Monday, April 06, 2015 My Mother’s Red Shawl — El Rebozo Colorado Juliana Soltis — Cellist — Nomad
I saw in their eyes something I was to see over and over in every part of the nation — -a burning desire to go, to move, to get under way, any place, away from Here… Nearly every American hungers to move.John Steinbeck
“How did I get here?”
I ask myself this question a lot. Often as I hurtle through the bowels of some leviathan of an airport, cello strapped to my back and boarding pass clutched in my fist; once when I unexpectedly found myself cornered by an overly-amorous tenor post-performance. Today, though, I am sitting in my car outside the Vancouver home of Alex Waterhouse-Hayward. I have come to be photographed as part of Alex’s ongoing Red Shawl Project, but still, the question persists:
How did I get here?
Alex and I met in December; at that moment, I had been in residence in Seattle for all of ten days — -and had spent roughly half of that time on the road. My decision to pack up and head for the West Coast had left friends and colleagues stunned, but for me it was just the latest in a series of moves: ten years of bouncing around the eastern United States — -two years here, three years there — -always chasing the music and the idea of the cellist and the person I wanted to be.
Some call me “flighty,” others choose the more diplomatic “restless” — -more than one person has described me as just plain odd — -but I have never given it a second thought. As Steinbeck intuited, I suspect it’s in my blood: a descendant of colonists, immigrants, rebels, adventurers — -generations who pursued their curiosity and dreams across oceans and continents and never looked back — -how could I be anything but what I am?
So sitting here with my cello in Alex’s living room, my head and shoulders draped in the rough red shawl that smells of exotic woods and far-off places, I cannot help but feel strangely at ease. To encounter someone who sees you as you truly are is rare. Alex does not yet know me well, but when he peels the backing from the film and shows me this first photo, I know that he has understood something essential. In this image, I see myself as I am: a modern-day nomad.
Kyla Gardiner — Theatrical Lighting Director
Curtis Daily — Contrabassist Bob Mercer — Editor — Musician — Friend
Jorge JoséO’Reilly — Primo/Sobrino — Amigo — Campeón de Rugby
Art Bergmann Singer-Songwriter- Guitarist
Homero Aridjis Poeta
Zippy Pinhead Musician
Caitlin Legault Art Model
Holly McRea Model — Poet — Creation Conduit.
Lisa Ha Model — Volunteer — Friend
Carmen Alatorre Diseñadora de vestuario
Roberto Baschetti Sociólogo, Investigador Histórico — Amigo
Jennifer Froese Youth Worker
Rachel Cairns Actor
Jennifer Landels Espadachina
Judith Currelly Pilot- Artist
Jim Erickson Set Decorator
Alexandra Hill Soprano
Georgina Elizabeth Isles Figure Model
Emma Middleton Actor
Mark Pryor Author/Lawyer/Assistant DA Travis County TX
Brother Edwin Charles Reggio, CSC Mentor & Teacher
Veronica Vex Burlesque Dancer
George McWhirter Poet
Raúl Guerrero Montemayor Padre-Compadre
Alexandra Waterhouse-Hayward Maestra
Shirley Gnome Singer/Provocateur
Yeva & Thoenn Glover Dancers/Choreographers
JJ Lee Writer Jacqueline Model
Cathy Marsden Psychiatrist
André De Mondo Wanderer
Colin MacDonald Saxophonist/Composer
Nina Gouveia Yoga Instructor
Stacey Hutton Excercise Physiologist
Colleen Wheeler Actor
Sarah Rodgers Actor, Director,Mother
Tim Turner — Real Estate Agent
Kiera Hill Dancer
Johnna Wright & Sascha Director/Mother — Son/Dreamer
Decker & Nick Hunt Cat & 19th century amateur
George Bowering Poet
Celia Duthie Gallerist
Linda Lorenzo Mother
Katheryn Petersen Accordionist
Stefanie Denz Artist
Ivette Hernández Actress
Byron Chief-Moon Actor/Dancer
Colin Horricks Doctor
Ian Mulgrew Vancouver Sun Columnist
Jocelyn Morlock Composer
Corinne McConchie Librarian
Rachel Ditor Dramaturg
Patrick Reid Statesman, Flag Designer
Michael Varga CBC Cameraman
Bronwen Marsden Playwright/Actress/Director
David Baines Vancouver Sun Columnist
Alex Waterhouse-Hayward Photographer
Lauren Elizabeth Stewart Student
Sandrine Cassini Dancer/Choreographer
Meredith Kalaman Dancer/Choreographer
Juliya Kate Dominatrix
Originally published at blog.alexwaterhousehayward.com.