Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Il Est Fini



Il est fini.  There is nothing left in the studio but the red couch.  I thought it fitting that it be the last thing out.  Now when I close the door, I hear an echo.  I'm feeling a little bit empty, a little bit blue.  I thought it might be a relief to get it cleaned out, but the sadness has entered.  So much for that.

I was there for exactly six years.  To the day.  Here is one of the first models.  There is the couch.  There is the mask.  She is fifteen and wears her mother's wedding dress.  I shot with her over and over again, and with her fourteen year old sister as well.  Their mother, who had modeled when she was young (she even brought some of the pictures as props), did all the styling and was quite good at it.  We became like family.  The model homeschooled so that she could have time to pursue modeling.  I introduced her to an agency that signed her, but nothing much ever came of it.  She met a boy online who lived in England.  He came to see her and she went to see him and she began to put on weight.  Eventually she moved to England and married him.  The sister continued to model for awhile, but eventually I lost contact with them.  Forever, though, she will remain a figure in an image in a moment when we had one purpose and it was all beautiful fun.

So many stories.

Today, though, I must deal with the mess that is my house, for I have torn up rooms to store my larger prints and very large framed images.  It is crazy.  I don't have room.  There are piles of images everywhere.  What in the world was I thinking?

Now I must get to it.  I can't wait to be done.


6 comments:


  1. We never saw these here...

    Haunting. I've never been one for the mask but it is/was a signature of yours. And I have grown to appreciate what you were reaching for. It's true you know, the distance thing.

    This immediately brought to mind Manet's painting of Baudelaire's g-friend, Jeanne Duval by Manet. Girl lost in white dress. Only yours is prettier.

    I, too, feel sad about your having to give up the Studio. Not sure you can exorcise the demons 100% but you are sure trying. Pinochle and all.

    But for whatever it's worth today - thank you for the gifts you gave.

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    1. Ah. . . there will be more. I could post pics that I have never shown every day for years, but I will be working on something different soon, I am sure. Thank you for being so kind. :)

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  2. All marriages end. All of them.

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    1. I know. I got divorced long before you ever got married. You can always try it again if you want. There are plenty of people who don't know better yet.

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  3. Oh, silly, you have it backwards. You must have forgotten that I'm heading towards my 3rd marriage, my lucky Trump.

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