THE PARLOR.

Ivanhoe Manor,

Milwaukee WI

(My Home)

My flat was the Parlor of a bloodless blue Mansion

 dating back to the late 1800s.

The light would flood

waves of poetry onto my skin,

across, beneath & between

 my most delicate parts.

At Golden Hour

my shadows would whisper each verse to me, 

the way Cohen would whisper to Marianne.

I wonder if I have ever been a Muse?

To a stranger?

To a loved one?

The way

 I felt Muse 

to the Star in my Parlor

RADIATOR HEAT.

When winter tries to steal your soul.

You become cold,

you will try anything to keep warm..

To keep sane.

Radiator heat.

LEMON WALLEYE.

 Lake Kawaguesaga, WI 

My brittle black hair, 

your unmarred mane of curls.

discarding my egg whites, 

along with paranoid pre-notions 

of a life without you.

I observed rain dip dusk to the pier.

It was that very fleeting moment when I witnessed weather become woman as time led her swiftly to shore, shortly after you fled via boat to fend more night crawlers..

--

the smell of lemon, grilled walleye 

flooded the kitchen.

I sat in unusual silence & noticed my admiration become timeless
 as a blanket of warm, golden light fell from ceiling fixtures onto your spleen scar.

The one that decorates your abdomen with a banner each day.

6-1-2016

TRAVELING WITH GIRLS.

-Traveling With 4 Girls-

The most common question before we left America "Are you Nervous?"

Of course I was nervous, we all were. Honestly though,  I don't think any one of us had an idea of what the next three months would consist of. In fact, We avidly thank the passer-bys who vocally express how well they think we travel together, we greatly appreciate the compliments handed to us.

Here is the truth;

Just because we are on a different Continent does not mean we are always confident, In fact it is quite the opposite. We have been thrown out of our small town comfort zones, into different time zones, foreign languages, new cultures, currencies, sides of the car...Each day we are retaining an excessive amount of information, while standing out like four sore thumbs in a crowd. Whether it be skin color, whiney midwestern accents or oversized cowboy hats we place on our heads?  

=

When traveling, the roads are never smooth for longer than a few hours at a time...if so you might as well check in to the nearest over-priced double decker bus, empty your wallets at the nearest kiosk, and post up with your canon rebel behind a chain linked fence with a group of hungry tourists.  

NO THANKS

On the road less traveled, the 3 D's happen often 

(Dirt,Dead-Ends, and Development)

Traveling together has been similar to jumping into a long-term relationship.

You have to trust, compromise, choose your battles, 

Set aside selfish habits, practice patience, and become aware of the needs of not just three as a whole but each individual. 

Feelings get hurt, and even if you "swear to god" you did not intention to hurt one another. Well sucks, you did. At this moment, you can either apologize and accept that your words or actions affected another person poorly OR you can deal with a bone shuttering silence from the inside of a car, bus, train, plane, hostel, hotel, restaurant, club by not one but 3 woman because we all know better than to get involved into a two man stand.

"Sorry"

I mean lets be honest, We would all rather have a stellar time together than let our stubborn behavior get in the way of a beautiful city we've never been in, existing in a country we once wished slept to dream of.

-smirks-

I can not even begin to recall the instances we forgot our phones or wallets on top of cars, in fields of sheep, in nun convents, on busses, in taxis, restaurants, shops, parks etc. 

PANIC ATTACK:

At this moment of alarm we all drop what we are doing and pull together, take deep breaths and become a search team that quite certain could recover an Amber Alert child within 30 minutes.

Because when one person loses their shit, so do the other 3 and none of us 

want to deal with tears or histeria of a missing child wallet.

Did I mention the lack of privacy...because there is ((NONE))

We shower together, sleep together, eat together, cry together, share sickness, tear, fears, beers, laughs, anxiety, happiness, nerves, tinder dates, shirts, shoes, underwear, makeup, money, decisions, periods, conversations, concerns, music, memories, ideas, irritation.

(The lists goes on)

We have our similarities but we are very much opposites in many ways; within the first week of traveling together we came to the realization that even though "Four" we are all now "One" traveling seemelessly throughout the world, learning to fall in love with one another the way we are falling in love with the places we encounter; 

Regardless, we have  one undeniable common denominator...A profound yearn to travel.  

  

--

Rediscovering patience, selflessness, and how to properly communicate along the way. 

while I sit and write down these thoughts in the other room, even though I hate to admit it, I actually kind of miss you guys...

(Happy One month on the road Ladies)

November 11, 2015

WHITE SANDS.

WHITE SANDS, NEW MEXICO

--

we raced the sunset to the Southern Border,

2000 miles and some change, 

just to sit on a pile of Gypsum Crystals. 

She jumped out of the car before I could even stop.

I watched her run up the dunes & into the sunset;

scattering every piece of clothing she had, 

while stuffing my two back pockets with tecaté.

besides beer; 

the only other form of liquid 

was the water that filled her eyes.

[I had never seen freedom quite like this]

"whoever said diamonds are girls best friend, 

must have never experienced the crystals of White Sands" 

SOUL SISTERS.

FINGER MOUNTAIN, CO

We married ourselves on the mountain that day.. 

with no witnesses but ourselves & the road. 

the rocks our pew & the sky our canopy, 

hand in hand we vowed ourselves a love, 

greater than any other.

I, Lexis take you Tessa, to be my Soul Sister. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness & in health. I will love you and honour you all the days of my life.

I, Tessa take you Lexis, to be my Soul Sister. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness & in health. I will love you and honour you all the days of my life.

--

I, Lexis , take you Tessa, to be my Soul Sister, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.

I,Tessa, take you Lexis, to be my Soul Sister, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part.

 There were trails of bones leading up to the mountain,

it had ours for a moment...

but instead we left our souls.

UFO'S & GATORADE

SOUTHERN COLORADO IS WEIRD & FULL OF GRAM CRACKERS.

Gram Crackers [N.]- meaning: Grandmas on Crack

It wouldn't make sense if we ignored the "UFO GAZING" signs.

So we kicked up our feet in old worn hospital chairs, 

and waited for a scene from "Independence day" to unfold before our eyes.

 Needless to say, nada happened. 

so we migrated past the 20 year old german shepherd guarding the entrance, and made our way to the vortex. 

"The Alien Vortex" a place where your I-Phone compass spins like tea cups at disney, and you meditate on an unknown energy. 

--and not to bash gram cracker, but I'm pretty sure she's the only one that has ever "known" the energy.--

We were told to leave something in the Vortex, so of course Tessa and I pissed in a bottle and placed in on the feminist quarter of the vortex; because everyone knows nothing tops DNA.

 hands covered in pee and minds covered in disbelief, 

a few more dirt roads, and a couple hundred gators later we were in search of the "land of enchantment"

 We left the state of Colorado Making sure to sign it's guest book as Thelma & Louise, because words of Thelma "I don't ever remember feeling this awake"

Colorado, USA

BEHIND THE SCENES.

-Behind the scenes-

As a photographer, I rarely get the chance to sit on the sidelines in my underwear, observe a "behind the scenes" environment, and stuff my face with donuts.

I was lucky enough this past to week to do just that when asked to host a stellar crew of ladies in my home during a photoshoot for The Rock Agency.

I watched very talented Photographer Jessica Monte position her body up against & on every piece of furniture I own while sneaking bites of 7/11 donuts, Designer & Wardrobe stylist Jordan Hehn occasionally dance to Beyonce with jewels and fabric in and around her neck and mouth & Makeup/Hair stylist Jennifer Bruder treat the hairspray like a can a paint with the models head her personal tag space.

Impressed to say the least, Model Ashlie Severson kept her cool throughout the mist of "maximum hold" & a bunch of "dark roast" addicts. 

Shooting orders, 

tripping over your own feet, 

holding breath as long as shutter speeds, 

racing light,

reflecting light, 

balancing, 

contorting,

feeling emotions,

trying to express emotions, 

placing hands, arms, legs, 

acting out faces, 

feeling like an idiot,

acting like a crazy-person,

rushing, 

positioning, 

re-positioning, 

adrenaline.

I just watched them all watch her; 

Little did they know they were just as beautiful.

(in their element)

The Final Product

[pictured below]

Photo Credit: Jessica Monte

Its a beautiful thing really, 

expressing a personal feeling through a different face & body.

Somewhat of an out of body experience

who needs drugs when ya' got film and faces.