Kickstarter

The Project:

My “Earth Goddess” body art photography series expresses the sacred and powerful qualities contained within the female body, mind and spirit and works to expose the powerful relationship between women and Mother Earth. Nowadays women are bombarded by pop culture’s destructive and disfiguring definitions of female beauty, strength, and spirituality. Modern society is quick to discredit the sacredness and power of the earth as well as the female sex and their ties to nature’s cycles. My art series challenges these views and cultural missteps with a series of stark, black and white photographs that elevate women to their true goddess status through the use of intricate body paintings. In these photos, women of all age, body type, and ethnicity stare back at the viewer, clothed only in the spirally woad of my body paint, enmeshed in the infinite wilds of deep forest, craggy sea shore, rock cliffs and more.

Most black and white, nude photographs capture the inner essence of the model, but in my work, that inner essence is visible through the painted designs I painstakingly applied over a series of hours. I based my body paintings on tribal designs, focusing on spirals and swoops that encased the body and exposed the energy within each woman. So far I have completed three body painting and photography sessions for the series. I intend on expanding the project and painting 10+ women in all seasons and remote locations.

 Looking back on the first finished images of this series I am held captivated by the level of artistic collaboration to be seen between myself, the models and Mother Nature. I can hardly wait to create and discover more of the project.

How you can help:

Just as I hope to represent the sacred beauty of women in all body types, age, and ethnicity and beyond I also seek to capture the beauty inherent in the many faces, forms and landscapes of mother earth. In order to achieve these goals I must do a good bit of traveling to photograph the series in as many different landscapes I have the power to access.

With your help I can gather the funds that will allow my models and I to safely explore, travel, lodge and create in remote, wild and amazingly beautiful locations. If my funding goal is met I aim to photograph my hand painted models in the snowy heights of Mount Hood, the primordial rain forests of Washington, the mystical rocky shores of the pacific north west, the soothing sights of the Columbia river gorge, the rocky red deserts of eastern Oregon and much more.

The immediate future goals of the project:

I will be striving to take this series, its healing message and intent to the public in as many ways as possible so I will be printing a limited edition of photographs for displaying in galleries, community centers and more. I will also use the finished images from my “Earth Goddess” series to produce my 2nd self published body art photography book.

Expanding and Evolving:

Depending on the success of the “Earth Goddess” series I have high hopes of expanding the project by taking it global. By global, I mean to say I would love to eventually travel all around the wide world with this series,  painting and then photographing women in wild natural remote locations. This expanded project would not only seek to show the sacred beauty inherent in women and mother nature but the unity that connects all women, all people together through the sharing of this planet.

The Art: Below are some of the images from my first three finished photoshoots from the "Earth Goddess" series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questions and Answers:

“How did you develop the process of the artwork you make?”
- It developed with the need to knit my two loves together: painting and photography. Using black or white body paint I discovered I could transform the human form into a web of sacred energy and then preserve the spectacle forever via photography.

‘How does your work demonstrate craftsmanship?”
-These body paintings are intuitive; I work to acquire the perfect line weight and shapes to uniquely fit and honor each body/soul I adorn. My intricate paintings take over 6 hours to complete and then 1+ hours to meticulously photograph in order to give the surreal impression of timelessness.

“How do you connect to your medium?”
-Body painting is an extremely personal art form: It takes the fire of my own vision and the flesh of my subject to bring the medium to life. My spiraling line work odes back to my ancient Celtic ancestors, who’s body art was a sacred ritual and strength bringer.

“what sets your work apart from others?”
-Unlike most body art, the importance is not in the colored designs or fitness of the body it adorns, rather my work's emphasis is expressing the harmony of the body mind spirit connection. My intentions allow a glimpse into a part of the self often denied in modern times.

Work in Progress shots:

Thanks so much for your donations!