Wild Party

The creative week came to a close with a photo shoot/party with some of my dearest friends, including the photography duo, Pat and Ellen Prather. I was not involved in the shoot, but I had a blast playing the part of the voyeur.

photo by Pat and Ellen Prather

As luck would have it, it was the same weekend of my annual holiday reunion with high school girlfriends, and the talented Mary Trahey, a "makeup-artist-transformation-goddess-extraordinaire" was in town from LA.

Mary did her magic and turned Casa del Rob y Maria into a film noir circus of flappers, drunkards, vampires, and clowns.

photo by Pat and Ellen Prather

It was fun to watch several members of the Chicago Misfit Photographic Society and Punk Rock Club in front of the camera, instead of their usual behind the lens (although several were seen snapping candids of the before, after, and during).

Cillic in action, photo by Pat and Ellen Prather

There was food and drink to share:

photo by Pat and Ellen Prather

This will happen again…next time perhaps with zombies…and chocolate.

photo by Pat and Ellen Prather 

P.S. Curious, anyone ever read Joseph Moncure March’s The Wild Party, illustrated by Art Spiegelman?

Published by Valya

Valya Dudycz Lupescu has been making magic with food and words for more than 20 years, incorporating folklore from her Ukrainian heritage with practices that honor the Earth. She’s a writer, content developer, instructor, and mother of three teenagers. Valya is the author of MOTHER CHRISTMAS, THE SILENCE OF TREES, and the founding editor of CONCLAVE: A Journal of Character. Along with Stephen H. Segal, she is the co-author of FORKING GOOD: An Unofficial Cookbook for Fans of The Good Place and GEEK PARENTING: What Joffrey, Jor-El, Maleficent, and the McFlys Teach Us about Raising a Family (Quirk Books), and co-founder of the Wyrd Words storytelling laboratory. Valya earned her MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her poetry and prose have been published in anthologies and magazines that include, The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Kenyon Review, Culture, Gargoyle Magazine, Gone Lawn, Strange Horizons, Mythic Delirium. You can find her on Twitter @valya and on Mastodon.social @valya

8 thoughts on “Wild Party”

  1. angelislington says:

    Fantastic! These photos are just lovely πŸ˜€

    I haven’t read the poem, but I’m fairly well acquainted with the two (very different) musicals based on it, which oddly enough premiered at exactly the same time in NYC…:)

  2. frogzbreath says:

    I truly would love to do this on a quarterly basis! It was a good time and we have AWESOME pictures to show for it! πŸ™‚

  3. swampwitch says:

    Cool!

    Great fun! Great shoot. A few of us talked about getting together to do a photography field trip but I got shipped out of town and wasn’t able to participate.

  4. zuricrow says:

    Looks like soooo much fun, and that old camera is very cool. Was it part of the shoot or is it still a working camera?

    I’m familiar with the music from ONE of the musicals, didn’t know there are two!

    Thanks for sharing.

    love, me

  5. charyvna says:

    πŸ™‚

    I don’t know the musicals, but I’m curious. Wonder if it was ever caught on film?

  6. charyvna says:

    Absolutely!

    How are your tasks coming along, MA?
    πŸ˜‰

    xxo

  7. charyvna says:

    Re: Cool!

    I think that the merry group of photographers will probably embark on another adventure soon.

    And you and I must meet as well! I want to hear more about the Parliament of the World’s Religions and see pictures…and I miss you!

  8. charyvna says:

    Hm, I know that Pat and Ellen collect old cameras, but I’m not sure if that one is functional.

    I wouldn’t be surprised…Pat is also creating an amazing steampunk gun. It’s beautiful! He’s so talented!

    Any more cross country skiing adventures?
    πŸ˜‰

    xxo

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