Retiring 'The Lorelei' (Patreon)

I got my little studio space in January 2017. For the decade prior, all of my shoots were done around my family's houses and at private locations I had gained permission to shoot at - from an industrial manufacturing company to funeral homes. I had always wanted my very own space where I could set build and didn't have to be at the whim of other people's schedules (and deaths as I never shot at the funeral homes when someone was "home" out of respect). Finally getting this little space opened up so many creative doors for me. Time to build my own places in time. 

The Lorelei was my very first set. I hadn't planned on making an antique boudoir as the main space but all the pieces happened to come together at the same time. First came Alfredo the deer, the steamer trunks, pachinko machine, and some old radios from a friend who needed to clean out his storage unit. The sofa popped up for sale from an antique dealer that I frequent. A gilded mirror found by chance while visiting friends in Annapolis that just barely fit in my tiny Toyota to transport back to Jersey. Alica, the female mannequin, had lived in my bedroom and seemed like a perfect new tenant. Then peppering in my private collection of antique cameras and medical equipments/aids. The space was a jumble with a painter's canvas hanging for lack of a color palette for the walls. All those pieces, but no theme. I needed something to hang above the sofa. I told friends to be on the lookout for a painting of some sort. 

The ocean scene painting came from a regular model who, at the time, was a manager of a thrift store. It came through her shop and she called me right away. It was perfect. I had my palette and an idea formed. A sirens' boudoir.

It's now been over three years and though I love 'The Lorelei' dearly, it's time to move on creatively. In all honesty, I had been feeling a bit stifled by her this past year and a new idea has been forming. A creative itch that needs to be scratched. "I closed my eyes and saw the King in Yellow moving through the forest..."

And so, the day has finally come to say goodbye to The Lorelei. 

The sofa is being sold to a friend who will give her a proper retirement. Alica, the gilded mirror, painting, and medical collection are moving back into my bedroom which I had painted during lock down with leftover paint from Lorelei's construction. My male mannequin, Alejandro, is getting his legs/arms back plus a makeover. Alfredo the deer to be adopted by Echo Manika. Sadly the steamer trunks also need a new home as I have no place to store them. 

This is bittersweet. I'm sentimental. The pandemic has prevented me from giving her the send off I wanted to, but it can't be put off anymore. I still have unpublished sets from the series scheduled to going up here over the next few months and am shooting a couple more with dear collaborators this week, but there's now an official end date with construction to begin right away. 

It's time for something new. Something I hope to turn into a conceptual book project.