Alphabetta Natura

Hello! I'm just here to quickly share a couple of pieces from my newest series entitled Alphabetta Natura. As you may have guessed, it's a combination of the full alphabet (26 piece series) combined with animals, items and foods that represent each letter. It was a LOT of work, but I'm incredibly happy with the results. I'll be offering limited edition, hand-signed prints when the show comes down in mid-October, so keep your eyes peeled on my etsy page!(www.etsy.com/shop/JennileeMurray) For now, have a peep at 3 of the finished pieces, and let me know what you think!

For those of you who know me, and many who don't - when I don't post on my blog for a while, it's usually because I've been exceptionally busy. Well, this is the case!

Beyond my busy work schedule, I've been involved in an Ottawa-based feature film directed by Martin Forcier, which was a great experience with an incredibly talented, all-local cast and crew. I just finished the ADR and am really excited to see the finished product! Keep your eyes peeled for Undercurrent!

And the other main project I had (and have) on the go is a fun illustration series entitled Animalia/Victus, which translates into Animal/Food. This is not a commentary on animals as food, or the food animals eat. It is solely my mind taking a visual meander through visual representations of possible combinations. It's whimsical, fairytale-like, playful, exploration of what-ifs and why-nots. Animal and food. Food and animal. Peas nestled in the downy tail of a fennec fox, or a piglet topped with a scoop of ice cream with a cherry on top.

The fun I had researching, combining and creating these creatures was beyond words. The list kept growing, and I had to keep whittling it down to a manageable number. The finished [first] series is a, exhaustive 17 individual illustrations - 4 of which were from a previous show, where I first formulated the idea.

I held the opening and showing at The Manx Pub on Elgin, and the show was lovingly curated and hung by a talented Ottawa artist, Marisa Gallemit (check her blog out here - http://marisagallemit.blogspot.ca/). It was a cold February, but I was met with a warm embrace of support for the show. Showing your creative endeavours to others is always a bit of a scary thing. You always hope that people will fall in love with your pieces the way you have while making them.

Long story short - the show was a success, and I sold every last piece! I still don't know how to thank everyone who came out, showed their love and support, shared their kind words of encouragement, and purchased a piece! I was sad to see each piece go, but happy to know they were going to such great people.

If there is any image that you find yourself needing around you in a big, bad way, please feel free to email me, or to check out my etsy site. The prints are all archival, acid-free, lignen-free, and individually colour corrected to match the original.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/JennileeMurray

Some working images I uploaded:

Have a peek at the images!

Dias de los Muertos

In honour of Mexico's time-strong tradition, this is another sneak peak of the shoot I did this summer.




Photographer - Remi Theriault
Stylist - Ashley McConnell
MUA - Ashley LeBrun
Photography Assistant - David McCaig
Models - Jennilee Murray and Joe Marques

Hallowe'en

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love Halloween. The artistry of makeup and costume are such a thrill.

I try to have a different costume every time. It's great on the creative juices, and bad for the little spare space in the closets around the house. I have costumes I haven't even worn yet!

A couple of years ago, I was a cat, focussing most of my attention on the makeup. I hand-sewed a furry headpiece with ears, a tail, leg and wrist furry parts, and wore a black, tight top. Here's a pic of the makeup:


I'd been wanting to be Leilu from 5th Element for a while, and had the drive to figure out how to make her suspenders. It was probably the easiest costume I've ever had the pleasure of putting together! Though, it's not a great pic, but you get the idea.


We had an apocalyptic theme at work one night, so I dolled myself up as an apocalyptic warrior, of sorts. Riot helmet from the army surplus, cotton bodysuit, leather boots, smeary makeup, and the orange suspenders from my Leilu costume!


This was a masquerade party at work, and I didn't like the idea of having to wear a mask all night - so I painted one on my face in trompe de l'oeil style. I had a lot of people asking where I bought the mask, and when I told them that I painted it on my face
(and individually glued on all of the jewels around the edge), their jaws dropped!


Months before the masquerade party, the Halloween theme at work was 'Prohibition.' So fun! We put 'XXX' on all the bottles behind the bar, and set up the bar like a Speakeasy. So charming! I whipped myself into a rum-smuggling flapper from the day. She was a real crass lass, but could charm you with her smile, dirty jokes, and rum stash that was nestled in her stockings!


This year, the theme was 'Off With Her Head.' I love themes that have some flex. Some people came as Alice in Wonderland characters, and some as 17th c. French Revolutionaries, nuns, priests, bakers, etc. A fun, classy Halloween with lots of great costumes! I sauced myself up to look like the corpse of Marie Antoinette. A really fun costume to work on. Although, when I was winding myself up with all of the bandages, I realized right before I headed off to work, that I had wound myself in SO WELL that I wouldn't be able to use the washroom all night. *rats* It was fine, I just restricted my liquid consumption. Worth the wait.

Photoshoots and the end of summer.

So summer is winding down. Even if it's still warm, the long shadows and low light make me feel fall before 10 degrees over night tells me the same thing.

The urge to wear warm fall hues and bring out my scarves, wear lipstick and read with a cup of tea surges through me like some kind of primal instinct. Fall is coming. I am ready.

For the last month leading into summer's transition, I've done two great photoshoots with some terribly talented Ottawa photographers.


My first shoot was with Pierre-Hugues Giroux. One of my favourite photographers - he makes women look like strong, confident goddesses. This is the third time we've worked together, and each shoot becomes my new favourite series! We went to his cabin on a lake, sat on the dock, paddled around the lake, waded in thigh-deep shallows while fish nibbled my feet. It was a perfect day that [barely] eluded rain, and offered the optimal, cloud-diffused light all afternoon!

Check out PHG's site here: www.phgiroux.com , and sift through his blog, great stuff!


The second shoot I did was with another favourite Ottawa photographer, Remi Theriault. This shoot was more of a collaboration. A good friend, Joe Marques, approached me with the idea of doing a Dias de los Muertos-themed shoot, with him and I as the bohemian, despondent elopers, setting out for the unknown. I agreed, we wrangled Remi, Ashley McConnell (daretounravel.blogspot.com) as stylist, Ashley LeBrun as makeup artist (www.ashleyellemakeupdesign.com) and David McCaig (davidmccaig.blogspot.com) as photographer's assistant.

The day went smoothly, came together with ease, and flowed from wardrobe, to location, playing a cat-and-mouse game with weather systems all day. The photos turned out incredibly brooding, with an interestingly inferred storyline. I can't wait to share the series with you! A great team, I hope we can bring some more photo ideas to life soon!

Check out Remi's site for more beautiful images (and check out his blog link too, many personal projects on there) : www.remitheriault.com.

Let me know what you think of the shots! And enjoy the fleeting weeks of summer!

The Magic Flute

I've decided to open my musical grasp. I've decided to take up the flute.

I've loved the flute since I was a child. I love the femininity of the instrument, the daintiness of it's performance. The complexity of the fingering always captivated me.

And of course, I fell in love with 'Goin' Up The Country' by Canned Heat. That solo still makes me want to master this damned instrument. And I will -

I just need to be able to hold enough breath to hold a solid note for longer than 5 seconds. Really. I had no idea that my breathing had to be strengthened so much! I currently play alto sax and am able to play long notes and hold-overs with no problem.

Thank god I'm not a smoker, or this would be so much harder!

So, that being said, any hints, tips, secrets that only a flautist would know? I'm all ears (and empty lungs).

xo

PS: The photo? Me and my bff sharing a comfy pair of used grey sweatpants in the comfort of Value Village.

Auditions

Auditions are a strange animal.

I don't think many people like them, but they are a necessity. They weed out the bad [ideally] and keep the good, the great, the best. They also scare the bejeezus out of most, too.

So you walk in, you sign in. You drop off your info, or have an on-site snap-shot taken. You get your lines, or you already have them. You give the entire room a once-over, a double-take....heck, you rubberneck that whole damn room until you've picked a small flaw out of just about everyone there. You beef yourself up, feel confident running the lines, you can say them backwards, forwards, fast and slow, with a good Southern drawl, and hopefully how the client wants to hear them.

You take deep breaths and keep your heart rate down, every time the dude comes out of the room to call new names. You play with your hands, your hair, your keys, your phone. You temporarily forget the lines, so you reread them, and find yourself dropping words, forgetting the flow, forgetting who you are auditioning for. Then, when you are nervously shuffling through papers, or feeling the need to use the washroom, they call your name - it's usually pronounced wrong, and you smile and walk into the room like you are cool as a cuke.

From this point onward, it can either go terribly well, or terrible. You can look the client, the camera, and your possible on-screen boyfriend in the eye with confidence, nail ALL of your lines and visual cues, and leave feeling like a kid on valium. Or worst case, you can flub most of your lines, accidentally wink at one of the head honchos, get a really pasty/dry mouth from nervousness and lisp your way through a few lines, remember that you forgot to apply deodorant when you got up that morning and fret about pit stains for those golden 5 minutes, make a really funny Freudian slip on your lines that makes the entire casting room laugh [but not call you back], or you could fart. On camera. Nope, this hasn't happened to me, but if all goes well, and I live 'til some ripe old age, I could very well be living this kind of embarassment. And with my luck, it will be played all over the internet, and on classy shows that Spike TV airs.

So, despite all that stress and drawn-out anxiety, I love going through this. The sleepless nights, replaying things over and over in your head, looking like a crazy person in public, risking utter defeat if you aren't chosen - it's all worth it.:)