My name is Esther Raymond and I’m a 27 year old 3D artist based in the Greater New York Area. Essence Atelier is my 3D art practice where I explore taste as a state of attention. Through this creative project , I continuously revisit a core thesis question:
"What does it mean to live in the fullest expression of your inner essence?"
The idea for Essence Atelier first began with something personal: the meaning rooted in my own name, Esther, which means star: a spark of light. I became interested in the idea of a spark as a starting point which led me to think about the concept of the North Star. Throughout history, the North Star has been used as a guiding light, a reference for finding direction and a point to orient yourself toward. As I explored the history of my name further, I also came across the concept of an Esther Year which is a period of preparation in which one half is devoted to detoxing and the other to beautifying, all in anticipation of entering a new chapter. What interested me was the underlying journey of it of first clearing away what no longer belongs and then intentionally cultivating what you want to carry forward.
At the heart of Essence Atelier is essence as the spark: the initial instinct, feeling or curiosity that draws us toward something and becomes the catalyst for intentional creative evolution. It's my belief that beneath every aesthetic is something more personal such as a way of seeing, feeling, choosing, and moving through the world. Through this lens, taste becomes more than an aesthetic preference. It becomes a practice of looking closely enough to recognize what resonates, and intentionally allowing those discoveries to shape the world we create. Atelier means a studio or a place where work happens. I chose the word because Essence Atelier is meant to function as exactly that: a space for transformation. It is where references are gathered, ideas are experimented with, and a spark can become something tangible. Through 3D art, I use the atelier to explore what happens when attention becomes intentional and inspiration becomes creation.
I’m interested in the way taste is formed through what we choose to notice: the things that peak our interest, the spaces we keep coming back to, the visuals that stay with us, the references we collect, and the details that feel meaningful. As a 3D artist, I build visual worlds from these observations.
My work begins with In Essence: my free, monthly digital zine and expands into collectible art prints. Each volume introduces a new muse & I imagine her world beyond the frame: the places she visits, the spaces she inhabits, the objects she notices, the references that inform her, and the thoughts that shape her experience. To do so, I take inspiration from real-world objects, products, fashion, interiors, imagery, and cultural references, then reinterpret them through 3D.
In Essence also includes a community discussion space where readers can share their interpretations, perspectives, and relationship to taste. Readers are invited to share the things that shape their own visual and cultural worlds as well as exchange references, discover new perspectives, and see how differently each person interprets beauty and meaning.
All in all, Essence Atelier isn't only about my own taste. I believe taste is in the eye of the beholder so this project is an invitation to look inward to explore and discover your own spark. To pay attention to the things that repeatedly catch your eye. To question why certain images, objects, places, ideas, or experiences stay with you. To distinguish what genuinely resonates from what you’ve learned to value. I believe everyone has an individual way of seeing: a spark that can become a source of direction when we learn to pay attention to it. Your North Star doesn't have to be a fixed destination. It can simply be a guiding point: an evolving sense of what feels meaningful, authentic, and worth moving toward. Essence Atelier is my exploration of that process. The purpose of this project is to create a space where that spark can be recognized, explored, and intentionally developed.
My work is 100% created by me using Blender. Never AI.
