in the painted desert

ahhh shaaa now!  watch out.  it's 2012 with big things in the works.  i'm excited.  stay tuned for good things down the road.


meanwhile, when alice walked in to be seen recently, i wondered how it was that a 64 year old, traditional navajo female was rocking a stud in her lower lip.  i told her about the wheat pasting project.  she'd seen the pictures along the roadside and agreed to be photographed today.  she lives 80 miles away from the clinic and said she'd meet me in gap.


an hour and a half later i got to the gas station where we agreed to rendezvous.  


"now what?" i thought.  it's a cold day and we don't have any place to shoot.  alice told me to follow her to an abandoned roadside stand nearby.  a dead raven was lying on the table.  fearing she'd perceive this as a bad sign, i asked if she wanted me to move it.


"move it," she said.  i'm not sure whether she thought it was a bad omen or just didn't want a dead, partially eaten bird in the photo with her.


my primary interest was in her story and how it was that she decided to wear a stud in her lip. after she didn't answer that initial question i asked whether it was her idea or did one of her kids talk her into it.

"it was my idea" was all she said.