The Muse.

Portrait of me as a Muse, by Michael Baxter

I could pull my History Geek Cred out and talk about the Nine Muses of Classical Greece*, but today I'm going to talk about something more immediate.

Who are your Muses? With whom do you collaborate and attempt to inspire?

I could list all my Muses, but instead, I'm going to talk about just one.

Meet Michael Baxter, the world's foremost photographer of Belly Dance. Michael is, in short, a genius. He is a feminist, a visionary of light, and an old school geek. (He and The Charming Man are also dear friends).

Go ahead, follow the link. I'll be here when you come back from looking at the links.


No, I mean it. Go look at them. :)

Michael's love of dance, music, light, and myth  have inspired me since we met in 2008. I had never seen a photographer able to photograph all shapes, sizes, and colors with such ease and joy. We've since corresponded and shot photos together. He makes us see ourselves as we truly are.

I had truly terrible body image issues until I met him. I knew that I wasn't a hideously scarred Two-Face, but I never knew in what way I was attractive. He showed me my own goofy, playful charm.

Since learning this from Michael, I try to take all my characters on a voyage of self discovery to find their beauty. I try to show all my friends how beautiful they are, what they might not see about themselves. I am inspired to be kinder, more patient (not easy for me), and share the light that Michael has shown me.

I hope he will inspire you, too, with his skill with color, setting, and bringing dreams alive.

*All right, I couldn't help myself.

Calliope: Epic poetry. Emblem: Writing tablet (Too bad such a cool chick got stuck with such a hideous instrument)
Clio: History, Scrolls
Erato: Love_poetry: Cithara
Euterpe:Lyric Poetry, Aulos
Melpomene: Tragedy,Tragic mask<
Polyhymnia: Sacred poetry,Veil
Terpsichore: Choral Dance and song, Lyre
Thalia:Comedy, Comic mask<
Urania: Astronomy, compass