Laurel is a woman of many talents: she’s an artist, a fire performer, and a founding member of Kentucky’s Blue Moon Circus.

We discussed a pile of ideas for her shoot (ideas we’ll likely revisit for future shoots), and she settled on screaming, covered with mud. Laurel’s conceptualization of her power is very earth-based, and she wanted something primal and visceral.

The shoot was on one of those transitional weather days we keep having here in Kentucky. I think it was in the low fifties, and there was a dismal drizzle that never quite resolved itself into a proper rain. Instead of subjecting her to ice cold yard mud (a mud rich with clay), we tracked down a tub of powdered mud mask (Just Add Water!) and stayed indoors.

Now that this shoot is over, I’ve learned a couple of important things about a full-body application of mud mask: start with thin watery layers, and build them up like an oil or acrylic painting; dry each layer with a hair dryer; go slowly. What we did was try to put a fairly thick, and poorly mixed, base layer of mud, and then build up areas that were less well covered. What we got was a body covered with lumps and nodules that made Laurel look… um… unwell. Getting rid of these things dramatically slowed my editing time.

The center image above was one of the last in the shoot (I’ll post the RAW image for patrons only so you can see the amount of work it went through in post), and is far and above my favorite of the series. Patrons pledging $10 and up will receive this center image as their February 4″x6″ print.

—–

The full shoot is available on my Patreon page, patreon.com/gbenjaminensor