Speaking for the Silent: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In honor of one of the historical figures I most admire, I want to take a small amount of universal time and space to speak where I am usually silent. 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. knew a thing or two about courage, and speaking for the oppressed in order to create change. As an adult revisiting the legacy he left and seeing the challenges he faced I am overwhelmed by his bravery. I am astonished by his perseverance amidst extreme persecution and humbled by his non-violent solutions--even though he must have been rocked with anger inside. 

How did he do that? 

I talked to my kids today about him and all the people who have stood up and spoken out against injustice. We talked about speaking for those with little to no voice, like Dr. King did. We talked about the importance of having courage, and really thinking hard about the ideologies we fail to question.

My kids took out their paints and created some images that represented
ways they might use their own voices.
This is what they came up with: 

Here is Luxie speaking for herself and... candy.  I guess candy doesn't have a voice either :)

Here's Luxie speaking for animals that are given no choices.  There is a turkey being served and a live turkey watching through the window.

Luxie drew cars polluting the world, speaking for an entity that has no voice.  I love how the world looks like a living being who is literally stressed by the pollution.

As for me, I also want to speak up. I want to use my voice to speak about injustices I see around me. I have a voice where Dr. King's is silent, so I think he'd be happy if I used it.  And following his lead, I want to speak about the injustice that directly affects me and the people I love.  Here goes: 

1. St. George's LGBTQ Community:

This is a picture of my wonderful sister and her partner. As a couple, these two have the most loving relationship you can imagine. They are kind and good. They are thoughtful, sincere, and funny. Their love is real. But when they hold hands in public, in our Southern Utah town, their behavior is frowned upon. They are exhibitionists. Demonstrating their love in public is not an option for them, not to mention having the choice to be married or treated as equals when applying for a job or looking for an apartment. There are no laws protecting them from housing and employment discrimination in the state of Utah. It is sickening. 

2. Atheists and Non-Religious People in Utah. 
 Just because a person is non-religious doesn't mean they are wandering in spiritual darkness. If they declare "I do not believe in God" they do not mean that they don't believe in anything. Belief is relative and personal. "God" and religion are social constructions that we can choose to apply to our lives or not. I respect your right to be religious and see it as a choice you've made. It alienates me from you when I know you're thinking that someday I'll gain awareness of your religion and its "truth." It debases me.

Other subjective topics that alienate me from you are:

Modesty (as in clothing):  When I wear spaghetti straps it doesn't mean that I am asking for something, or that I have no self-respect.  It probably means it's hot as hell outside because we live in the desert.  Or maybe it means that I like how my arms look and am confident in who I am--confident that I've been working out and feel strong and healthy.  Same for a mini-skirt.


Social Drinking:  This is a big one.  Just because someone enjoys a glass of wine with their dinner does not mean they are alcoholics or are in danger of becoming so.  While alcoholism is certainly a problem, social drinking is not.  People do it all over the world, all the time.  If you see me driving into the liquor store parking lot, it does not mean I am a bad parent, my kids are neglected, I am unhappy, or I am irresponsible.  (For those of you unfamiliar with Utah's laws, liquor must be sold ONLY in state-approved stores). 

3. St. George's Illegal Immigrant Population.
 Isn't this a hot topic. Here goes. I think that "illegals" often are muddled with our Hispanic neighbors and legal citizens. While the majority of people who complain about illegal immigrants say they make a distinction, I think there is a lot of prejudice and racism in this town. I also think that if people were more willing to consider why a person is in this country illegally, there would be much more talk about creating solutions and much less talk about building fences.
Dr. King asked this country to consider the person and not the color; to question the stereotype. 

I think we need to do the same thing in St. George. 

That's my two cents for today. I want to be more like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and live a life with his kind of courage. Hey, I have to start somewhere. If you want to speak for someone or something, please share with me here. I'd love to know...

Creating Ridiculousness!

Over the holidays, my sisters and I decided to make a movie.  

Not just any movie, but something really special. 

Let me explain.

Since I can remember, my family has listened to the synthesizer-tastic Mannheim Steamroller Christmas albums.  We grew up feeling very dramatic and wonderful whenever this music would play.  Therefore, the band's "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" was the obvious choice for a little holiday parody.  To be more specific, the credit needs to go to my sisters Aubrie and Heidi, who conceptualized everything and wrote the script.  

I think that creating ridiculousness keeps me feeling alive and vibrant.  This kind of thing lifts my entire soul and makes me laugh, dance, and sing around the house.  I can't think of anything more fun than filming a stupid music video with my sisters, then laughing our heads off editing the footage with a glass of red wine in our hands.  

I want to put the invitation out there: If anyone wants to play and is lacking the necessary bff, brother, or sister, please call me!  I'd love to laugh with you!

Here are some outtakes from filming, as well as the DVD cover we created at 2:00 in the morning:

Cover of our amazing DVD.  (We used to be home schooled and mercilessly jab at it whenever possible).

Isn't Heidi's hair amazing?  

Aubrie was a little gender confused.

This one has nice angles, but lacks proper uncomfortableness.

Aubrie's thighs were burning, but look effectively green and shiny.  Don't you think?

Trying to appear as awkward and uncomfortable as possible.  Don't you kind of cringe when you look at this?  I hope so.

I particularly love how my thighs appear massive because of how tightly I was clenching the wall.  Gorgeous.

This one needs no words.  It just speaks for itself :)

And here is the amazing result! Again, please let me know if you are in need of a really good laugh.  I would love to create something like this with you!

Happy Holidays!

Katie

Adam Mast: Opening Doors for Filmmakers in St. George

I've been interested in film making since I knew what a video camera was and discovered how much fun it was to film my siblings dancing around making faces and farting noises, and watch it later.  I'd like to think that the hours spent with my sisters recording our voices on a tape recorder, re-recording the parts that weren't funny enough, and then playing them back at high speeds was a precursor to my love of editing.  Not to mention how many plays, variety shows, and dramatic Olympic reenactments I've produced, directed, choreographed, costumed, special-effected, and forced upon my sometimes willing/sometimes not friends and family over the years.  I've come to realize that while I love acting, dancing, singing, and being a diva in general--my strengths really lie in directing and conceptualizing a creative project from start to finish.

But film making--like, serious film making--has always felt out of reach.  To be taken seriously, I would need the proper equipment, editing software, willing actors, good ideas, and all the strange-sounding things like shotgun mikes and dollys (which I'm proud to report are things I know about now).

Enter Adam Mast.

I met Adam while working on a film project three years ago.  Before meeting him, I knew his name from the Independent paper movie reviews and the oh-so-elite-and-interesting annual guerrilla film making competitions that he ran.  During rehearsals I would feign disinterest and slip in questions about the competition and filming.  I was surprised when he made it sound doable--like there were people he could get me in touch with that had the necessary equipment and knowledge.  He encouraged me, more than once, to just try it.

It still took two years for me to get up enough courage to enter the competition.  By that time, Kevin and I had started using the wonderful Canon 5D Mark II for our photography business, which has incredible video capabilities.  Plus, my newer experience with photography helped give me the confidence to set up shots and understand how to light my subjects.  

By the time I entered last October's guerrilla shorts competition, Adam was TOTALLY in my corner.  Talk about a supportive guy.  Any questions or problems I had he was right there, cheering me on, solving problems, and connecting me with the right people.  I made my little movie and was so happy with the results.  It didn't win anything, but there was some buzz about it.  Adam wrote that it was "one of the most professional films in this year's competition."  

Which, of course, totally stroked my ego.

Adam has also introduced me to some incredibly creative people that have been both inspirational and instructive as I head down this bright new road.  In fact, just yesterday I was editing my second film (YAY!!!) with Shaun Labrecque, whose cinematography and editing skills are (in my opinion) incomparable in this town.  And speaking of these guys, I assisted on Shaun's film this last weekend with Adam and want to share some photographs with you.  

And I'm also posting my first film, "Second Sense," that I'm so proud of, that I would have never attempted if not for this community leader and supporter of the film making arts: Adam Mast.

Adam and Shaun setting the stage.

Friends!

And you can see my first film, "Second Sense," here.  Watch it, if you haven't already! 

Filming: "Picture Hope"

I'm in the middle of a film project that I'm BEYOND excited about.  It's the second film that I have written the screenplay for, directed, and filmed with my Canon 5D Mark II.  Actually, my Kevin helped me film "Second Sense" (I'll post the video and some pics later) and the fabulous Shaun Labrecque helped me out with this project; in particular, the crucial closing shot that will hopefully cause the audience roll up in the fetal position and cry.  

So I'll be posting the finished film after the competition, but until then I wanted to share some stills from the shoot and explain what it's all about.  The competition is benefiting Dixie Care and Share which is the only homeless shelter in our area.  The shelter has come close to closing its doors because of a lack of operational funding, which is truly terrible and scary.  My film will highlight this problem by giving information about the shelter and statistics on homelessness in our area, while hopefully touching people's hearts through a nice little visual story and beautiful music.  My cast includes my daughter Lux, my niece and nephew Eva and Jordan, and my little sister Aubrie.  

I can't wait to share it with you!

Aubrie and Lux

Beautiful Sun flare that night.

Shaun and our scrappy rigging :)

Finished!

Stay posted for the finished film and come to the Westates competition!

Nectar in a Sieve: Photography Art Project

I mentioned in my previous post the large-scale photography project I'm working on.  Two days ago I completed another character shoot: Rukmani from the novel Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya.

Reasons for choosing Nectar in a Sieve

I was introduced to this novel in a world literature class at Dixie State College.  Knowing nothing before reading it, I didn't have any expectations.  But what I really didn't expect was a broken heart and new love of and appreciation for Indian literature.  It's one of those books that breaks your heart two ways: It shatters it with grief and opens it wide with understanding.  Because of my emotional reaction to this story I wanted to know more about the world situation of the characters and other similar stories.  I ordered more of Markandaya's novels, along with other Indian authors (all of which are unintentionally female) and found a new genre of literature I can't seem to get enough of!  My favorites are Markandaya and Jhumpa Lahiri.

Anyway, I chose this novel because it has wedged its way into the deepest cavities of my heart and is, I think, permanently stuck there.  I wanted to photograph Rukmani because of her undeniably heroic characteristics, their simple qualities making them that much more wonderful.

I also chose this novel because the components were very exciting to me: Indian model, clothing, and accessories (bangles, saris, bindis!), and the outdoor location I had to find that represented visually what the novel related textually.  That meant finding a "green India" juxtaposed with  "Western industry" or something like it.

 Pre Photo Shoot

--Consideration #1: Finding a model.  I had a very hard time, in this land of diversity (sarcasm, hahaha) finding Indian women on my college campus who were available and willing to model.  Basically, I didn't find one.  My model is not Indian, but her skin and hair tones are going to work beautifully.  And I have Photoshop :)

--Consideration #2: The location.  UGGH.  I settled for Staheli Farms in Washington Fields because the remnants of alfalfa are still green in the foreground while we have a bunch of industrial junk in the background.  However, it took me days to receive permission.  Basically, I have a big Photoshop job ahead of me, making the background look like an Indian Village, rather than red-rocky St. George.

--Consideration #3: Props.  Sari, makeup for bindi and vermillion, bangles, sandals, undershirt for sari, and a variety of "growing things."  I found most of these items with help (thanks Myrianne!) but some will have to be manipulated in Photoshop.  For example, I need more vines around my squashes, etc. 

--Problem #1: Lighting equipment not functioning properly during photo shoot.  I had been telling Kevin earlier that day that I have yet to do a photo shoot where the lighting equipment works.  It's so infuriating!!!

Post Photo Shoot

I'm very happy with how everything turned out.  I have one image in particular that is stunning; that I'm over the moon about.  It will be the one I use in the art show and calendar.  The Photoshop work is what will really make these particular images authentic and beautiful, especially additions of more visual symbolism from the novel.  In the meantime, I'm excited to share a few outtakes from the shoot.  Danielle Wolverton came and assisted (thank you!) and the lovely and expressive Falon Victorian was my young Rukmani model.  

Danielle prepping the scene

Trying to get Falon's hair to cooperate

Danielle trying to make the sari and the wind get along

She was seriously a great assistant!

I hoped that the rows of alfalfa would eventually translate to rows of vegetables.

I wanted red chilies but couldn't find any.  I will probably color correct later.

Rice is a major character in the novel and it was important to me to have it in the shot.

Finished!

Thanks to these two wonderful women for their fantastic modeling/assisting!

  I'm SO excited to share the "money shot" with you when everything is said and done.  This project is truly a collaborative effort that has already involved so many wonderful people.  I'm so thankful for what we're creating together!

Photography Art Project: Female Literary Characters

So.

I'm a very involved member of Sigma Tau Delta (National English Honor Society) on Dixie State campus.  Yes, our acronym is STD.  We have STDs on campus.  I am actually wearing a STD t-shirt right now.  Sometimes, I go to STD meetings and drink STD drinks and eat STD snacks.  Awesome.

Anyway, I had this idea last year to do a large-scale fundraiser for our club (our conference is in New Orleans this year--very expensive for us all to go).  I thought it would be cool to photograph students and faculty of the English department as female literary characters and sell the images in a calendar around campus and town.

Since last year, this project has grown wings and has become something much larger than a little calendar.  I've only recently begun the actual shoots and am loving it.  My new idea is to present the images as an art show, much like my mentor and hero Alexia Sinclair does with her collections of photography.  She's actually the one who inspired the idea in the first place.  You really must check out her Regal Twelve and Royal Dozen masterpieces.

I'm going to write about the shoots I'm doing for this project as they happen.  So far, I've photographed three models for my Nancy Drew photo shoot and one model for my Persepolis shoot.  The list of characters I'll be doing is as follows:

Claudia: Interview With a Vampire

Rebecca, Mrs. Danvers, Unnamed Protagonist: Rebecca

Lizzie Bennett: Pride & Prejudice

The Lady of Shalott: The Lady of Shalott

Rukmani: Nectar in a Sieve

Nancy Drew, Bess, George: Nancy Drew Series

Kamala: Siddhartha

Portia: The Merchant of Venice

Hester Prynn: The Scarlett Letter

Celie: The Color Purple

Helen Hirsh: Shindler's List

Marjane: Persepolis

 I chose these characters based on: a) Love of the story b) Strong characters I admire c) Fun, colorful types of characters that would be challenging and interesting to represent through photography.


Here are a couple of outtakes with the beautiful Trisha representing Marjane Satrapi.  The finishing on all the images is what will make or break them, but Persepolis in particular because it is a graphic novel.  I'm still working on the perfect formula for the post-processing on all of these images.  Anyway, here is Trisha:

And then I have Marissa, Haley, and Lindsay representing George, Bess, and Nancy Drew:

I'm excited to present the finished images (these are NOT the finished images) as an art show, later next year when all twelve are completed.  This Friday is the Rukmani shoot and I'm really excited.  She's one of my favorite literary characters on the list and I can't wait to get her juuuuuuuuust right.

Can't wait to share them all when they're done!

Prisms

I decided I wanted a blog.  We'll see how long it lasts.  There are times I want to tell everyone about things I find awesome, or awesome things I find.  There are times I tell them to myself in the mirror.  Which means that this blog may be another reflection of my own voice, to myself.  Hopefully it will bounce off other spaces on its way back to me. 

It's nice being heard either way and I think recognizing my own voice, even if it's a reflection, will be a step in the right direction.

 Today, I did these things:

-Made a vegan meal of acorn squash, brown rice, and toasted pumpkin seeds.
-Created 10 Christmas card templates for K Hulett Photography.
-Created a blog.
-Danced around the house with Haze.
-Made a play dough bust with pink braided hair, while my daughter Lux made pooping butt cheeks out of hers (talk about creativity).

I found this picture of myself while looking for a background image:

 I'm cooking blueberry granola pancakes in Truchas, New Mexico.  I loved this day, this dress, and these delicious pancakes.

This image expresses what I want to do with my blog: make pancakes and share them with people, hopefully wearing a tourquoise dress with a braid in my hair.


I'd love to make them for you sometime :)