No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you, the images you are about to see were taken in natural light, that's right, i said it, ME in natural light.  Everyday me, no surreal haze, no glam make-up, no bright lights, a perfectly flawed and REAL me.  This temporary lapse in the ethereal, can be blamed on sleep deprivation! LOL  I was limited as i had no tripod, no camera remote.  So it was kind of an arms-length shooting bonanza!  I am too tired to color correct and all that jazz so you will see my skin in a strange multitude of hues ;).

My morning started with a game of "to-catch-a-cat".  My little whiskered child knew something was up and sought refuge under my couch, then ran into the kitchen and made an impressive leap onto the top of the fridge and then above the cupboard. Poor little girl was terrified.  I had to get her out of the apartment before the fumigation began.  I ended up enlisting the help of my apartment manager.  And i was a bit uneasy about having her see my place - as i had managed to avoid it, thus far.  I saw her scan my wall of naked torso mannequins and i am sure she couldn't help but notice the narcissistic shrine to myself that graced my walls, in the form of super-sized framed prints of . . . you guessed it, ME. LOL  Naked-bodies-as-art type books completed the effect.  She could not get out of my "Just Jaeda" apartment fast enough!

And nothing says "i live in a posh apartment" like getting an exterminator notification on your door. Ewwh! I haven't seen any critters but was told it was a "preventative measure".  I stayed up all night gutting my kitchen and closets and am running on fumes,(no pun intended).  On top of that, my normally minimalist apartment was stuffed to the gills with re-organization projects, piles of stuff reaching to the ceiling.  The timing couldn't have been worse for me, so i had to move these projects, it took hours and hours.

I don't have two pennies to rub together and no car, so i was wondering where i would go for 4 hours while they zapped my apartment.  I decided a walk to the park probably wouldn't be so bad.  But i was so tired physically, i just wanted to sleep.  So i sat outside on the pavement, contemplating if and where i would go.  And a man appeared out of seemingly nowhere, we exchanged names and he asked me what was wrong.  I told him i was kicked out so they could exterminate my apartment and i am so tired, got 4 hours to kill and all i want to do is sleep.  Like the wish granter that he was, David motioned across the street and said he maintained the neighboring apartment complex and had an empty unit where i could sleep.

I hesitated a moment and thought, this is either a dream come true or i am going to end up on the next episode of Forensic Files!  All these morbid scenarios started to play out in my head, Flashing across the 5'oclock news, "Seattle resident, Jaeda DeWalt, left her apartment in the early morning hours, last seen leaving with mysterious stranger . . ."

I decided there were enough people around, enough witnesses ;).  So i followed him and his co-worker into the empty apartment.  David showed me an empty room where i could sleep and quietly left.  Only checking on me once when he left for lunch, knocking on the door first and waiting for me to answer.  And then he returned again at the end of the 4 hours.  He was such a gentleman :).  He treated me with the utmost respect.  He just let me sleep.  BUT . . . remember, this is me were talking about! LOL

I was tired but could not resist the chance for an impromptu photo op.  I marveled at the run down appearance of the newly emptied apartment.  Rather than seeing something scary that i prayed i would not get lice or fleas from . . . i saw a place with a lot of character, a place that told a story, maybe a sad story.  So with one eye constantly monitoring the front door, i proceeded to snap pictures of the rundown apartment and of course, pictures of myself, in the apartment.   Pictures on the carpet, pictures in the corner, the closet, the blinds, you get the idea.The hours passed quickly and my challenging day was brightened by the kindness of a stranger.  Thank you David!

I'm already hyper-analyzing my experience because . . . i can not help myself!  And i love what walking into that damaged apartment represented, for me. As i looked down at my body map of scars, bruises and cuts, i realized how much character these imperfections give me - they tell a story.  We are all BEAUTIFULLY flawed.  I also came away being a lot more grateful for my apartment.  Today, i was reminded, things, could indeed, be worse.

I'm saving most of the pictures i took of the apartment for use as future backdrops in my studio shoots.  Eventually they'll pop up as beautiful decay in my art ;).

I realize this is a bit scattered but i have been up 28 hours and counting!

Lots of love to my MySpace family and (((HUGS)))
j a e d a :)


Strange 4-hour sanctuary




Crammed into a very tiny closet.


Notice the band-aids on three fingers.  ALWAYS wear gloves when using cleaning chemicals!
Closet was so tiny i kind of had to fold myself up!




I am not dead! I am just tightly squeezed into a closet.




I thought this kind of creepy, wondering what might be buried underneath that suspicious looking board.