Getting My Gypsy On.

I don't know how I lived without Ao for so long. She is an extraordinary woman ... who makes me feel that all my quirky and seemingly strange interests are actually wonderful and worthy of fully participating in.

She, like me, has a thing for pirates, zombies, the ocean, cephalopods, dancing when the mood strikes her, flashy make-up, gypsies, art in all of its forms, and basically putting herself "out there". She lives HERSELF. She is the me that I long to be.

Recently, she has joined us at Studio 36 as our "in-house" make-up artist. And we couldn't be happier about it. She offers make-up, hair and outfitting for our clients. But that's far from all she does. She leads a fantastic belly dance troupe ... she threads ... she weaves magical goodness into hair ... and she is a great photographer. (There is more, but you likely wouldn't believe me!).

So, since she has joined us, I have been UN-patiently waiting for my first appointment with her ... to transform me into some part of my inner self ... giving her full control to do as she wished .... and it looked a little something like this ...

(Thank you Bex Hickman for documenting the progress!)

And here are some of the results ...

I couldn't be happier with them. (Though there are more to show later). I see ME in these photos. An aspect of me. And I want to see more. So, I plan on many, many appointments with Ao. She amazes me.

As for the last picture, I knew that I wanted a tearful Gypsy look ... so I asked her to help create one. Little did she know that my Pepere (a hero of my life) once gave me a large framed piece of art - of a gypsy woman ... looking off ... and crying. I always wondered what she was crying about. And in order to create that somber look, I remembered that anonymous gypsy woman ... then my Pepere who shared her with me ... and thus, my sadness was real (I miss him so much) ... and well captured.

Thank you Miss Ao. Glad to have you on-board ... and glad to have your inspiration all around me.

Please drop in to see her work! Or contact her for an appointment ... (207)370-8701.

Love,

Jodi