A Most Excellent Wednesday

I had the most excellent day today.

I had an early morning call from Isabella. It set off my panic alarm as it is very rare for her to call from school. We had a terrible connection and I could barely make out what she was saying. I thought she might be crying which is even rarer then a call from her.

Bee was invited to sit for the St Paul's art scholarship two weeks ago. She spent many weeks putting together her portfolio and had to sit a seven hour exam and interview. She came back a little deflated, the other girl's work was far superior in her opinion and it was very unlikely that she would be chosen. But she was. She is an art scholar. Which is such a huge honour. I feel so proud I might even explode. She has always been an artist. From the time she could hold a pencil she has illustrated at every opportunity. She would hand craft small pamphlets on every subject, puppy maintenance, fashion styling, the constellations. She would sew in a binding and draw tiny little illustrations. She had her animal circus phase, lions balanced on the top hat of the ringmaster, unicorn trapeze artists, a flamingo on a tightrope. She did nothing but manga between the ages of 11-13 . Recently she has taken up oil painting. She is fearless in her approach and rarely takes any tuition. I think she hopes her Dad will be more open to her idea of skipping University and heading straight to art school now. Somehow I think she might be mistaken.

I shot the lovely Vicky this morning for an hour. I couldn't have asked for a more delightful and grounded model. She is a trainee teacher and hopes to do a bit of modelling to supplement her rather meagre salary. She is really struggling to make ends meet. She has been scouted several times but it is always the same. A thousand pounds for a portfolio, suspect work. We did a little bit of agency code breaking. Such as 'you have to really want this' or 'you have to be willing to take off your clothes if you want any work.' She refuses to do anything that might compromise her teaching career, it is where her passion lies. She doesn't want fame but likewise she doesn't want to abandon her teaching career in order survive. This is a sentiment I have heard from several of the young teachers and nurses I have shot over the last year. I wish her the best of luck.

Tj met me in town for lunch and we giggled so much. She is Isabella's godmother so we shared a moment of joy and pride. I headed home with a smile on my face. When I left the tube station this evening there was a rainbow just above me. What a truly happy day I have had.

Oh, that did go on a bit. Sorry about that.

Vicky's amazing cat eyes. They definitely deserve closer inspection

more vicky.