Wendy Darling,
I met Wendy years ago.
Funny how “years ago”...means like 5 or 6.
As you go on, “years ago” turns into 20 going on 30....
Heh.
Wendy was the sister of you youngest 2s’ father.
You could say..”sister-in-law”, except we never married...so the “in-law” gets chopped off, and she’s just “sister”.
Sister from another mister-
Soul sisters.
The ride or die sort of friend that can have those long stretches of little-to-no contact,
And still know that they are there, at the drop of a dime.
Reels and Relevance-
There is no joke about our willingness to do whatever we needed to for the other.
The kind of connection that knows how great it is to be close-
But also knows the silent string that binds us across provinces.
“I wish you were here.
“I miss our adventures....”
Punctuates just about any call.
But days of reels or Facebook hearts say the same thing.
I miss my soul sister.
For a while, we lived next-door neighbours.
In little row houses, we shared a back porch and front stoop.
There was no break in our shared roof, and windows open-
Dash across to share a coffee...
Through some strange stroke of happenings-
We even share the birth of her son.
Life plucked the strings on that one,
For which I’m eternally grateful.
Creatively,
Wendy was both my muse, and the shared part of vision forming.
Our adventures into abandoned properties, waterfalls, rivers, forests and fields- Lending to the development of expression.
Finding ways to try and tell the stories.
The ups and downs of relationships in youth was our strongest bond.
We saw eye to eye on the majority of those emotional roller-coasters.
You could say we bought the same tickets to the amusement park-
Sharing the long line ups and fast rides.
Even though our personal relationships took different shapes and forms-
The underlying issues giving inspiration to the photo and video shoots.
Wendy was the make-up whiz.
Truth is-
Any of the make up attempts I made- shine through the photoshoots as sub-par.
I see every error, imbalance and flaw.
But Wendy’s make up...flawless.
All I needed was the mood to satisfy the urge to express.
Many other relationships, friends and fellow artists came and went.
Each super important and significant to their contributions, support and impact.
None lesser- on any level.
But Wendy Darling endures to this day.
Many of Wendy’s portraits remain the ones I like the best.
Grouped in collections of some of my proudest creations. Revisited and still relevant, both within the context of what I was expressing-
And as stand alone Photos that make me smile.
The relationship behind those expressions-
Changed over the years,
But not broken.
Still valid as a contribution to my life and journey;
Testifying to the long soul-sisterhood that stood the test of time, people and distance.