Finding the Muse —The Mannequin Multimedia Project

Finding Your Muse

How do you start with an old mannequin and a few photos from a yard sale, and end up with a thought-provoking collaborative multimedia art project? You listen quietly ….you listen patiently …. you wait for your divine muse to show you the way.

Several years ago at a yard sale I found a mannequin that was accompanied by three photos. I named the mannequin Molly and put her in my living room. She sat there patiently for over a year. People would ask me what I was doing with a mannequin in my living room. I would respond that it was an art project, that I was waiting for Molly to tell me her story. I never became impatient or anxious with Molly; I trusted that all would be revealed in its own perfect time.

After a deeply profound experience at a West Asheville Yoga Studio Kirtan, it became clear to me how I would tell Molly’s story. I didn’t have all the details yet, but knew enough to start the project. Each step rolled into the next one, as if I was following a map.

First I began working with the photographs, creating new images from them. Adding new photographs and video clips, I had enough to make a rough cut of the short film. After viewing the rough cut local poet, Caleb Beissert, agreed to write a spoken word poem for the project. When I read his poem for the first time, I was overcome with emotion. It was perfect – it took my breath away. Tears rolled down my face as I neared the end of the poem. To me this was divine confirmation that we were on the right path.

I shot more footage to incorporate some of the imagery in Caleb’s poem. Then multi-talented musician and composer, Aaron Price, came on board to help with the music and recording. He lined up renowned saxophone player Jacob Rodriguez, who lives in Asheville, to co-create the musical accompaniment to Caleb’s poem. Jacob has worked with some of the best – Aretha Franklin, Cyrus Chesnut, Michael Buble and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, as well as with jazz contemporaries Walter Smith III, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Marcus Gilmore.

Two weeks before the final recording session, I had another deeply transformative experience at the West Asheville Yoga Studio Kirtan. I was struck by the voices, music and singing of Jarret Levine and Mira Shani at the Kirtan. During the evening certain words kept popping up in my head. I knew it was my muse nudging me.

The next day I googled the words and was lead to an amazing old song that was improvised on the spot by a performer at Woodstock. As soon as I heard the song, I realized it had the same energy I had heard at the Kirtan. Intrigued, I researched it further, and was stunned to see how the meaning of the original song fit in with The Mannequin Project video. There it was – divine synchronistiy had given me the perfect ending for the video!

How many times do we miss these amazing divine threads of inspiration, and illumination, claiming they are just random thoughts or coincidences?

This entire process, beginning with the yard sale to the final recording session, has been a continuous journey of my willingness to slow down, to surrender, and to wait for my divine muse to speak through me. I am honored to be a part of this beautiful story. The meandering stream picked up who it needed and brought them to me, so that we could join our creativity and heart-felt talent to be a part of something bigger than us.

Once everyone was in the recording studio, it was smooth sailing. After only a few takes for each performer, Aaron and I knew we had a winner. Listening to the final recording at the end of the day Aaron noted that it was so good people would think it was created in New York City. Indeed, WNC has some amazing talent and heart.

Watch “The Swimsuit” — https://vimeo.com/82958296

Literally pulled from the depths of despair, a mannequin in a swimsuit personifies the real-life anguish and suffering caused by a national travesty.

The journey begins with possibilities – what would have happened to the swimsuit if this tragedy had never occurred? We follow the swimsuit, as the real story slowly reveals itself through poignant imagery, a compelling blend of piano, saxophone and guitar and a hauntingly beautiful spoken word poem that becomes the heartbeat of the short film.