J Monque' D

March 7, 2009.

I learned more about the blues from the 20 minutes or so spent with J Monque' D than from the ten years I lived in New Orleans. Well, not exactly (my husband was a street performer playing the blues when I met him 22 years ago — anyone remember the Big Mess Blues Band?), but James lives the blues, in fact, he'll tell you he IS the blues! The man is passionate about it, and I'd say he has quite an intense personality altogether, in a very touching way. The sincerity, the passion with which he shared his story was both surprising and moving. Surprising because I didn't expect to see big tears from this big man, and touching... because I didn't expect to see big tears from this big man! The event that James recounted was still as vivid to him that day in May, 2010 (If you've been following this blog, you already know that the idea to get stories didn't come until later in the project), as when it happened 30 years before. But you'll have to read it in the book!
Monque' D's picture is also one of those that had a detail sneak up on me. Furthermore in this case, I think the detail is what makes the picture. And again, I have to humbly admit it was not intentional. When you get the book (hmm...), look for "eyes" in the wall. I didn't see them when I took the picture, but the weirdest thing is James' expression, and the orientation of his face: he's looking toward the eyes! C.R.E.E.P.Y!! I LOVE it!!!


Eddie Bo's phone call that morning was a relief, as well as a very sweet re-connection. I used to know Eddie when I lived in New Orleans but had lost touch with him after moving to Idaho in 2000. He sounded great, and we made plans to meet two days later at his uptown house.

As for Fats Domino, my Fairy Godmother was working her magic, as she told me to expect a phone call from Fats' daughter, Adonica.

Deacon John

March 6, 2009.

Deacon John is one of the funniest people I have met while working on the New Orleans Walls project. The idea of collecting stories from the models actually started in part thanks to him, as it was then that I realized I wasn't JUST taking pictures of all these amazing people.
His photo is one of those where something unplanned happened, something, in fact, it took me weeks to discern! When you get the book, pay attention to the shape of Deacon John's eyes, as well as the shape of the knots in the woods: you may think it was intentional, but I have to admit, that was beyond me. I think the "spirit" of New Orleans had something to do with it! (Interestingly enough, I experienced quite a few of these phenomenons throughout the project...)


That night, I visited Jan Ramsey, and at some point shared with her how worried I was getting about not hearing back from Eddie Bo, even telling her, "I will get really pissed off if anything happens to Eddie before I can get his picture." The strange thing here is that it felt like it was just my mouth saying something that my mind wasn't controlling or believing. Of course Eddie was going to be fine! There are some people I just can't picture being gone.

The next morning, I got a call from Eddie Bo...

Stacey Simmons & Trigger

March 6, 2009.

Stacey Simmons is a visionary, and if you haven’t heard of her yet (she recently made Fast Company’s list of the 100 most creative people in business), you will soon.
When I asked her to be in the book, she mentioned her horse for the photo... I loved the idea!!
Stacey learned to ride on Trigger before owning him, and fate decided that she would rescue the horse after Katrina, bringing him to her adopted Baton Rouge.
Since the pictures for the book had to be taken in New Orleans, Stacey took it upon herself to put the horse in a trailer and bring him for one day to City Park where he used to live. Needless to say, I was thrilled!
The horse behaved wonderfully except when I asked Stacey to remove his halter (what do I know?!) and Trigger started to take a stroll on his own. We barely avoided a disaster...
There aren’t many walls in City Park, but the one we finally settled on is both beautiful and meaningful; just perfect: the levee!


By-the-Way, in case you saw the picture on facebook, Trigger has one brown eye, and one blue.

Walter Wolfman Wahington

March 5, 2009.

When I first came to New Orleans a little over 20 years ago, I stayed with my sister on Magazine Street, not far from Jefferson. There was a little bar across the street from her house —it may still be there, but I don’t remember the name— where my sister insisted on taking me see this incredible blues musician who played the guitar with his teeth. This was my first introduction to Walter Wolfman Washington.

Walter’s photoshoot was as much fun as Big Al’s, and on top of the smile, I got the dancing! I usually ask the models to wear black, but Walter just doesn’t own any black clothes. Since the wall I found in his mid-city neighborhood was blue, we thought wearing turquoise might be okay. Well, it didn’t work out for the book (I had to remove the colors for the final photo) but here is another one with the blue suit:

Big Al Carson

March 5, 2009.

Meeting Big Al Carson brought a big smile to my face: HE was all smiles during his photoshoot, and his smile was BIG, as someone who embraces life to its fullest. At least, that‘s the impression I got from him. So, of course, there is a big smile in his picture. However, when I called to get his story a few months later, what I got was rather chilling. Big Al actually shared two anecdotes, and here is the one that didn’t make it into the book: Al worked for the coroner’s office for 9 years. One day, he received a call about someone who committed suicide. As he was collecting the information, he slowly realized that he knew the address of the victim, so he asked for a name: it was his best friend.

John & Edna Kenny - Donald Harrison, Jr.

March 4, 2009.


John & Edna Kenny are some of the nicest, most genuine people I have ever met. We used to be neighbors on Magazine Street, where Edna owned an antique store and was known for years as "The Angel of Magazine Street". Unfortunately, the store had to be closed a few months ago because of John's declining health. Edna shared with me recently that when you pass a certain age and your health becomes uncertain, you have to look forward to different events to hang on to life, and she assured me that John was going to be around for their 60th anniversary on February 12, 2011, and for the book release right after that.
I sure hope so. John is quite an extraordinary man: a graduate from the Polytechnic Institute of New York, he is an author, a World War II veteran, an artist, and earned his doctorate from the Louisiana State College System in Urban Studies on his 80th birthday in 2006. He's the other Dr. John! The story he shared for the book is quite amazing as well. Since hearing it, I started using the expression "I'll take the beans" as a mean to say "I'll take the lesser of two evils."
John and Edna were some of the first people to return to New Orleans after the storm, and there is a comment Edna made that struck me: one thing she missed the most when they came back to clean up (by-the-way, her fridge was fine because before leaving town, she emptied a whole bottle of vodka in it!) was the sound of children. After not seeing any kid for months, one day Edna went to Walmart and saw a little girl: she rushed to her and just hugged her.
Edna and John's photo was taken in the parking lot behind their store, and posing them in front of the brick wall was a no-brainer: there is still so much love between these two, that when I asked them to kiss, they didn't even blink!

That afternoon, I met with Donald Harrison, Jr. who was introduced to me at Antoinette K-Doe's viewing. The contrast between the decrepit wall and Donald's perfect attire and shining saxophone created already such a powerful imagery, I only asked the musician to play. It was delightful, and a particularly quick photo shoot I wouldn't have minded lasted longer...

Maxx Sizeler, and finding the St Bernard Project - 03/03/2009

Visual artist Maxx Sizeler’s life is defined as BK and AK (Before Katrina and After Katrina). Like so many others, she lost most of her belongings to the flood, and like all those who lived through the hurricane, part of her sanity as well. This trip was an opportunity to get back in touch with many friends, and four years after the storm, I must have been a fresh ear because most of them were eager to talk about their Katrina experience. It was definitely an eye opener. I had heard a lot through news outlets, but nothing compared to first hand accounts. I still can’t grasp all that happened during Katrina, and I don’t believe any “outsider” will ever fully understand what all these people have had to endure (to this day).

Maxx’ picture was taken uptown, and the wall could not have been a better fit (which may make sense once you see the photo in the book. In case you missed the past posts, you will not see any of the actual finished photos on this blog. You may see part of a picture, or, like in the case of Bob Rue, the entire photo, but before double-exposure.)



That first week in March, 2009 was also the week I got acquainted with the St Bernard Project. With a pretty straight forward mission (“to create housing opportunities for Katrina survivors who wish to return to their homes and communities”), the organization was started by a couple of people who did understand the disaster more than anyone else, and decided to do something about it. You will get to meet Zack Rosenburg and Liz McCartney in a later post since they posed for the New Orleans Walls project. As of today, the St Bernard Project has rebuilt 342 homes, and 50 more are under construction. (As stated on their website, “a typical rebuild project takes approximately 12 weeks of volunteer labor and uses approximately $15,000 worth of building supplies." The St Bernard Project will receive 30% of the New Orleans Walls book sales.)

As for Fats Domino, I took a little step forward by being able to communicate with Tom McDermott’s student. I also started trying to contact Eddie Bo, who I used to know about 15 years ago, but wasn’t getting much luck...