.:: m y . s e c r e t . l i f e ::.

"The spirit

likes to dress up like this:

ten fingers,

ten toes.

plum rough matter.

Airy and shapeless thing,

it needs

the metaphor of the body..."

- Mary Oliver

3.7.2011

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{**blogspot mangles quality, especially of the low light imagery... so I will post to my flickr and other venues, later today. and if you venture over there, remember to turn your safe filter off to see the latest 'faerieland' piece, in my stream.} | ash | x

"Summer Hymnal"

friends,

'summer hymnal' (below) is a storyboard i shot over a 4 day period, and a concept that took several months to compose.

this is my bittersweet tribute to summer and to what it represents, metaphorically - as another season comes to a close.

please enjoy.

details below the imagery.

the pieces, above, are intended to be accompanied by a poem i wrote of the same name, which further narrates the storyboard. i plan to release both the words & imagery, together, in a book slated for 2011.

please feel free to click larger, but please be mindful of copyrights. x

***

behind the scenes of this piece:

to create this storyboard, i found a summer kitchen built in 1912.

The woman whos property it sits upon (she was so amazing) allowed me to completely clear out the space and re-stage it with authentic props from the time period i was trying to convey. it took 5 & 1/2 hours of prep to get this tiny kitchen set for the bottom segment.

these pieces are very special to me, not only because of the concept & poem, but also because i was able to work with my sister in creating them. the woman within the storyboard is suppose to be one character, throughout. however, i thought it might be fun to try and see if i could make my sister and myself (two people who couldn't look more different in real life) look like the same person for the shoot. the top piece is a self portrait, while the bottom (summer kitchen) shot is of my sister.

a very heartfelt thank you to:

Sandra for the use of her beautiful space

& to

Hailey for allowing me to require her at sunrise, cover her in mud & flour and sit her on a hard, cold floor, while we froze to our bones.

high res & larger will soon be on my website & flickr.

best always.

ash x