Photographer and Artist of Mixed Media Whimsy
"Summers back is broken. Welcome September" ~ Howie Richey~ We have been celebrating sub-100 degree weather here in Central Texas for the past week. Oh yes, we all have a spring in our step enjoying the cooler temps of 97 degrees, and 72 degree breezy mornings cool enough to sip morning coffee on the porch and swat mosquitoes!
It may seem to you like I have been quiet, but oh this Sleeping Giant is READY TO ROAR!! I spent the past 3 days and wee early hours of the mornings, photographing an amazing group of women who are modeling Art Bras for an upcoming event Oct 13 in Giddings. Most of them are Breast Cancer survivors with a BRA-load of stories to share,victories to celebrate and scars to show and tell...PROUD AND ALIVE!! I have been honored and humbled to photograph these women who are brave enough to model Art Bras for a 2010 Calendar, available next month. All proceeds benefit the Lee County Area Cancer Resource Center in Giddings, the neighbor town just down the highway from me. For now I can only share a sneak peek at what I have been up to. Stay tuned for more!
just before sunset I took myself into the backyard with intention of photographing my creations of the day. I have been making purses and tote bags from silk neckties, vintage men's dress shirts, and linen napkins. Now let me tell you, I have photographed naked women, grumpy men, fruits and flowers and restaurant food, but handbags are the worst. No life, no form , no shape without the contents of wallets, hairbrushes, lipstick, tampons, iPods, lost keys, stale gum, hairbands, and movie ticket stubs. They just hang there, limp and lifeless! But oh how Laurie can bring it to life! I have been busy driving my sewing machine getting ready for another Artisan "First Thursday" in Beaumont next week. and my shorts prove it that I have been secretly painting some new whimsys too! maybe I will show and tell my Mermaid, Saints and such if I finish them.
A few sleeps ago, I participated in an Altered Charm Swap hosted by Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine. My Muse was not guiding me and it was closing in on the deadline. All in one day, I received three emails about friends diagnosed with breast cancer. That did it. I marched on over to my studio, cut apart bras and garters, gathered pink beads and began to create with a fury about this disease that continues to arrive uninvited and unannounced in the beautiful bodies of my girlfriends. I mailed them off, later receiving my swapped charms of art and forgot all about it, until this morning when I get an email saying CONGRATULATIONS for making the final cut. ? WHAT? Yep, out of 2000 charms, 64 were chosen to be published in this months issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors, page 53, I am #26, the beaded garter closure.
when girlfriends gather. it is nothing but laughter, hugs, gentle kisses, soft hands, bottomless glasses of wine, endless moments on the porch, naps, conversations that involve the Angels, old demons, past lives and lovers; delicious foods that nourish more then the belly....every cell comes alive with mint, basil, cilantro, Alaskan Salmon, red curry, peanut and chili sauce, cucumber, yogurt and more wine, and more wine and more candles and more Angels, Saints and Valentines!
