Moving on to the future...

I have watched the photographic industry die in Saskatoon. As a fellow artist pointed out the very essence of a collaboration has changed and now becomes a commercial advertisement of some sort. When to me (and to several others of us here in Saskatoon) the word collaboration means and still does: Where two or more people get together and plan and work out the details of a project (artistic etc) and come together to bring it to fruition. Hopefully succeeding but knowing that failure could also be part of it. If you fail, you sort out what went wrong and try again.

 

There are several so called “agencies” in Saskatoon. The 

model will pay a fee and hopefully get some kind of paying work out of the arrangement. Well... to me being an agent or signing with an agency means you have something they are looking for and you shouldn’t be paying a fee, the agent should be paying you a percentage of whatever income you help bring in. Anyway, this along with those people who simply cannot commit or live up to the arrangement made which includes not showing up or calling at the last minute because their grandma died again, has virtually killed this city for any creative collaborations.

The future of photo modelling has gone off on a tangent and if it weren’t for a select few then I would simply move on. With “flakes” on all sides as well as unlawfully operated agencies, studios and such that do not have a license (city and provincial) and don’t pay taxes (provincial and federal) I don’t need the drama nor bullsh-t and am beginning not to tolerate it. Will I report the lawbreakers?

Maybe...

I have been asked why I travel to the west coast as often as I do. Well the answer is simple. The artists in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island are a dedicated group and will work together with me and other photographers, artists etc to bring a simple idea to life. A true meaning of collaboration is alive and well. Everyone will listen to what others have to offer and their noses are not stuck up into the air like there are at home. Along the way there is some really fantastic scenery and that helps in the journey.

I may seem to be a bit bitter but I am not really as I have better things to do. Working with a small cluster of real people, my work and research my work will continue. So will my reading, music (playing and composing) sketching and more. My studio will continue to operate working on collaborative and personal projects as well as Photographic Therapies and so on. I will free up even more time by eliminating most social media (Facebook and the studio Facebook pages) but Instagram will be maintained.

I am done with many things but those who are real and dedicated will walk with me and a handful of others from coast to coast proudly into the future. 

This blog will serve as the medium I choose to share my work and imagery.

Self aware...

The images in this post have not been altered in any way. Cropping, colour, contrast and light balance are the only adjustments made.

Since discovering my true self some years ago, actually freeing the woman I always was... I have been transitioning and adapting to where I would like to be. It is a difficult journey and there are roadblocks... both emotional and physical. I have had the support of my physician, my family (other than one or two) and some close friends. Since leaving Facebook completely, I have also found out a number of other things about so called "friends". So with the removal of toxic people, life will continue to blossom.

  

Some of my work with others is based on “Self Image Awareness” and “Photographic Therapies”. Through imagery one can come to terms with themselves with acceptance of their being and see their self-worth through the eyes and artistic imagery of another. I began to slowly apply this style of working to myself and while I do know I will never meet the media standards for the female form, I really don’t care. I am a real human being with desires, dreams and love for another.

I still want to lose more weight and become healthier, but this has always been the case. I do have a feminine feeling inside even though I am built like a linebacker but none of that matters in my mind... I was told I don’t look feminine but I had to remind this person that femininity is a matter of the mind and self worth as have seen very “feminine’ women that happen to walk like a cowboy with 500 pounds of flour on their back, but the opposite is true where I have met the least feminine women who have all the wonderful charm of a princess without being a snob.

I am who I am, ask if you don’t know how to address me and I will tell you. Treat me as a woman, as that is who and what I am. My self image... selfies if you must... has helped me so much. The support of those that have shown caring and love has helped so much, for this I thank you. Also, the love of an amazing woman in my life has brought me back from the precipice of a least desirable place. No worries there as most of you know I tend to have a parachute when dangerously close to the edge.

Be well, and love on another... tomorrow is never guaranteed.