Artistic Collaboration…With My Super Talented Friend

September 25, 2017 § 6 Comments

“Biscotti”

So how many times do we discover something about a friend that causes us to say “wow, that’s amazing, I never knew that about you!”. I’m sure that’s happened to many of us. My turn came last month concerning one of my closest friends, Mariana. So here’s a little background. Back in the 80’s, I was doing a lot of model testing for the top modeling agency in Cleveland. One day I noticed a beautiful young teenager at Edgewater Beach in Cleveland. I gave her my card and told her she should contact that agency. She did, and we wound up shooting together. Over the next few years, we collaborated on a number of shoots. We really had a connection, not just as model/photographer, but as close friends, we formed a really close bond. Sadly,we lost touch, and it wasn’t until a few years ago that I “found” her on Facebook! We renewed our friendship and I realized just how much I missed this truly amazing person! I never knew she was such a fantastic artist…she is! I describe her style as Daliesque. She’s smart, really smart…she skipped two years of grade school, she travelled before relocating back in Cleveland, where she raised three beautiful daughters. Her posts on Facebook are something I look forward to, always interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes heartwarming, but always poignant. So this brings me back to that “wow…I never knew that about you” moment. Last month, she posted some images of her teaching a little girl how to decorate cupcakes. I was blown away by the pictures she posted, and immediately asked if I could photograph her bakery. While talking to her about this, she mentioned how she practically grew up in her father’s bakery. Her father, by the way, made all of the wedding cakes for the movie “The Deerhunter”, so it’s no wonder where she got this talent…I’m sure her dad would be so proud of her today. Anyhow, we got together last week and spent the day shooting. She brought over a selection of her bakery, and boxes of props, and with her artistic background even did a fantastic job helping me style the shots. The best thing is after the shoot was over, I got to eat everything…okay, not all at once, it took a few days. Mariana wants to open a small bakery in the future, and when she does, I would highly recommend you go…the line forms behind me!