"Embracing My Ever Afters"
My quest for this project has been to document a new take on some old stories after coming to an epiphany years ago that it is possible to have many ever afters and we should embrace them all. The images in this series were years in the making, really, years... in... the... making. Funny how creating art is. It takes experiences, education, enlightenment, and sometimes what feels like the stars lining up in just the right way while my guardian angels, my deceased grandma and grandpas, Buddha and whatever God there is out there to finally smile upon me and allow me to work hours and hours going cross eyed in front of Photoshop and throwing away emulsion lift after emulsion lift to come up with the image that is JUST RIGHT and THEN feel which fairy tale it tells me it belongs to. And all that, not necessarily in that order. There were even a couple of photos that were sitting around for 10 years waiting to be "kissed" and reawakened once I remembered them and figured out what the heck to do with them.
Anyway, I digress. What was the end result of all this? The future published book (Anyone willing to represent me? Seriously? :) ) "Once Upon A Time... A Princess Grows Up." My quest, although I didn't know I was on one at first, started when I was 5 and fell in love with Cinderella. So cliche, little girl, Filipino immigrant at that whose parents came to the US with almost nothing to live the American Dream, falls in love with the story of a down and out blondie who gets dressed up in a fabulous ball gown (couture maybe) rides a tricked out pumpkin, meets her hottie prince and becomes a princess living in the big castle. REALLY nice-tied up-in-a-big-red-Christmas-bow-on-a-Tiffany-box ending huh? And I loved it as a little girl! I loved the finality and happy ever after of that and all those happy ever after fairy tales! But now, as a woman, I realize how malleable, unsure, and wonderfully/not so wonderfully surprising the real life fairy tale really is. And as an artist, I try to capture those qualities in life in much of what I do.
As I mature as an artist, I'm fascinated by manipulating the image. Not just sliding my finger across a touch pad and Click! Click! There's my creation! I mean really getting my hands in there and moving the actual image around. Especially in working with Polaroid emulsions. Getting that amazing ethereal effect and capturing it on a surface, usually paper. Hard to accomplish what with Polaroid 669's being discontinued. Damn Polaroid!! But that amazing dreamy effect, that floaty, fragile feeling in an emulsion lift, what a great metaphor for expressing how life is a fairy tale, just one that can be like a changing dream with each real life princess who grows up to be her own queen.
In the "Once Upon A Time..." blog, I'll post the images from my series with a story or statement from myself and one of the grown up princesses in my life. I invite others to post their reactions, memories or stories to go with the image or even posts by others. I'll also be using it as short updates. You can comment right after my post or archive your story in my "What's your story?" page. I figure there are many grown up princesses out there so, LET'S HEAR YOUR FAIRY TALES! Thank you in advance for sharing! In the "Not The End" section, I'll use to post details of my blog updates- the "more" in my life. Not just any one happily ever after, because the reality is, there is more to me, and any of you, than one happily ever after. Don't you always want to find out what happens to Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, after that darn Prince Charming kisses her?
I hope you enjoy this, my first real venture into blogging. And to all the fabulous princesses in my life...
You bring me strength and love unconditionally,
With or without our Mr. Rights,
we have each other.
To share lives that are always amazing adventures.
No matter what ever after you choose,
may it be filled with lots of
love,
laughter,
family,
and great, dear friends.
XO
Marielle
My quest for this project has been to document a new take on some old stories after coming to an epiphany years ago that it is possible to have many ever afters and we should embrace them all. The images in this series were years in the making, really, years... in... the... making. Funny how creating art is. It takes experiences, education, enlightenment, and sometimes what feels like the stars lining up in just the right way while my guardian angels, my deceased grandma and grandpas, Buddha and whatever God there is out there to finally smile upon me and allow me to work hours and hours going cross eyed in front of Photoshop and throwing away emulsion lift after emulsion lift to come up with the image that is JUST RIGHT and THEN feel which fairy tale it tells me it belongs to. And all that, not necessarily in that order. There were even a couple of photos that were sitting around for 10 years waiting to be "kissed" and reawakened once I remembered them and figured out what the heck to do with them.
Anyway, I digress. What was the end result of all this? The future published book (Anyone willing to represent me? Seriously? :) ) "Once Upon A Time... A Princess Grows Up." My quest, although I didn't know I was on one at first, started when I was 5 and fell in love with Cinderella. So cliche, little girl, Filipino immigrant at that whose parents came to the US with almost nothing to live the American Dream, falls in love with the story of a down and out blondie who gets dressed up in a fabulous ball gown (couture maybe) rides a tricked out pumpkin, meets her hottie prince and becomes a princess living in the big castle. REALLY nice-tied up-in-a-big-red-Christmas-bow-on-a-Tiffany-box ending huh? And I loved it as a little girl! I loved the finality and happy ever after of that and all those happy ever after fairy tales! But now, as a woman, I realize how malleable, unsure, and wonderfully/not so wonderfully surprising the real life fairy tale really is. And as an artist, I try to capture those qualities in life in much of what I do.
As I mature as an artist, I'm fascinated by manipulating the image. Not just sliding my finger across a touch pad and Click! Click! There's my creation! I mean really getting my hands in there and moving the actual image around. Especially in working with Polaroid emulsions. Getting that amazing ethereal effect and capturing it on a surface, usually paper. Hard to accomplish what with Polaroid 669's being discontinued. Damn Polaroid!! But that amazing dreamy effect, that floaty, fragile feeling in an emulsion lift, what a great metaphor for expressing how life is a fairy tale, just one that can be like a changing dream with each real life princess who grows up to be her own queen.
In the "Once Upon A Time..." blog, I'll post the images from my series with a story or statement from myself and one of the grown up princesses in my life. I invite others to post their reactions, memories or stories to go with the image or even posts by others. I'll also be using it as short updates. You can comment right after my post or archive your story in my "What's your story?" page. I figure there are many grown up princesses out there so, LET'S HEAR YOUR FAIRY TALES! Thank you in advance for sharing! In the "Not The End" section, I'll use to post details of my blog updates- the "more" in my life. Not just any one happily ever after, because the reality is, there is more to me, and any of you, than one happily ever after. Don't you always want to find out what happens to Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, after that darn Prince Charming kisses her?
I hope you enjoy this, my first real venture into blogging. And to all the fabulous princesses in my life...
You bring me strength and love unconditionally,
With or without our Mr. Rights,
we have each other.
To share lives that are always amazing adventures.
No matter what ever after you choose,
may it be filled with lots of
love,
laughter,
family,
and great, dear friends.
XO
Marielle
