Videos of shoots 10 and 11 – Olu and Tonantzin

We have two new videos – Olu as Cleopatra and Tonantzina as… well, her namesake! We finished these as quickly as we could so that we could debut them at the hafla, however we had technical difficulties with our new projector so it didn’t happen. Here are two of the three final shoots from the “All the Pretty Snakes (& Bellydancers)” calendar project. Which by the way, you can now purchase for $18 (including taxes and free shipping to any U.S. domestic location). Purchase here - http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36339697 .

Cleopatra – Miss August

Tonantzin – Miss July

48 hours until the calendar hafla!

Overjoyed and sad at the same time. Overjoyed because we’re only 48 hours from the hafla. These are the hours when my adrenaline gets pumping and I start worrying about all the things that need to be done. The sad part is because our beloved out-of-town guest and MC, Marjhani can’t make it due to family emergency. We’ll miss her and wish her the best for her and her family!

Everyone’s coming, right?! I’m looking forward to seeing performances from Olu, Tonantzin, Karma, Marguerite, Aspasia, Jessica, Yasemin, and of course Sherri. I have the pleasure of doing a duet with my first tribal teacher, friend, and fellow wanderer, Ayse. We’re doing something non-bellydanceish, believe it or not! Doing a duet with her seems so natural and yet it was only four years ago that I was performing as part of the chorus with the Sisterhood Dance Collective cuz’ I had only been in Ayse’s class for about 2 months at that point. I still view her and respect her like a teacher but this time around we are co-performing and in fact, doing a piece that I choreographed! It’s such an odd feeling!

More than anything I am looking forward to having the self-serve photo booth and watching as many people as possible take advantage of having their photo taken with a snake. The self-serve photo booths generally generate a lot of silliness and the results are always super fun. Our first time doing this was at Cairo Caravan and we have several hundred photos from the weekend that remind us how it’s all about being part of the community rather than being witness to it. Selfishly, I also hope that many people buy the calendar because it’s discouraging to have them just sitting in our garage! I feel saddened by the fact that economic times are hard for everyone, and I try to tell myself this is why the calendar isn’t selling as much as we’d hoped. We live in a technology-driven era where there’s very little left that can’t be blasted out into cyberspace and while I appreciate the beauty and convenience of an electronic calendar, tell me one electronic calendar that has such rich, interesting and beautiful imagery such as what’s in the All the Pretty Snakes calendar? We know that those who purchase this calendar are not going to throw it away at the end of 2010. It will still be up on walls or taken apart to frame individual months, inspiring conversations, photographers, dancers, and snake lovers everywhere!

Well in the end, money lost or recovered, we’re extremely proud of having completed the calendar and all the beautiful shoots. And in two days we’ll just be in our element with friends and newcomers celebrating!

See you there! EPICA studios, 840 Mitchell Road, 91320, 7 pm on. $10 admission or $25 admission + calendar!

Giving back – Midnight Mission fundraiser

Since mid-December, 20% of sales for the “All the Pretty Snakes… (& Bellydancers)” calendar have been donated to Midnight Mission, based in Los Angeles. We discovered this organization through our friends at Sacred Circles who are fundraising through the sales of their 2nd theater show, a dance story-telling of “Around the World in 80 Days“.

This fundraiser will continue through the month of January, so please purchase your calendar now so that the Midnight Mission will benefit from 20% of your purchase. You can purchase “All the Pretty Snakes” through Amazon, Etsy, the Tribal Bazaar website, or by check or money order. Find out more information at: http://weathervanearts.com/alltheprettysnakes/.

Learn more about the history and how to donate to the Midnight Mission.

FREE shipping from now until 12/31/09

$22 including FREE shipping*!!!
Purchase by phone at (805)660-3831 or purchase online via Amazon , Etsy , or our Website

All the Pretty Snakes 2010 Calendar

*Standard shipping within the domestic US only. Wholesalers price for a minimum of 10 can be arranged – contact us for more details: info@weathervaneimages.com or (805)660-3831.

Sherri confirmed for workshop, 1/16/10!

Sherri (aka Medusa) in the “All the Pretty Snakes” calendar will be doing a workshop the day of the calendar release party, hafla (January 16, 2010)!

Stay tuned for more information!

Deanna Cameron blogs “pretty snakes”!

Deanna Cameron, the author of “The Bellydancer”, blogged about “All the Pretty Snakes… (& Bellydancers)” this past weekend. We’re so pleased to longer be the only ones blogging about ourselves! Check it out at http://scribblinggypsy.blogspot.com/2009/12/all-pretty-snakes-belly-dancers-2010.html

All the Pretty Snakes is spreading!

You can now get the 2010 All the Pretty Snakes…(& Belly Dancers) calendar at Etsy and Amazon!

Two more great reasons to get this calendar before the new year!

To all the pretty dancers!

It occurred to me that our dancer model friends , who had unwavering faith in us about the completion of this project, deserve a shout out (don’t know why we haven’t done it yet)! These amazing models, individuals, and friends who participated in “All the Pretty Snakes… (& Bellydancers)” are… (in order of shoots):

• Marguerite
• Ayse Cerami
• Aspasia
• Karma
• Jessica of Ojai
• Sherri
• Paulina
• Olu
• Tonantzin
• Khani

These models endured any number of the following things: adverse weather (blistering hot sun or 40° weather), snake bites (small ones, really!), flammable objects, pesky dogs and doggie flatulence, set breakdown (e.g. things falling randomly out of the sky or off the walls), the occasional yelling match, hours on-and-off set, and last but not least, the overall pandemonium created by people whose brains are fried!

There are also the folks who offered to help and really wanted to be involved in some way or another with “All the Pretty Snakes… (& Bellydancers)” – we wish we could have used each and every person that said they would like to be part of the project but we barely knew what we were doing from day-to-day. We really appreciate all the interest we received and thank all of our friends who had to hear us talk incessantly about this project!

One more day to order your calendar at 20% off! http://weathervanearts.com/alltheprettysnakes/

The Joy of Looking Back

Less than 4 days away from being done! Yet still so far away…

Before Weathervane begins the first of many all-nighters to be pulled over the next few days, I will revel in this moment of deep satisfaction and a bit of nostalgia as I look back on the whirlwind of events that has made up “All the Pretty Snakes… (& Bellydancers)”. Today I spent at least 4 hours creating more videos from shoots that took place some time ago… We’re aware there was quite a lull in videos for a while there and our excuse is that we went on a business trip to Chicago and then came back to more shooting (with no time to spare in-between). You forgive us right? Well without any further delay…. we present Jessica and Sherri!

Reminder– only a little more than 5 days remaining to purchase the 2010, “All the Pretty Snakes… (& Bellydancers)” calendar at 20% off… http://weathervanearts.com/alltheprettysnakes/ .

Sometimes It Takes a Village…

One of the most enjoyable aspects of  “All the Pretty Snakes… (& Bellydancers”) is the coming together of so many creative, talented individuals. Last Friday we took over EPICA studios for a multi-person shoot with Sherri Wheatley and friends (snake and otherwise). This particular shoot brought a lot of anticipation and agonizing over every detail as it was by far our most complex shoot from a costuming and makeup standpoint.

In come Amy and Melissa! At Karma’s Halloween party, these two sisters (along with third sister Meredith) did a zombie-inspired number with makeup to boot! So Lee asked Amy if she had any experience with costume makeup, explained to her the concept of our trying to achieve the look of stone, and soon thereafter started communicating frequently about how best to accomplish said goal. Lee was busy all last week starching thrift store shirts to get a frozen, statue-d look With some professional makeup purchased from Cinema Secrets in Los Angeles, a few makeup brushes, sponges and whatnot, and most importantly, some very enthusiastic and talented participants, we were ready.

The day of the shoot dragged – it just seemed like it couldn’t happen soon enough! But then in rolled Omarr, Tonantzin and Zenen… followed shortly by Amy and Melissa. Slowly but surely the whirlwind of creative energy started up… clothes were flying as we fitted the men for their statue costumes. Once that was done, the sisters were out in the parking lot adding finishing spray-paint touches to the starched clothes which Karma then finished. Then the sisters (aka makeup artists extraordinaires) and I soon had the men lined up in another room and were making the transition come to life. We coated their faces first with gray, then with a darker color to shadow, and white goop to highlight; those of us doing the makeup had our hands and wrists covered in it. Amy and Melissa were so expert at applying the makeup, and also extremely patient with me as they instructed me in the ways of costume makeup (I jumped in because it looked like so much fun, plus time was of the essence)! It took almost an hour and half and 4 sets of hands to transform 3 men into statues. It was so much fun!!!

There is no way we would have accomplished this shoot without the help of our volunteers: Amy, Melissa, Karma, Omarr, and Zenen, and even Tonantzin and Sada for their moral support and snake-holding ability. We hope the effect will be mesmerizing, however we are true believers that the process is just as satisfying, if not sometimes more, than the outcome itself. It was a lot of fun having an extended team of snake-charmers around and we’re so appreciative that they endured more than 5 hours of “All the Pretty Snakes…” up close and in person!

Medusa and her village