background

celeste and i worked together in advertising. we sat where we could both turn around and have a conversation. usually those conversations had to do with what random lunch she brought, or my out of control desk, sometimes we talked about work. often she would shake her head at me and say "we're so different".

i learned quickly that celeste is a person you want in your corner. she's so smart, the tasks that would frustrate me seemed to energize her. she became my friend quickly, and even though we are so different i appreciate who she is. our beliefs might not match up all the time, but i think we have more in common than we even realize.

when we worked together we had to present ideas to some pretty intimating people, that knew the history of Colgate backwards and forwards. we learned the value of background. we might not have been around when a campaign launched years prior, but we needed to know about it. that's a little how i felt with this photo shoot.

i had not met celeste's family. they were an idea. her mom sent care packages to her cats, her dad farmed land, and neil tortured her as a child. but meeting them, collectively, pulled celeste into perspective for me. she's a piece of all of them. she's got her dads dry humor but her moms warmth. watching her mom share a story i laughed at the way she used her hands the way i've seen a hundred times.

background, sometimes we try to forget, but it makes it easier for others to understand.

sugar plums

when i was little, i wanted to be a dancer. i wanted a pink tutu, and ballet slippers. i wanted to twirl and be beautiful. i settled for a dingy white slip that had a little lace around the bottom. although i was a ragamuffin little girl, in my world i was a ballerina. my knotty hair was long and billowy in my mind, and enthusiasm made up for my lack of rhythm and grace.

one by one they came down the stairs. pink tutus and smiles wide, three little girls, practically perfect in every way. how beautiful they must have felt to have such special outfits, complete with personalized tops. these ballerinas reminded me of little claras from the nutcracker, off on an adventure to defeat the mouse king.

the beginning of a journey

when babies are born i always think about what they will be like grown. i love the way new babies are so cuddly and sweet, soft and warm. but i find myself wondering what their personality will be like. if they are a quiet baby will they be a quiet adult? will they be a leader if they are demanding? i'm fascinated by possibility and by the outcome. i don't want to rush the process, every step is a challenge and a joy, but i always have the end in sight.









what will you be little beckett? strong, shy, determined? i hope for your sake you turn into a mizzou fan, or life may be a little tricky with your parents.

dry

i've hit a dry spell. i have so much in my heart but yet i'm silenced. i wanted to share my latest trip to kentucky, i've been kept awake at night by the words, but still i just can't. so please pardon my lack of attention, it's not that there haven't been beautiful souls in my life, it's just i haven't had the words.


this hangs on my friend greg seigel's door to his pottery shed, his daughter made it.