Make Good Art
- Deb Dekoff
- Nov 7, 2016
- 2 min read
"Make Good Art" is a phrase attributed to my favorite author, Neil Gaiman. When it came time to say goodbye to my hair, I had to take it - before chemo did - in a creative manner. But not just shave it without reason or cause. I had to Make Good Art.
I thought of having a female activist create a powerful message - that would or could include removal of hair or a bald head. But she became embroiled in a personal matter, and I had to do something really fast.
"What am I?" I thought. "What image do I want to create?"
"How do I want to feel? How do I want to perceive myself? What will offer me strength on days when strength seems fleeting?" The word "warrior" had been tossed my way many times. The word is good, fitting. I do feel like a warrior - fighting a fight, unrelenting, attacking again and again, never letting up. I am a warrior.
What image could I create with hair that would depict warrior? Images of mohawk-haired native Americans entered my mind as Mohawk Indians were powerful fighters.
The image became strong : I am a cancer fighting warrior. But, to do this, I had to enlist the help of several people:
Katrina Ruiz - my hairdresser - who although intended on creating zigs and zags on the sides of my head, had to take the hair to the scalp due to "balding spots".
Steve Berlin - photographer - who reserved studio space in SLC, set up perfect lighting, and captured images the way that I saw them in my head.
Carlo Panti - photographer - who is quick with click of the camera, knows the right angles, and sees as an artist does.
Darcy Page - wardrobe - who saw my post on Facebook requesting a "warrior outfit" and answered the call within minutes of the post with the most amazing bad ass warrior outfit ever.
We made good art. Neil Gaiman, I hope we did you proud.
Comentarios