Decorating Test 1

In between a flight from Toronto and a flight to Chicago, I managed a day of testing with Photographer William Geddes, www.williamgeddes.com, It was a big production and a project William and I had discussed many months ago, It was great to finally realize it! With testing it's often hard to find the right moment to do it. If it works out both timing wise and on a creative level however, Testing can be wonderful source for renewing your identity as an artist. It helps the keep the creative spirit alive and makes you understand why it is that you love what you do in the first place and from it can spark ideas for even other commercial projects.

My inspiration was Dorothy Draper meets modern day, I can't say I delved into books of her work, but since seeing a retrospective of her work in NYC in 2008, She amongst other famous decorators left an imprint in my mind. I am a sucker for the 1950's and the palette seemed to evoke this period also.

Wikepedia says: Dorothy Draper (born Dorothy Tuckerman November 22, 1889, died March 11, 1969) was an influential and innovative American interior decorator of the early to mid 20th century. She helped inspire a generation of home improvement devotees with her 1939 book Decorating is Fun!, subtitled "How to Be Your Own Decorator" Her style was big, brash, bodacious, bold, and bordered on what some would consider gaudy, shocking both men and women of her day. You can check out more at www.dorothydraper.com

I also love the idea of the "age of the decorator" in general, We look back at the past with Dorothy, Elsie de Wolfe, David Hicks, Terence Conran and Sybil Colefax amongst others and to now with Kelly Wearstler, Jonathan Adler, Ilse Crawford and Tricia Guild. The tools of a decorator, measuring tapes, shears, fabric, flooring and wallpaper samples, paint chips and plans found there way into the shoot, I discovered a great vinyl floor sample box from the 1960's at the Flea Markets the weekend before and they become a key prop. Thanks also to fellow stylist Robyn Glaser, www.robynglaser.com and Co at Lost and Found Props, www.lostandfoundprops.com where I found a majority of the fine fabrics used. As well as Julie Patterson at Cloth Australia, www.clothfabric.com/rugs.html who still continues to inspire across the waves.

Decorating Test 2

Here are some more examplesof my Decorating Test with William Geddes, be inspired!

Metallic Test 2

These are the other results of my "Metallic Test" with Photographer Kate Mathis

Metallic Test 1

So I have to apologize for not uploading these sooner, It's been a couple of month's since I did my last test with photographer Kate Mathis, Sometimes these things take time to ferment, Kate needed time to work on retouching, outputting and printing out prints, we also needed to find time to actually meet up! When we did, Kate gave me a lovely set of prints from the story and as I flipped through them with her, it reminded me in the commercial storm of activity that has been work the last 2 months, that we had in fact shot something wistful, romantic, moody and rich in texture, At least that's what I think! : )

I am hoping I can weave some of these shots into my own private print book. I see testing as a record of my own personal journey with styling, It comes from the heart so for me the process is not caught up in the confines of a tight brief, what the client wants or where it has to sit seasonally. Of course testing can be an opportunity to do something tight, planned out and structured, but often as "tests" are pulled together when you have a small window of time available or without a budget at all, things can be allowed to be a bit more organic and not as over processed with planning. With this I believe comes fresher less contrived ideas and as a result fresher images, often things you may not see within the pages of a everyday magazine.

Some peoples view on styling is that it just someone running around pulling together a whole bunch of stuff to earn a buck, but others who know better, realize it's not just about that. It's also about exploring threads of ideas and putting them out there to hopefully inspire people and maybe even set off a whole new train of thought seeing things. For me it is seriously part of my lifestyle, A lot of these props in this shoot for instance have a history with me, Some of them had never made a guest appearance outside of the prop cupboard at all, sometimes sitting their for months or years waiting for the right opportunity. It is interesting when some people just view these images as just a bunch of old flea market finds and they don't see beyond that, Sometimes unless its a generic product sitting on a surface, crafted images with sensitivity seem to be off their radar. When people only see dollar signs, creativity can get put on the back burner. Sorry, It's my gripe for the week : )

Anyway hope you enjoy these 2 sets of images, Kate did a wonderful job, I feel they have a certain energy and mood that can only be captured when all parties involved are invested and inspired.