Shutter Sisters

Study of a Creative Life

By

I grabbed the hyper-detailed directions and dashed out Saturday morning towards Canton, GA to capture the first episode of my new digital documentary series focused on creative souls in the south. Artist Melanie Eberhardt and I have been friends for many years. There’s a great ease about our relationship, where conversation and laughter flow effortlessly and we leave each other feeling nourished, inspired, and really tired.

There’s also a hefty bit of mileage and wrong turns between us, but I knew I wanted the first episode to feature Melanie in her own space. Aside from being one of the most creative people I know, she lives a colorful life in a small trailor on four acres of land at the end of the tire tracks, off the gravel road. She shares this space with four Arabian horses, pony Joe, a (once-stray) pot-belly pig, twelve cats of various shapes, colors and tail-lengths, a (once-stray) Cockatiel, and a (once-abandoned) spit-fire Daschund/Laborador Retriever mix named Lucky.

“Promise me you will not clean your house,” I said firmly. “I mean it. I want the real you. The real studio. The real space. And don’t wear anything you wouldn’t normally wear. People need to see the real you.” And when she greeted me at the door with her torn bluejeans and muddy boots, I knew all would be well. I captured nearly 10GB of still images, video and audio of Melanie and her world that day. Watching. Studying texture and motion. Searching for details. Asking questions. Digging deep. Freezing moments in time. Shining a bright light upon a significant soul.

Tell me about the creative people in your life.

Comments

  2. Canton!! You must live near me! I will be back with suggestions of people for your project: I have to get permissions first but I was so excited to find a Shutter Sister close by that I had to comment right away.

  4. Yes, I’ll share the documentary here when I’m finished. Virginia, I’d love to connect with you and meet your creative folks. You can reach out to me at: littlepurplecow at gmail dot com

  6. Creative people are sometimes Just like this lovely lady. I bet she had dishes in her sink too lol.
    Love this. It’s just so real. So perfectly real.

    We’ll look forward to seeing more..

  8. My forever-in-my-heart best friend, the only gal I knew who ever really *got* my creative side, a girl who was innocent everywhere, who wasn’t afraid of anything, whose wonderful capacity to create must forever be bound by her schizophrenia and the drugs that control it. Her birthday was last week, and I don’t know where she is. She was the wind beneath my wings, the one who taught me that living wasn’t done in a box of rules, who showed me with her life that taking risks can be a good thing too. We’d make music together, we’d write and share poetry together; she would have loved my photography…

    I wish a had a picture to show you her incredible beauty…

  10. How I would love to see your finished project! Sounds wonderful!

    I’ve had many creative people in my life over the years, but many of them have moved away. So I feel I’m lacking creative people in my life right now. Something I mourn everyday. I guess that’s why I enjoy blogging. I’ve found some wonderfully creative people online, though, of course, it’s not the same as sitting with them and enjoying a long conversation.

  12. That sounds like a fabulous creative project to work on! Can’t wait to see it when it’s finished. Thanks for sharing your first stop on your journey to making the documentary.

  15. what a great project. my sister in law did a similar project on folk artist in the south. thanks for sharing this with us. i am so happy to have discovered this artist through you. Melanie’s art work is amazing – sort of Chagal-like.
    I can’t wait to see more!

  18. Best friend. Lover of languages, travel, yoga and dancing. The "big sister" I never had. Creative in how she sees the world, and how she wants to change it for the better.
    She took a day-long studio session and spiced it up with her own creative flair–some too risque to show, but here’s a taste:

    http://flickr.com/photos/tippingpointphoto/2877693062/in/set-72157606498798828/
    http://flickr.com/photos/tippingpointphoto/2877693614/in/set-72157606498798828/

  21. I LOVE this! I LOVE the "real" … that is what life is all about. I wish that more people shared the "real". Thank you for sharing this. The outer crust that is "us" … many times is just that … the crust … if we are captured as were truly are there is so much we can learn from each other. Love, hard times, laughter, tears … thank you so much for this post.

  23. just had to comment on the post, since i live in canton, ga. awesome projects and idea. would love to meet next time you come down. there is a photography group out here that meets 3 times a month, would love to have you as guest.

  24. The creative people in my life…where to start! After only beginning in mixed media in Spring of 2008, I have met some fantastic people that I now hold dear to my heart…beginning with instructors that I have connected with as if we’ve known one another for a lifetime: Misty Mawn, Jill Berry and Michelle Ward. As if that’s not enough, Valley Ridge Art Studio (where I met them) in rural Wisconsin is owned by two incredible people that have entered my life, Bill and Kathy Malkasian. One more person, who I met at my first class last year is my dear friend Julia…a friendship of artistic creativity and inspiration that I know will last a lifetime. These are the people in my life that have helped me changed a direction toward something positive, exciting and inspiring.

    http://www.wishfulthinking.typepad.com

  25. I’m new here and was so moved by this post that I decided to jump in and join you all. I ditto all the other encouraging posts about this project. I, too, cannot wait to see the completed project.

    My friend Claudia is one of the most creative people that I have ever met. It’s always such a treat, when I remember to take my camera with me, whenever we spend the day together. Waiting for a lunch at an Italian restaurant, I noticed the light at the end of our table. She slid over and positioned herself right in the light. I snapped this picture.

    http://fotografias-fotografias.blogspot.com/2009/01/claudia.html

    -Alex