My best friend Kelley is finishing her Masters in Art Education in order to continue being the wonderful and patient art teacher that she is. Her primary artistic body of work for this degree is a collection of clothing that features and embodies runic symbols to empower the wearer and viewer. To document her now vast collection of magic clothing, Kelley needs a variety of models to bring the garments to life in their applicable settings. To help a girl out, I modeled this dress for the Laguz Rune at a chilly Connecticut beach in April.
A statement from the artist about the project:
“My fascination with history began early in life with historical fiction novels, period films, and old key collections. This paired with my contrarian relationship with religion caused me to eventually discover my own way to find meaning and focus my mental energy.I do not believe in magic in the traditional sense, however the power our minds have over our bodies is well-documented. Through meditation and mantras humans can set an intention and focus their mental energy towards achieving their best selves. My version of magic is our mental energy fused with ancient symbols, or runes. I used runes from the Elder Futhark, which is the oldest Germanic rune alphabet. A rune can have one meaning or can be combined with multiple runes to create more complex meanings. These symbols carry the power of thousands of years of shared meaning, making their magic more potent than more contemporary symbols. My clothes use the magic of these symbols paired with the intention of the wearer to help them self-actualize and tap into their true power. “
This dress, headpiece, and all photographs featured here were produced by Kelley. She is a talented seamstress whom I often turn to for advice when constructing my own garments. She takes an “everything will work out” approach to her clothing, but her wealth of experience in garment construction means that it usually does…her construction is clean and well-tailored as much as it is avant-garde. If you’d like to see more of this Runic wear collection, her other art, and more of Kelley’s sewing, you should check out her website at http://kelleygriffinart.weebly.com/
As for my role as a model, I climbed on rocks and waved my arms around trying to look pretty. The ocean did my hair for me because our first intended shooting location was unusable in 40 mph winds. Once we found shelter on a more protected beach, the sun made 50 degrees feel alright. We probably took 300 frames, and Kelley processed two-dozen. I assume there were many, many shots with my eyes closed, or hair in my mouth.
