'Coda' was the final segment in our 'Pas de Berlin' series, and my preparation for this shoot began months in advance. A backdrop canvas had to be painted; set and costume pieces had to be built, schedules had to be coordinated. After the shoot, the set and costume lilies were dis-assembled and re-made, into individual works of art, for the gallery exhibit.
Portfolio shots of my Lily creations by Todd Powers:
Lilies on display in the gallery, with the artwork:
In-studio creation of the lily vines; individual elements are altered, painted, assembled, and then re-assembled:
On set, day of shoot: Backdrop and props are set up, just before Model Berlin arrives in makeup, courtesy of our skilled makeup artist, Ande Castaneda. Berlin has to be further altered with body paint, moss, costume vines and lilies, before the shoot begins:
'Coda' was shot in three separate segments: First, Berlin becomes acquainted with Lily, representative of her hard-fought, and hard-sought, transformation (she is 'seeing' her pain, recognizing and accepting it). Next, we remove the Lily prop as Berlin dances, embodying the Lily spirit (relying on dance, she works her way though the pain). Finally, Berlin is re-created; now a fierce, powerful Lily, she is stronger for having embraced and accepted all parts of herself -both light, and dark (by taking ownership of her pain and grief, she also gains control over these strong energies; she now has the skills to bend those strong energies to her own will, use them as she sees fit).
'Coda' Set, 'Pas de Berlin' series 2014 *model Berlin * photographer Todd Powers * MUAH Ande Castaneda
costume, accessories, properties by Jen Raven * concept direction provided by Jen Raven
costume, accessories, properties by Jen Raven * concept direction provided by Jen Raven
"I found I was able to be comfortable using the movements of my dancing experience to draw emotion into my modeling. It was rather healing. I took a step back and realized in some aspect this (modeling) is like dancing. In ballet or lyrical, whether I was having a good day or bad, I would portray that into my choreography, and how ever you may have danced that day, your raw emotions poured out for everyone to see, who understood. In some shoots I found myself crying or tearing up after, it was like a performance I poured my heart into, a performance that was rather healing for me. This was the right way to heal, the method I’d been searching for. I began to eat right, exercise, travel, I met some amazing people (from the art community) who continue to stay by my side, and most of all I began to heal, to sleep again at night, to forgive myself, to just. be. happy. for myself. I genuinely still am. I didn’t realize how dead I was as a person until I met the right people who set me down a better path. I am forever grateful. Art does save."
~excerpt from 'A Broken Recovery' by Berlin
We named the final shot of the final set 'Coda' and it was used in creating the event graphics for advertizing the exhibit:
I am so very grateful that I had the opportunity, to experience this marvelous, year-long collaboration. What an amazing team. What an uplifting experience it has all been!
See more behind-the-scenes photos and video from this collaboration here!
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