In September of 2000 I drove across the country to see for myself what was going on in Los Angeles. I had just graduated from a small film school, had just turned 21 and was decided that's where I needed to go.
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| Me snapping a pic of myself driving through the pan handle of Texas 09/13/00 |
Like on most drives, I had incredible visions and inspirations. I wrote them all down whenever I stopped. I lost the book with all those scribbles when I moved back east (10 months later). There was one idea that stuck with my though and I've been thinking about now for over 10 years,
a mannequin
a translucent pregnant belly
an artificial terrarium of moss and butterflies
Seems simple enough, right? Per my normal being I made excuses for a decade as to reasons why I wasn't moving forward with the project. Mostly I wasn't sure how to go about getting the belly right. Many people recommended a glass bowl. I refused. It was through these refusals of supportive advise wthat I realized that I'm quite the perfectionist. In my own way. I will adapt my ideas when necessary, but not during the the planning stages, ever.
I expressed the idea to my friend Chris a over a year ago. He loved the thought of it. My response to him was the typical one, "yeah, I should really do that." A couple months later he checked in with me to see where I was in the process. I confessed that I still had not moved forward with it. He asked me what the first step would be. I told him I would first need a mannequin. He sent me a link to a website of a mannequin manufacturer. I looked at them an got all exited about the project again. Then, a couple weeks later he asked me if I had bought one yet. Still, no. He asked me which one I liked. I told him. A few days later, which happened to me around the time of my birthday, I came home to a big box by my door. It was a mannequin. I immediately assembled it and she was born....
Now, next step. The belly. I knew I wanted the belly to be made of organic material; glass. I mentioned this to my dear friend Marie. She gave me a card of a local glass blower. It took me awhile but I finally contacted Joe Forrestall of Anderstall Artworks. (www.anderstallartworks.com)
He was excited about the challenge and the idea of collaboration.
It's been almost a year since I so generously received Rosmerta into my life and I just heard from Joe that the belly is done. I plan on going to his studio tomorrow to see it (and Rosmerta's torso which he has had since December). I'm both excited and nervous because the next step is figuring out how to assemble the belly to the mannequin, which will make or break the project (literally).
Like I said, a process indeed.
