Irene Sage

March 10, 2009.

A lot of people helped in different ways during the New Orleans Walls project, but a few made it simply possible. Irene and her husband Scott Conklin are some of those. Irene might be sometimes hard to reach, but when you've got her... well, she'll do anything to help.

When we finally connected again (after not seeing each-other for about 8 years), she just went all over: she called a bunch of people to pose, connected me with Zack Rosenburg of the St Bernard Project, and offered me a place to stay as well as her car! Since I have been running on a very small budget, having a free car made all the difference: it truly allowed me to finish the project (I stayed at Irene's three times, each visit lasting two weeks — do the math, that's A LOT of savings in car rentals!)

Now, that being said, even if I had not stayed at Irene's I would have wanted to have her in the book: that girl can sing! She has one of the most amazing voices I have ever heard!

When I went to her house on that night of March 10, 2009 to take her picture with daughter Sidney, it was late, the light was getting dim, but I still decided to give it a try (after all, I had just taken Fats Domino's photo, so at that point, anything seemed possible!)
The picture that came out is another one that was graced by one of those magical moments I encountered throughout the project, in the way its' movement harmonized with the wall. I have to confess here that this wall is the only one in the book that is not technically in New Orleans (it's in Arabi). However, it used to be a part of the city, and that was good enough for me.



The next morning, I left New Orleans feeling uplifted (no pun intended!)
As the plane took off at 7:30AM, I looked out the window and saw one of the most beautiful misty sunrises over the Crescent City...

Sallie Ann Glassman

March 10, 2009.

One thing I have found really amazing with this project is the ease with which most people have accepted to pose. Sallie was no exception. Alright, she's a voodoo priestress, so maybe she knew things I didn't know... Still, she was very graceful about the whole process; she even took me to a fantastic wall: in a Marigny alley is this amazing fence painted with Papa Gede and other spirits. This was the only wall Sallie was allowed to be photographed in front of wearing black!



By noon, I was done with the picture, and impatiently waited for Fats Domino's daughter to call. All I had to do was clean up the house and pack. My plane was leaving the next day at 7:30am.