Volume 10, October 2008
|
We lost a friend on the mountain in an accident when she swerved her car to avoid hitting a deer. She is deeply missed. To my friends out there: Don't swerve. Hit the deer if you have to but stay on the road.This issue is dedicated to Karen. Interview with Melissa Jenkins(Rabbit) Hi Melissa. Thanks for taking the time to be on Illusions. I think it was the makeup that drew me into your work initially and then I noticed the great quality of your photos. How so much attention is placed on every aspect of the work. Tell us about yourself, where you're from, how old you are and how you got into photography. (Melissa) Thank you very much for your interest in my work! I’m 18 and have been brought up and currently live in South Wales, UK. I’ve always been into the creative side of life, from a very young age my life has been strongly influenced by music and art due to my artistic parents. When I studied art in school I realised photography was a huge passion of mine and decided to take this route. (Rabbit) At first I thought your art was Goth in style but it's more than that I think. Would you like to describe how you see it? (Melissa) I see my work as quite dark and meaningful, I love to express different emotions in my images and I feel that I connect to my images. (Rabbit) Where did you learn how to do this? Did you go to art school? (Melissa) I studied art as a GCSE in school and later studied a BTEC National Diploma in Photography which I completed July 2008. I am now studying a BA (hons) Photographic Practice course which began this September, very exciting! Most of my photography is self taught though, with experimentation of ideas I have. Also in my more recent images, I’ve worked with a fantastic team of fellow creatives which really helped to create the feel I want in images with the use of makeup, styling and hair. (Rabbit) What's the influences here? I notice some of your stuff has a French flavor, like the third one down one from the top. It reminds me of a poor victim of the French Revolution who just learned Robespierre is coming for her. (Melissa) I have many influences ranging from art, music, poetry, or everyday happenings like something a friend says or something I read in a newspaper or magazine. For this particular image I wanted to create something very expressive, with deep meaning and a sense of loneliness, a fear of being unwanted and daydreaming with hope for something better. I don’t tend to explain my work a lot as I like the viewer to create their own interpretation of my work, I love to see peoples different reactions. (Rabbit) You collaborate with other artists. Could you describe how the collaboration works. Are the ideas mainly yours or is there group input? (Melissa) Yes, I come up with the main idea and the rest of the team decide on styling which will emphasize the feeling I want to portray in my work. (Rabbit) I'm interested in how you come up with scenarios? (Melissa) Life experience plays a huge part in my work, different emotions or people I meet. I’m quite easily inspired and have a bit of a wacky imagination, which helps a lot! (Rabbit) Describe a shoot. Generally run us through the work that has to be done to get the shots. (Melissa) A lot of work goes into one shoot, research which can last from a few days to a few weeks. Contacting a team of makeup artists, hairstylists and clothing stylists, then finding the perfect location for the shoot. On the day the preparation takes a good few hours then we travel to the location and get the photos done. Editing the images also take a few days after the shoot. (Rabbit) Most people don't know how much work goes into a studio shoot. When it looks good they love it but they probably don't think of the many hours by many people that go into it. Why do you do it? (Melissa) I actually don’t use studios for much of my work but I am starting to experiment more right now. I like to use natural lighting as much as possible as I just love the results. Studio is fantastic though and with the weather we have in Wales, its very rare we get a day with sunshine for a shoot hahaa. The lighting is so much better to control in a studio also. (Rabbit) Would you like to mention any of your collaborators? They must be very talented. ((Melissa) I’ve worked with many fantastic creatives, including makeup artists Cerys Tugwell, Maria Retter and Sarah Terry. Also fantastic hairstylists such as Keri Tugwell and Rachel Matthews. I’m lucky to work with such incredible teams of people! (Rabbit) I like to ask artists for inspiration going out to others who may be leaning towards doing art or are struggling with it. Do you have anything to say that can help them? (Melissa) Just to practice all the time, take photos or sketch as much as you can. Also research not only modern artists but historical artists too. Try and get as many contacts as possible, join networking sites to exhibit your work and see what other people think of your work. (Rabbit) Is there anything you would like to ad? Anyone you would like to plug here on Illusions? (Melissa) I’d just like to say thank you once again for your interest and thank you to everyone that has shown interest in my work in the past who has encouraged me in my work, especially my amazing family and my fabulous boyfriend Nick! Thank you! (Rabbit) Thank you very much. Your art is very sensual. I wish you all the luck, you already have the skills. I know you'll make a mark anywhere you go. Wow only 18 years old. Readers may see the larger versions of Melissa's art by clicking on any of her photos. Babies Like Rabbits Rabbit's Illusions is Copyright Lon
Marshall 2008 Shisha and Russ
ChainsawJimmy came to the mountain from Florida. A wheeler dealer he had made a lot of money running a roadside stand. He'd sell just about anything from vegetables to yard sale stuff and had this idea how to get the tourists to stop at his stand which was to take truck tire retreads he found in the highway, paint them green and lay them beside the road near his stand. Tourists would slam on the brakes thinking the retreads were alligators. Some of the tourists would get pissed off but sales increased and he found that tourists would buy the retreads! He started cranking them out and got rich buy selling green painted retreads to tourists for 35 bucks each. The first year he sold 14,000 bucks worth. He cleaned every retread off the roads for 100 miles around and wound up having to import them from Georgia to meet the demand. In seven years he made enough to come to the mountain because as he said "I was tired of being bitten by chiggers and the sound of flip flops was driving me nuts". He bought a real nice place and set up a road side stand. The stand had stuff adapted to the mountain like plastic "panther" claws and "baby bear" skins that looked more like dyed dog fur. This was confirmed when I saw a box labeled "To Jimmy on the mountain. From: Armour Meats, K-9 Division, Chicago,Il. Another label said "For Export Only". He sold a ton of "baby bear" skins to tourists. He could sell anything. I was there to pick up one for a friend and saw a nice clean cop uniform for sale. It lacked insignia but I bought it anyway hoping to have some fun at the bar. I paid Jimmy and took my prize home. That evening I put it on. It fit great. Nice threads. I was even beginning to feel like a cop. "I want to bust somebody." I mumbled to myself and started day dreaming about busting some busty broad for lewd and lacivious behavior in public. It was possible and I did look good. in that uniform. The bar was packed when I got there. I saw Jenny Johnson, went up to her and said "You're under arrest Miss Johnson. Get your hands on the wall and spread them legs". "Oh Rabbit, you're sooo cute in that outfit." then she pinched my cheeks. Hmm, not the kind of respect a cop expects.
Then I saw Mary Morrison whom I've had a crush on since high school. She was sitting next to "Chainsaw" Camelio. Chainsaw was a hippy chick who came here to live the "natural" lifestyle. She plowed her small farm with horses and made some money by cutting and splitting firewood. Every bit of six feet tall and strong as an ox. Her arms were like hams. She lost her boyfriend recently when a piece of firewood she was splitting took a funny hop and hit him in the head. Killed him instantly. He was standing 40 feet away. Yea she was a fine girl. I went on over. "Mary Morrison, I'm going to have to strip search you for contraband". Well before Mary could reply Chainsaw jumped up and cried "Strip search ME, Officer Rabbit". With that she grabbed me by the scruff and had me pinned against the wall, my feet off the floor, with one hand! Her other hand was planted firmly in my crotch. Oh shit. If she has her way (and I can see it in her eyes) there won't be nothing left of me but a furry grease spot. It was survival. I had to escape. She lowered me to plant a smooch on my face and loosened her grip. I punched her in the tit and ran like hell. Wham, through the door, across the parking lot and dove into some laurel bushes. I landed on something soft and heard a grunt. "Hey" I heard a voice say. Then Chainsaw came out of the bar. I heard another voice whisper "Quiet. She'll hear us". "What the hell are you guys doing here?" I whispered. "Chainsaw." whispered one. "Yup." whispered the other. Well when I got home I threw the cop suit into the wood stove and burned it. I didn't go back to that bar until Chainsaw had a new man. Hopefully she's more careful with this one. Rabbit
These clowns we have running our government, Democrat or Republican are just not very nice people. They condone the worst crimes humanity has to offer. They feed off us like leaches. Paris For PresidentDon't vote for clowns anymore. Vote for a progressive candidate. There are several to choose from. Obama looks like a shoe in but that's no reason why you have to vote for him. Just because Republicans screwed us good is no reason to allow Deomcrats to pick at our remains. ParisHilton.comDavis on a Saturday Night 11PM Corporate Sponsors of the Democratic ConventionIn case you missed this late addition to last month's Illusions: He's Lying to Us
|
