BIG GIANT UPDATE!

Early September I had the opportunity to work with an incredible model named Leah, commonly known by her alias, Velocity. While Leah was passing through Colorado on her road trip from BurningMan, I was able to snag her for a creative photo shoot with Junichi Arakawa of Pixel Art Photography. The costume I designed was inspired by the Phoenix. The base fabric I used for the design was a gift from a friend; a printed cotton featuring small designs of a Phoenix which I combined with a two-toned purple and gold stretch designer fabric I purchased at Colorado's Sewing Expo. The style I came up with is a modern mix of Thai, Indian, and Gypsy influenced fashion. The floral headdress is a spin on the custom floral Geisha headdresses I create. I wanted to do something different and extend the shape into a triangle rather than the round look of my other pieces. The results were terrific in combination with Leah's look, posing, and fire fans. Junichi added to the shots with his incredible lighting and unique use of location and color. Overall I am thrilled with the results! Special thanks to Don Hales for letting us use his studio space!

Shortly after, I had arrangements to shoot with one of the most incredible individuals I have ever met, Crystal Lockhart aka Lil' Miss Firefly from Lifetime's, "Secret Lives of Women". Crystal is also a star in the Las Vegas show, "FREAKS," which has recently become one of the best selling shows on the strip!
For such an small person she has the biggest heart, and it is always a pleasure to collaborate with her on my creative projects. In September we met up to photographer her recent performance outfit I created for her. Our photographer was Adam Bonilla who did an incredible job capturing Crystal's brilliant personality! Here are a few photographs:

Towards the end of September, I was given the opportunity to style Shannel (Bryan Watkins) from T.V. Reality Series, "RuPaul's Drag Race" for a Thai Dancer inspired photo shoot. Shannel and I were in contact with each other months before his arrival in Denver. As advanced as Shannel is in his field it was difficult finding a theme and/or character to portray in our photo shoot. My love for Asian culture combined with his flare for Thai fashion proved to be a suitable theme for our photo shoot! It was a true pleasure meeting Bryan and working with him as his Drag persona, "Shannel." He is truly a one-of-a-kind professional and a highly skilled artist. On top of that he has a wonderful personality and is nothing like the villainous depiction in RuPaul's Drag Race. Beautiful Model and Makeup  by Shannel, Costume, Headdress, and Styling by Me, and photography by Junichi Arakawa of Pixel Art Photography:

The day after, I  had arrangements to shoot With Nae, the founder of "The Vanity Dollz" who I recently met. Nae is a remarkable individual; a mother, nurse, and a pin-up diva all in one! Her group, The Vanity Dollz, is a fantastic resource for women of all shapes and sizes to be fabulous in front of camera and express themselves! She has a strong passion for creating art, and together we both feed off of each others creativity and ideas.

The concept for our photo shoot was Dia De La Muertos. Our subjects were "Our Lady of Guadalupe" and the two "Angels". My idea for the designs were to create accurate, traditional pieces with a Day of the Dead twist. My goal was to capture the purity and essence of The Blessed Mother. In the design, I incorporated bulk floral accents and elements in shape, style, and pattern to give the overall look a current feel. Together Nae and I collaborated on creating a custom set piece and props for the photo shoot. Our set was constructed over a period of several meetings, and the results were incredible. We achieved a very Biblical, Garden of Eden look. The props used on set consisted of Sugar Skulls, Religious Candles, Hand-painted Decor, and original photographs of my Sicilian relatives and Ancestors. Our Lady of Gaudalupe model is the lovely Yazy. Her makeup was applied by Nae, who did an excellent job. Our Angel models were Luna Vision and Victorla Queen. Their makeup was applied by me. Our photographer was Mark Hayes from Mark Hayes Photography. Special thanks to Enrique Lazaro of BNW for allowing us to use his Tattoo shop and beautiful mural in our photo shoot. The results:
Early October, I was invited to participate in Vain Salon's Dia De La Muertos Art Opening Event. I have worked with the owner of Vain Salon, Tina Mckeever, in the past and she is a blast to collaborate with and one of the most talented individuals I have ever met! So I was really looking forward to this event and I knew it would be an incredible opportunity to showcase my designs at a local venue. The designs I created are Victorian inspired with a Day of the Dead twist. I used striped fabric in black and red for a Tim Burton feel, and combined it with floral formal wear and printed skull fabric. Overall the girls looked stunning! Makeup by Sally Walker and Floral Design by Arthur Williams!

Ever since I met model, Elizabeth Maiden, I have made it a priority to plan a trip to Seattle with her once a year. Since we met each other in 2007 we have become good friends, and I really enjoy collaborating with her as a model. During my stay we traveled from Bremerton to Seattle, Edmonds, and Bainbridge to shoot with a couple friends as well as some new faces! The results are by far some of my best work, and I'm really glad I was able to make arrangements to visit!

I arrived in Seattle on the 26th. My first night was really low-key, mainly catching up with Liz, unpacking, and prepping for my first photo shoot on the 27th. Our plans on the 27th were with the remarkable, Jessica Walker of Porcelain Poet Photography! This woman is an incredibly talented photographer. She is very similar to me, a self-taught artist who is very vibrant and experimental in her field. Jessica is well-known and recognized for her horror photography so I instantly knew that a horror collaboration was in our future.

Last year I started a Silent Hill series with the incredible Perish, model, and Mark Hayes, photographer. The images turned out really well:

 I have always dreamed about creating a continuation of the series, especially a photo shoot based off of the "bobble head nurses." After reviewing Jessica's work I knew she would be the best candidate for the project. With the help of models, Elizabeth Maiden and Jayla Murray we were able to come up with the following images:


The masks used in this photo shoot were hand-crafted by me. I used strips of fabric as a base to form the mask around my foam head mannequins. I then used hot glue modeling to shape on the masks as well as the nurse hats to achieve the vein-like affect and bubbling wounds. After the glue set I hand painting the masks to my taste. My extensive background in the Arts is really beneficial when I'm working on projects such as Silent Hill that require hand-painting and realistic affects.

After our shoot we stopped at Jack in the Box! The best thing about Seattle is they have Jack in the Box on practically every corner. Unfortunately, Liz looked like a burn victim when we ordered our food Once we arrived home I prepared and packed my suitcase for another day filled with shoots. In the am we took the early ferry from Bremerton to Seattle. Since we had time we stopped at a local Starbucks for coffee and then headed off to rite aid to pick up some last minute supplies. After wards we walked to the studio, where we were shooting with Craig Allen. Craig is a great guy and cool photographer to shoot with. I was able to work with him the last time I was in Seattle, and it was great to get the chance to shoot with him again. Our fist look was a doll theme. Our original model canceled, so Liz filled in for us! (unedited proof shot)
 
The second look was a Japanimation inspired Geisha look with Alternative model, Ivy Slime! The hair was styled using extensions only. and the headpiece is detachable. Here is a proof shot from the set:

4 hours later Liz and I quickly rushed back on the Ferry to Bainbridge. Once we arrived home we took a slight break and then prepared for our evening shoot with our friend Ric Colgan from Byte Studio! He is one of our favorite photographers in Seattle and it was an absolute pleasure working with him yet again! Ric had the idea of doing a modern take on a female cyber-influenced samurai. So I used a Japanese printed curtain I purchased as my inspiration for the look. I used a new technique and created a Japanese Samurai Kabuki face on the bodice of the design with layered felt and machine stitching:

And a close up look of the makeup, hardly any photoshop was used with the exception of some minor skin flaws:


On the 29th and 30th Liz and I relaxed! After a full day of shooting on the 28th we both needed a long break! On the 31st, the last day of my trip, Liz and I woke up early and started preparing for our final photo shoot with Jessica Walker of Porcelain Poet photography. This project was the maximum Geisha look, and luckily Jessica was able to come through last minute! We shot outdoors at a location that had previously burnt down. The effect and setting was really neat and it provided us with a great backdrop. The results are simply jaw-dropping, I'm quite impressed with this collaboration:



Overall, Seattle was very successful, and I can't wait to return!!!!

On the 25th I will be collaborating with Kevin Kertz and Nina Flowers to photograph the most recent stag pieces I've created. I'm very excited to see what the three of us can produce! The 26th I will be heading out to Seattle, Washington to visit my friend and model, Elizabeth Maiden. I'll be in town until the 31st shooting with local models and photographers. I have several exciting projects in the works, which I'm excited to share with everyone soon!

And on a final note, I recently received word from the editor in Chief of Alt Noir Magazine that I will be featured in an upcoming issue! It's been a while since my last press release, so I'm very grateful for the opportunity to be apart of Alt Noir! Stay tuned for more information!