THE PAPERBACK PRINCESS - BEHIND THE SCENES
This all began with a vision in London during Ponderosa & Thyme's workshop. I was there filming Katie for my Intuition Series but was also capturing content throughout the workshop. Katie's workshops are a complete embodiment of her spirit and her process. She showed me a vision board of a young girl's transformation from her youthful, curious spirit to the bride she would become, but what it turned into was more than we could have hoped for. Watch this tiny story, one of my all time favorites, and I'll share the full story of how it happened afterwards:
First of all, the space. Just to paint you a picture of what it felt like walking in - we were staying at Butley Priory, a medieval monastic house in the country side of England. You are surrounded by stone walls, delicate carvings, and a history expressed through textures that made the space simply magic. Now imagine a girl by the name of Mary Siagie with short, deep red hair, and the most expressive blue eyes walking in - ready to embody the story and character. The clothes Katie selected for her and just her presence alone made her look straight out of a story book. You guys, I can't tell you how captivating Mary was. An utter definition of muse. I could not wait to work with her.
India of Vervain Flowers created the scene for us - an open window tangled with greenery, spilling from the frame. Literally as I walked in, I thought: this is her secret garden ... when she sneaks out of this window, magic happens. I described this idea to Mary so that she could interpret that character. I illustrated how she would sneak out of the window with her piles of books, collecting and foraging from the garden and tucking it into the pages of her stories. This was not intended to be a story, but the space, the vision, Mary, and the ideas that were screaming in my heart -- there had to be something done even with the tiniest fragment of time that we had. When Katie walked in as we began filming, we looked at each other and when I said "It's like Peter Pan" her eyes teared up and she nodded. It was exactly what she had imagined -- an idea that lived in her head and was now in front of her, alive.
The best BEST part? Nora's voice. When I was back in Oregon filming Katie again, I met the rest of her family which included her oldest daughter Nora. Oh, Nora. The second I met her, I could see the curiosities that her mother grew up with - tucked away in her eyes. When Katie and I work together, we are taken back to our childhood connected by our uninhibited imagination. We are children again. Nora is a beautiful embodiment of Katie's sprit. So when we sat down and talked about this "Peter Pan" short story, I knew we needed to connect it with something a little more tangible. Like I said, this was never meant to be a story. I found a poem by Erin Hanson that I still cannot believe exists, mostly because it is almost a literal translation of what happened in London at that window with Mary. And I came across this poem I had pinned a year ago while I was in Oregon talking with Katie. When we finished filming for Intuition, we decided to record the voice over for this Peter Pan story. After doing a few takes with Katie, I asked "what do you think about using Nora's voice?" Katie's eyes lit up and we both excitedly asked Nora to come record with us. I told Nora to pretend that there were little people that lived inside the microphone who wanted to hear this story. She had to tell them about it, imagining this paperback princess.
All of these things... every element is what made this so incredible. This messy yet brilliant alignment of things planned and unplanned. "She didn't quite belong here.. lived a life within her head...." this reminded me of young Ale. Always living in her head. I think that's why this meant so much, because it spoke to something deep within me. I am such a strategist and there's a lot of hustle in me that was wearing me down last year. I am shedding myself of that in order to make room for the part of me that is curious and listens to her gut - even when the picture is a little gray at first. Open. Trusting. That's when I create my best work. Work that is meaningful.
-xo
Ale
