Five Sessions Left, One Market Ahead, and a Whole Lot of Growing
Lately, it feels like every part of my life and business is in the middle of becoming something new.
My photography work is nearing a milestone I once thought was impossibly far away. A brand-new group boudoir experience is beginning to take shape. My house is slowly being overtaken by yarn as I prepare for my first market in over a year. Meanwhile, my oldest child is stepping into adulthood so quickly that I’m not entirely convinced she isn’t secretly fast-forwarding time.
It’s busy. It’s exciting. It’s occasionally overwhelming. It is also exactly the kind of creative chaos that reminds me why I built Chimeric Creations in the first place.
Only Five Sessions Left for The Alchemy of Her
There are only five sessions left to photograph for The Alchemy of Her.
Five.
After all the planning, photographing, editing, storytelling, scheduling, rescheduling, and dreaming that has gone into this project, I can finally see the finish line. That feels both thrilling and a little unreal.
The Alchemy of Her began as more than a boudoir calendar. I wanted to create something centered on transformation—not the kind that tells women they need to become thinner, younger, quieter, more polished, or more acceptable, but the kind that happens when a woman begins recognizing what has been inside her all along.
Each session explores a different part of that transformation: remembering her worth, surrendering shame, blooming again, loving imperfection, speaking desire, taking up space, choosing joy, embracing soft power, feeling divine, honoring wild hunger, finding sacred stillness, and becoming fully herself.
The women who have participated have brought their own stories, vulnerabilities, personalities, and interpretations to those ideas. No two sessions have looked or felt exactly the same, because no two women arrive at self-acceptance through the same doorway.
Some have stepped in front of my camera already feeling confident. Others have arrived nervous, unsure of what to do with their hands, and questioning whether they belonged in a project like this at all. Watching that uncertainty soften as the session progresses is one of my favorite parts of the work. There is a moment when someone stops worrying about whether she is posing “correctly” and begins allowing herself to exist in front of the camera. That is usually when the real magic happens.
With only five sessions remaining, this project is no longer a distant idea or an enormous list of things I still need to accomplish. It is becoming real. Soon, all 25 women will have been photographed, the final selections will be made, and the calendar will come together as one complete story.
I am incredibly proud of what we have created so far—and we aren’t even finished yet.
The Alchemy of Them Is Taking Shape
While one alchemy project moves toward completion, another is beginning to come alive.
The Alchemy of Them will be a group boudoir photography experience held September 12 at LaBelle Cottage. The models will be there from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., with photographers shooting from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m.
This experience is being designed around connection, collaboration, and the different kinds of energy that emerge when women create together. Rather than focusing only on individual portraits, we will photograph the models in different pairings and group arrangements, giving everyone an opportunity to create images that feel intimate, powerful, playful, soft, ritualistic, or a little bit wild.
The event is open to female-presenting models who are 18 or older. We are planning for six models and three photographers total, including me. At the moment, there is room for one more photographer and four more models.
Each participant pays $50 to help cover the location rental and production costs. Every model will also receive a goodie bag, including a handmade wish jar created as part of the experience.
I especially love the wish-jar element because it gives the models something tangible to take home beyond their photographs. The images will preserve how they looked and connected during the session, while the jars will hold something more personal: an intention, a hope, a promise, or a small piece of the energy they brought into the room.
The details are still developing, but the vision is becoming clearer. I want this to feel like more than several people showing up at the same location to take pretty pictures. I want it to feel like a shared creative experience—something everyone helps shape simply by being there.
Yarn Has Officially Taken Over
As if photographing two major projects were not enough, I am also furiously crocheting for my first market in more than a year.
“Furiously” might sound dramatic, but there is yarn everywhere, multiple projects competing for my attention, and a running list in my head that never seems to get shorter. At this point, I am one dropped stitch away from turning into a crochet hook myself.
The market is October 17, and I will be doing it with my friend Kate, who will also be selling crocheted items. I’m especially excited to share a space with her because our work is different enough to complement each other beautifully.
Kate makes items such as coaster sets and witch hats. My focus is more heavily on crocheted clothing and home goods, including blankets. Together, our table will offer a fun mixture of practical pieces, wearable art, cozy home items, and whimsical creations.
Preparing for a market again has reminded me how different it feels to make inventory instead of creating a single custom order. With a custom piece, I know who I am making it for. I know the size, colors, purpose, and personality behind it. Market inventory requires me to imagine the person who might eventually find each piece.
Will someone pick up a blanket and immediately picture it on their couch? Will a piece of clothing fit someone’s style so perfectly that it feels like it was waiting for them? Will one of Kate’s witch hats find the exact delightfully strange person it was meant for?
That unpredictability is part of what makes markets so much fun. I get to watch people encounter our work in person, feel the textures, notice the details, and sometimes fall in love with something I made without knowing they existed.
After more than a year away, I’m nervous—but mostly, I’m ready.
Somehow, My Oldest Is an Adult Now
Outside of the business, the biggest transformation has been happening in my own family.
My oldest graduated, celebrated her Bat Mitzvah, and turned 18—all within ten days.
Ten days.
Apparently, we decided to fit every possible major life milestone into less than two weeks and just see whether my emotions could survive it.
Watching her reach these moments has been extraordinary. Graduation marked the end of one chapter. Her Bat Mitzvah gave her the opportunity to affirm her identity, her values, and her connection to our community. Then, almost immediately, she turned 18 and officially stepped into adulthood.
I also bought her first tattoo: stars alongside the Latin phrase Per infernum ad astra, meaning “through hell to the stars.” Considering everything she has overcome to reach this point, it could not be more fitting. It honors the difficult road behind her while recognizing the future she is continuing to build for herself. It is a permanent reminder that she made it through the darkness—and she is still reaching for the stars.
Now she is entering the world of job interviews. She has her third interview tomorrow and her fourth scheduled for August 11. I’m proud of her for continuing to put herself out there, especially because interviews can be intimidating. Every one of them gives her more experience speaking for herself, recognizing what she offers, and learning what she wants from a workplace.
It is strange to look at your child and realize that the little girl you spent years teaching and protecting is now making adult decisions, pursuing jobs, choosing tattoos, and building a life of her own. Parenting does not suddenly stop at 18, of course. It simply begins changing shape.
Everything Is Becoming
When I step back and look at everything happening right now, transformation seems to be the thread connecting all of it.
The Alchemy of Her is nearing completion. The Alchemy of Them is beginning to find its form. Piles of yarn are slowly becoming clothing, blankets, coaster sets, witch hats, and everything else Kate and I will bring to the market. My oldest is becoming an adult right in front of me.
Even my business is continuing to become something larger and more complete—photography, fiber art, and skin care growing together under one creative home.
There is still an enormous amount of work ahead of me. There are sessions to photograph, images to edit, market inventory to make, event details to finalize, and one very grown-up daughter to cheer on through her interviews.
But for now, I’m taking a moment to recognize how far all of us have already come.
Five sessions left.
One market ahead.
A new group experience taking shape.
And a daughter beginning a completely new chapter.
Everything is changing—and somehow, even in the chaos, everything is coming together.
