This Summer I had the opportunity to work with 11 inner city high school girls who are a part of Girl’s Inc. of Denver‘s summer program to create a permanent installation piece as a thank you to the many Donors of the organization and it’s programs. We were given an 8 ft. x 6 ft wall and a healthy budget to create whatever we wanted as an expression of gratitude. As the facilitator of the project, it was my job to create a welcoming environment where the girls could think freely and openly share their creative ideas without judgment, all while maintaining structure for the project and keeping a schedule. Over the course of the project, the girls enjoyed unusual snacks such as dark chocolate with sea salt and rose petals + mint flavored peligrino as they shared who they want to be in life, interesting things they’d like to try, and unusual facts about who they are now. Being high school students, there wasn’t a sense of openness like I had hoped, but there definitely were strong leaders in the class that really inspired the more shy and aloof girls to join in the process.
The project unfolded over the 4 weeks into a piece surrounding the subject of being and becoming who you are. The girls decided to title the piece, “Who am I?” to represent that Girl’s Inc. is a place where you can come as you are and be all that you can be, a place where girls can come to be strong, smart, and bold. The girls painted the installation wall a pink/purple color to reflect that they are girls but not in a traditional sense and they decided to hire artist and calligraphist Jess Deugan to write adjectives on the wall that describe who they are through words like, “beautiful, confident, stylish, creative, powerful.“ And since every girl is in the process of becoming who they are at Girl’s Inc., the girls decided that it was best that I take photos of their silhouettes for the project and we afix them to an 8 ft. tall vertical mirror. Each girl then painted their silhouette in a way that reflected who they are as a person, and what they dream about. The girls believe that this project will be inspiring to the younger girls who are coming up in the program because it gives them a chance to look in the mirror and not see faces or exact images of who they are to be, but rather blank canvas that they themselves can paint based on what is inside of them. The girls believe that it would give the younger girls a sense of possibility and an attitude of “I can.”
The piece is now installed in the main foyer of Girl’s Inc. and will be in place as long as Girl’s Inc. is around, which hopefully is for many many years. To the left of the piece are 11 mirrors that have each girl’s name engraved on them. This project is definitely inspirational and something each girl who contributed can be very proud of for years to come.
Also during our 4 weeks together, I shared with the girl’s a bit of insight into the modeling and photography industry. Over the course of 4 days during our session, each girl was able to be a model, a stylist and a photographer’s assistant. We planned comps for each shoot based on the unique personality and look of each girl. Each girl came to our session camera ready with the help of their classmates based on the unique expression that they wanted to share. After our sessions, the girls then learned all that goes into the finished product of the images you see in a magazine through editing, cropping, color balancing and re-touching. Many of the girls were quite surprised at how unique and beautiful they are, which I also think gave them a greater sense of confidence in themselves. Take a peek at a few of the shots the girls and I did on the grounds of Girl’s Inc, using natural light and ordinary settings to bring out their unique inner beauty. I am both inspired and touched by our results.
Meet Alexis.
Meet Ali.
Meet Amber.
Meet Angel.
Meet Ashley.
p.s. These final images are not the finished piece. You’ll just have to go to Girl’s Inc. to see it for yourself… 
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I love this shoot. I love the subject, especially the painted silhouettes on the mirror…it’s nice to think about what we’re choosing to reflect and how empowering that can be. But what I think I love most are the little ‘pops’ of color and contrast in each of these sessions. Something about the strength in the simplicity of little things, and giving those things a voice and a focus, is really powerful to me right now. It’s the difference between looking at a beautiful person, and then looking at beautiful person you know. Somehow it just hits home. Whether it’s a bright pair of boxing gloves, a vibrant green branch, a pretty pattern on a shirt, a wood fence, a yellow locker, a tiara, a red wall, a stripy orange basketball, a splash of red and white reflector tape, or a tiny purple flower; something about the little things in these shots really does seem to make their individuality shine. The models are so alive, or maybe those little ‘pops’ and contrasting colors are alive through them. Genius. ‘This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!’ Well done all!
You know the main intention of creating the art installation was for each girl to reflect on what they are reflecting and to realize that they choose what they are. Honestly, most of the girls didn’t care and weren’t engaged in the art piece. But interesting enough, what brought them to life in our time together was our individual photo sessions. Not only did each girl get to model, but they also got to choose the best look for each girl, including hair and make-up + each girl got the chance to be a photo assistant. This part of the summer session is where I connected with each girl the most! And I think since so much intention went into each session before we even began to shoot, it made finding each location on the Girl’s Inc. campus so simple– it’s like each girl was fated to be in a bush with a purple flower with the wind blowing at the right moment, or with a basketball in the hallway at the right moment when little girls were all dressed in 80s garb and passing my our photo sesh. Being in the flow is my fav! It was a great experience that I know each girl was and is very proud of.