, actually. So we just talked about earlier about Berry Dijkstra. He's a curator, actually, but he also does really colorful, beautiful pictures with design, actually. But these design pieces are really colorful and cool shapes, so that really impresses me. And I also like, what's so interesting.

Judith van Vliet: Is, of course, his hay backgrounds, because I met him when he was at Hay. Hay is so colorful. Like, they'll have, like, six colors on one product. So that's really. You still envision that? That he's also this color guy, you know, he's color. Very important.

Lidi Bus: Totally true. And we lived in Copenhagen a couple of years ago, me and my family, and I went to the hay house, and I was totally impressed by that. Also the drawings of Natalie. Oh, I forgot her name. I'm bad at names. She is a French artist, and she painted. You come into the hay house, you painted the walls, and it's so beautiful, but also shaped. Right. It's not only color, it's shaped, and it all matches together. For me, that really comes together. So, ironically, I now see myself as a sculpture artist, same as my granddad, but I make sculptures out of air, abstract, instead of. Out of stone and metal or.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Lidi Bus: So that's funny.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah. So you researched material, color and shape. You just explained a little bit about your process. Color. The color comes from inspiration. Where exactly? So also, first of all, your kite fabrics, that's nylon, polyester. Yeah.

Lidi Bus: So I use, for now I'm using free type of fabrics. I use typhack. Typhic is like a fabric. It's in between paper and fabric. But like. Well, everybody can imagine. No, I have to explain. This needs to be. Yeah. Close so the air can. Cannot go out. So that's really important. Then you could say you can use plastic, but plastic has a really different. Plastic, by the way, is a really good carrier of color because it's really. Yeah, it's stable. Yeah, stable. That's. That's the good word. And plastic, when you work with plastic, you cannot sew it under the sewing machine and you have to stick it with tape. And that's also really something you have to think about. I don't like sticking with tape. I like working on a sewing machine. So it also has to be like something you can work with and you feel comfortable with. So what was the question again? I'm sorry.

Judith van Vliet: You get to your color choices.

Lidi Bus: Ah. Oh, my color choices. Yeah. Let me think about that.

Judith van Vliet: I know that color is something that comes in your mind immediately when you think about shape and material. Yeah.

Lidi Bus: Okay. So for inspiration, I do a lot of window shopping, actually. So I live in Rotterdam and I do a lot of. Well, I look at the colors in the, in the windows of the city, but I also steal from color ideas from interior design, other designers and other artists. I'm really sensitive to trends for color, but I'm. Yeah, most of the time, it's really. I'm doing it. Oh, my God. Feeling.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah, that's. That's a good feeling. But they're always bright colors, I feel because, yeah, when I look at your, your work, it's very colorful. It's not. You don't have muted colors. You don't have blacks and grays. You know, it's. It is colorful. So that's one of your branding as well, to do something that's. It's colorful. What is that message that you want to give to people when they look at your work?

Lidi Bus: Oh, that's a hard one. Well, my work should be fun. I don't carry a really political message, or I don't want to talk about the environment, which I don't, you know, I don't want to say that I'm not about that, but it's just, I don't have this big feeling that I want to say something to the world. And I really think, I really appreciate artists who does that. But for me, it's not big issue. I think it's light and it has to be fun. Yeah, you could call that superficial. But then I quote Andy Warhol, one of my favorite artists, saying I'm a deeply superficial person, which I'm not. But no, I don't have a big message. I think what I think is important is that we look at a lot of images these days on our phone and social media and stuff. And I think there's a really big thing called the monoculture. So the monoculture is rising and it's taking over everything. Every picture looks the same on Instagram. And I'm a big fan of making authentic or other different kind of pictures. I think that's cool. And then. Yeah. And then in real life, I mean, I is my biggest concurrent, I could say. Because when you're making pictures you could also do that on a computer. But for me it's really important that it's real and you can touch it. It's.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah. Your work is very tactile because it's inflatable design. So also if you don't put the air in it, just bag, it's not back. But really there's movement as well. Yeah. What was your first idea? Like how. How did this inflatable design come about?

Lidi Bus: Come about?

Judith van Vliet: Yeah.

Lidi Bus: When I did my master degree, I also taught at a school and I have my three kids and I was living in Delft at the moment and I was studying in Groningen. So I had to go back and forth every three weekends. And then I go back on Saturday, sleep in my studio until Tuesday and then drive back. So my work was. Well, as I was saying, it was moving from figurative to abstract art. And it was getting bigger and bigger and bigger. And at one point I changed the whole attic with steroid foam and really big stuff. But then it didn't fit in the car anymore. So then at one point we're just talking about a hair dryer. I had a hairdryer and I had a little piece of kite paper actually. And I wrapped it around and I pushed the button. And then all of a sudden it became really big and there I was. It was like right in front of me. And I discovered that something can be really small, but when you inflate it, it's going to be really big. There we go.

Judith van Vliet: That was your solution? Like to it?

Lidi Bus: What's my solution?

Judith van Vliet: Exhibitions. Because also recently you went to Milan, you know, you to be part of Isla design Milan Design Week just a month ago. If they were still as big as they were with Styrofoam. It would have been a difficult trip for you to do.

Lidi Bus: Difficult trip. And now I only had one suitcase. So I bring.

Judith van Vliet: I saw the suitcase and I was like, how is she doing this one suitcase? And you had all your inflatable designs in there. And hair dryer.

Lidi Bus: No, not a hairdryer. So now I'm using. Being a pro. Right. So I did research on all the inflatable well, ventilation systems. You've got, like, a ton of it. And also. So actually, it has a really big technical background. It's kind of an engineering work, what I'm doing, because I have to pay attention to the air pressure and I have to pay attention to the noise, and I have to pay attention to the weights, which was, in Milan, a big issue, because this was the first time that I was outside with my work for a whole week. And my work is really fragile. You cannot compare it with inflatable art, which can be used for children. These really big castles. It's all handmade. It's all one off, but it's also really light. So when the wind came in, I had a really big problem. I had a really big problem. And then, so inside the inflatables, there's a ventilation system. And now I have the system with bags, which I fill with water. So it has pressure on one side, and it has, uh, it can stay at one side, but with a lot of wind. I just. There was one day with a lot of wind, and then I had to break it down.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah. Yeah. And it's very weird because Milan normally does not get winds, really, because it's obviously in the pole. So, yeah, that was not a lucky day. I remember, uh, that was a tough day for everybody. But what was your learning experience, besides the wind, besides being outside?

Lidi Bus: How was it? It was great. I mean, I had such a lovely audience. Everybody loved it. I saw. I'm sorry, I just. I mean, I'm. I'm the biggest fan of my work, obviously. But then there were a lot of people really loved it, and everybody wants to take pictures with it, so that was also really cool because, yeah, that's actually where the, where the work is, is for.

Judith van Vliet: Right.

Lidi Bus: So everybody wants to take pictures with it. And I had a lot of contacts and a lot of new customer stuff coming up, so Milan is like a wonderful place to be at the design week, and I really, really want to go another time. I do two things, actually. I rent out my work and I work on the commission. So when I work on the commission, what for me is really important that I know the space so I can make an inflatable measure to the space. Yeah. So I'm really. My dream is to make a really cool inflatable in a cool space somewhere in Milan. So please, guys, this is. Invite me.

Judith van Vliet: This is a request.

Lidi Bus: This is a request. Yes, yes, please. I was really awed. It would be great in a cool palace or something like that. So that's what I'm.

Judith van Vliet: That's required. So you also rent, which I. Very interesting, because there's not a lot of designers. Well, obviously art is something that sometimes you, you loan to an art gallery. Of course, those are always. Because that's, you know, it's not a way of making money for art. But in your case, you're renting. Yeah. What is that choice? You know, why, why would you, why would you do that? And you know what, what's that balance, you know, between. We were talking about before, you know, renting commission. Yeah.

Lidi Bus: So I see myself as a company that's different in art land. Most of the people make art and they sell it well. My work is quite big, so it doesn't fit in a home and it's not made for in a home. But I see myself as a company. So I have a pro plan tool, which is a set piece, set design. And art directors and stylists and companies can approach me and they can rent my work. It's really light and really portable and it's really easy to transport. So I do photoshoots a lot, actually. And under commission is like making a statue, or you could say under commission, for example, interior designs, but then hospitality designs. So hotel lobbies. I'm also having at the moment talking to a hospital who maybe want to buy it. Big, big buildings with lobbies. That's also a good place for my work. So this is what I do. Why shouldn't I make money? I mean, I'm not, you know. Yeah. I'm having a company and I think what I'm doing is quite special and I'm a specialist in what I do.

Judith van Vliet: Well, I think it's interesting, the renting, the renting components, because you've worked with brands like Olily, for example. So it's interesting they use your work for photography as of obviously, Olily also being very colorful as a fashion brand. It fits with your designs, so hence also your interest, perhaps now in, in photographers, you know, because it's obviously, it's connected your work a lot. It's giving you a great image, you know, it's something your work is very instagrammable as well, which I think, in today's world, say it's not important. In the end, if something is fun, if something is colorful, and then with the link to other design and fashion, I think. I think that is very. Although you say you don't want to be the most trendy work. Work artist out there, it is.

Lidi Bus: I am. I'm totally into trends. I don't. I don't feel that's. That's like, the whole part with not having a big political message. I I don't want that. I don't feel like it's my mission to change the world. Well, I do want to change the world, but it's. It's on other. On another skill and. Yeah, so it is a trend. And I was at the cover of the Dutch Financial Times.

Judith van Vliet: Like the financial times of the Netherlands.

Lidi Bus: Yeah, yeah. Of the Netherlands. And I was on the cover with a really cool interview. Yeah, I was there. That was fun. And then there I also said that it's. Yeah, so this inflatable thing you can rent out, it is a trend. And I'm. I'm. I'm adjusting my colors to what's. What's hot on Instagram and stuff. And I think that's. That's totally fine by me.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah. I think also. So you say that you don't have a strong mission, you don't have a strong statement, but I think that if people look at your work and they simply feel fun and happy, I think that's a pretty good thing.

Lidi Bus: Yeah. You think so? Yeah, because I was educated. Obviously, when you do a master degree in arts, then. Then there's a lot of conversation about having a subject matter and having meaning. Meaning, you know, and that. That, yeah, I sometimes feel a little bit lonely there, that I'm not into that.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah. Talking about this loneliness, I think people like, like you and I, we work technically by ourselves on our own. Sometimes we collaborate. How important is community for you exactly? Because you're working alone, you know, you work it by yourself. You sew it by yourself. Because you still want to sew by yourself. You don't want other people.

Lidi Bus: No, no, no. I really want to do it myself.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah. But how important is community and also working, perhaps with other artists for you?

Lidi Bus: Yeah. So community is really important, as I also can only imagine that it's also important for you. So it's like, for example, when I'm going to the schoolyard to pick up my kids, and I'm saying, yeah, what do you do for a living. I'm an artist. Everybody looks like I'm coming from the moon, right? So people really don't understand what I'm doing. Why am I doing? Am I making any money? That's also really big question mark people have. So community for me is extremely important. I'm doing most of the work myself. I'm now actually looking for people who can help me with making my patterns. So from the clay model, to make a flat, actually to cut out my fabric, this is where I also work together with people, but most of the time, I do it myself. So when I'm, for example, also in Milan or talking to you, it feels like family. In Dutch, we have a saying.

Judith van Vliet: I don't know if that's in English.

Lidi Bus: But in Dutch, we have a saying. A half word is enough translated, you can translate it.

Judith van Vliet: No, but you just means that you speak the same language, just understanding without speaking to one another. Yeah.

Lidi Bus: So it's like speaking the same language. So I call it my art family. And actually, you did. You're my art sister.

Judith van Vliet: Thank you. Thank you for involving me in your community. Now, I totally get that about community, especially when you're working on your own, sometimes you just need somebody who's going to mirror back your thoughts or confirm. And sometimes having conversations is not only inspiring, but it also. You can adjust your thinking, you know, maybe you have to a little bit.

Lidi Bus: Yeah, and exactly. For example, Paul and Albert is also a designer duo, and they're. I cannot live without those guys because they. They really, you know, they're. They're helping me so much and saying, you know, Lidi, you should do this. Did you try this? And it really helps to keep the creative process going and also to figure out new ways and new ways of thinking. And I really. Yeah, those guys, I really love them. I should say that out loud. This is a big, big shout out. Yay.

Judith van Vliet: Yes. I think it's interesting also, just the other day, I was having a conversation with a fellow color experts, and it was a funny conversation, because I think nobody expects that you help out another color expert because we're all in the same area. Perhaps we even have similar clients. You know, what's wrong with helping each other out or getting somebody a project? Or in this case, it was a speaking gig. If I can do it, why would I not suggest somebody else? I mean, I think that's. I think that's a little bit the womanhood, female hood sisterhood, whatever you want to call it, but also community, because in the end, it's only. I know it sounds very like, you know, but only together, you can actually feel a little bit stronger, and you can feel that you're not the only lunatic out there thinking about color in a certain way. Because I really felt that a couple of years ago, before I met my color people, I thought I was, you know, something was wrong with me. Yeah.

Lidi Bus: No, like, you come from the moon. Everybody's like, what is. I never thought about that inflatable design. You know, people are like, what? Yeah, I totally feel you. So it's really nice to have your people around. And when you feel lonely and because it is an art process, right. You're on your own figuring out how to do that. And it's also not a really big world, right. If you are like, for example, teacher. When I'm a teacher, and there are thousands of teachers I can talk with, but as an artist, which I. Most of the time, which I'm in my core and in my whole thing, it's really lovely to speak with people like you.

Judith van Vliet: Your website says, indeed, break free from the average. What does that mean for you? Because it is a message and it's a good.

Lidi Bus: Yeah, it is a message, and I do. And it was a really. Yeah, it's a really. It is a message. So, as I was saying, it took me quite a while to break free from the idea of my family, what. What art supposed to look like. And it also. It was a really tough journey to break free for being an artist. So breaking free from average means for me, you don't always have to be normal, and you don't always have to fit in the mall with. Everybody thinks you are. Right. As being a mom of three kids. There's a lot of expectations there. Yeah. At one point, I just want to say, screw them all.

Judith van Vliet: There's.

Lidi Bus: Yeah. Sorry. Yeah. There's only one life, and there's only one Lidi Bus and only one Judith van Vliet. And you only have to. Yeah. Give yourself the space to be whoever you want to be. Right. It's okay.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah.

Lidi Bus: Well, there's a really big meaning. Well, it is a big message, but it is. I heard, you know, do you know boss booster?

Judith van Vliet: Yeah.

Lidi Bus: He was saying, and this, I think, is really inspiring and also really feel strongly connected with him when he was saying, you know, being myself inspires other people to be their selves, and that's what I really hope to do for other people.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah, I think that is exactly right. And I know we don't have that feeling when we're 18. Or 20. No, to select our university and what the rest of our life is going to look like. I mean, obviously mine took a whole different shift because I was in political science.

Lidi Bus: Yeah. Yeah. Really off. You're really off.

Judith van Vliet: I'm completely off complete.

Lidi Bus: I love that. Yeah, that's fun. But, you know, you cannot imagine when you're 18. I have a kid around here, he's almost turning 15, and he has to choose what kind of subject it's. People are out of their mind. Give the kids some space to be a kid. You know why?

Judith van Vliet: Yeah, I think there's not a lot of people that do exactly what they studied for, at least not in my case. I did the HEBO European studies in the Hague, and I think all those people are just in completely different areas. But it's interesting. But we. So as a Hebo-er you know a lot about a lot of things, but not in detail. So we know a little bit about many stuff, but in the end, we're no experts in nothing. So I really had to study color because I did not know anything about it. And I think that's like. I think we both are lucky people that at a certain point we got what we wanted to do. Yeah. And we focused and we're going with it. Whether because you and I, we also talk a lot about how difficult it sometimes is because you're on your own and sometimes you have a lot of work and then you're like, how am I gonna finish all of this? And then suddenly there's silence. Like, there's no emails, and you're just like, oh, now what do you know? And this, you really have to cope.

Lidi Bus: With this uncertainty and you really have to stay strong and believe in the future that somebody is going to pick you up and.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah, that's hard.

Lidi Bus: That's the hard part.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah.

Lidi Bus: Being uncertain.

Judith van Vliet: Community, that's also community. You talk with people about it and then at least you feel a little bit better that day. Yeah.

Lidi Bus: And I also want to say is that, do you know my also really cool community friend, Ilsa? She has like a graphics. He's a graphic designer, and she gave me this book of Rick Rubin. Do you know him?

Judith van Vliet: No.

Lidi Bus: He's into music, but he did. Yeah. I don't know. What? Well, he wrote a really cool book about being creative, and he says, and there are a lot of movies on Instagram about him. He says, don't think about the outcome. The outcome isn't important. And that also is like a really strong thing, which keeps me going, like, when I'm in the studio. And I also feel that with you, like, color is your thing, right. You don't have to think right away. Okay, so color is my thing. So what can I do with it? You know, just focus on what. What you're interested in, and then the rest will come for yourself. And obviously, you have to make money and do stuff. Do the laundry.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah.

Lidi Bus: You know, it's. I think it's more important to focus on what's in your inner interest, and don't focus on the outcome. The outcome will follow. Yeah.

Judith van Vliet: The outcome will come, especially when you're on your creative flow, in your creative journey.

Lidi Bus: Yeah, I am.

Judith van Vliet: Sometimes the outcome is different because you never know. What were the colors that really, you saw a little bit in Milan? Because I know you did not have a lot of time to walk around, but was there a little bit of color inspiration in Milan that you're like, hmm, interesting. Maybe I'm going to use this for a next project.

Lidi Bus: I went to this really big installation where I saw it on your Instagram Stories, actually. You inspired me to go there. It was a really big installation, and you had to go to this palace, and there was this hanging things in the wind.

Judith van Vliet: That was Elica Cooking.

Lidi Bus: Yeah, I love that. And I also really loved. I love the movement, obviously, because my work is also moving, but. And I also love the transparency and I love the measurements. Really? Yeah. But. But about color, it was actually, it was white and transparent, and. And it's blue. I can imagine. And blue.

Judith van Vliet: It was the colors of fire, of course. So the cooking. So it was the blue, red, and yellow. So those gradients. It was a gradient, yeah, yeah, it was a gradient.

Lidi Bus: That was really cool. It was a gradient. And he wasn't afraid of you using white? Sometimes I'm a little bit afraid of using white because white, yeah, it can. It's a really good, supportive color. Or as we call it, a color. Can we call it a color? That's a whole different story, actually. But white I can be a little bit afraid of. And he wasn't afraid of it. That's. I just thought that was beautiful.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah. Why do you think people are afraid to use white? Because there's a lot of people that use white because they don't know what to use. So it has both. But in your case, you're like, I don't want to use white. Why would that scare you? To use white?

Lidi Bus: White, for me, is really minimalistic, and I'm the opposite. So I'm really extrovert. I'm really ADHD being all over the place. Which doesn't mean. Which doesn't mean I'm.

Judith van Vliet: I'm all over.

Lidi Bus: I'm really stupid, but I'm not. And I also really appreciate minimalistic work. For example, Scandinavian design and wood and stuff. And the craftsmanship. I really have a high appreciation for craftsmanship, but white makes me think of minimalistic stuff. And then also, as I'm saying, sitting in this white thing, it can also, for my work, work really well as you have. Like, for example, a white cube or a gray background is also really good for my work.

Judith van Vliet: Just for your contrast. Yeah, yeah.

Lidi Bus: For the serration, you know, I have really high saturation. A good work.

Judith van Vliet: Like saturation.

Lidi Bus: Yeah, a saturation for my color. So when you have like a clean background, that's also good.

Judith van Vliet: Yeah, but you would not easily use it in your work. So you use it as a background, as a surrounding to give the attention. Because that's the beauty. The beauty of white is that it doesn't quite, it's not a quest for attention. So the attention goes to your work. So that's why obviously white, white is a good solution. But no, I get that if you're an extravagant color user, white is probably not the best of your choices. Because also, because white simply is not fun. And if you want your work to be fun, it's not white or gray.

Lidi Bus: Exactly. It's really serious and also really adult thing to use white. I rather stay in a child mode, I think.

Judith van Vliet: What are you working on now? Or what are you going to see next from Lidibus?

Lidi Bus: So next thing coming up, 26 May. Oh, that's after the launching of the podcast, but that doesn't matter. I'm going to be at the young design fair. So Berrie Dijkstra, he approached me and he asked me if I want to participate. And it's in Rotterdam, it's at home, it's around the corner. So I'm going to be there all day. Please come and say hi. It's a new institute and it has really cool gray background, so I think my work would look really nice and I can make pictures of you. So feel free to make a cool Instagram post. This is what I'm going to do, and hopefully I will meet a lot of new people. There are also going to be fashion people, and I'm also into fashion. So let's hope for really cool connections.

Judith van Vliet: Let's hope for that as well. Yeah, I hope somebody listening to this podcast is going to get you this big commission.

Lidi Bus: Yeah, that will be great. Yeah, I'm in for that.

Judith van Vliet: In a huge building or something. I was just visiting Casa Deco here in Madrid yesterday, and that was also in Palacio de la Trinidad. So it's this beautiful old building, so typical from what Madrid is, but also Spanish culture. And then you had that amazing contrast between modern, obviously, and then the contrast of something that is so beautiful and old. And I think that would also be super cool with your work to see super colorful modern work and these beautiful antique floorings and these, you know what they do, the beautiful ceramics that they have here in Spain and obviously also in Italy, more in the south of Italy. That would be definitely great. So I wish that for you.

Lidi Bus: Yeah, that would be great. Please contact me. I'm always happy to talk and talk about our tears and colors, and I'm open.

Judith van Vliet: Thank you so much for being part of this, the color authority podcast and sharing thoughts and everything.

Lidi Bus: Well, thank you for having me, Judith. Well, as I was saying, I'm a big reminder of your work, and I really am following up all your color experience and adventures, I should say.

Judith van Vliet: I hope you enjoyed this last episode. If you are a fan of the color Authority podcast, please let us know by reviewing and rating our show on whichever platform you're listening on. The next episode is coming out next month, and in the meantime, I'm wishing you a wonderful, colorful day.