I AM YOUR FAIRY GOTHMOTHER

Dia De Los Muertos

2011-10-24T23:11:00.001-04:00

And we rose from the grave, with saturated glow and hollowed countenance from eternal rest. Rest we do not on this day, for it is the only day that souls take substantial form -- clothed with jubilance and freedom from the tangible being. The only being to be is not being. The only "being" actually being half(mostly)-imagined, in our own minds and the minds of others. With the colors that dance and vibrate behind closed eyes finally freed to roam our waking existence, we walk on in a parade of not "being" but "been."

All photos of Amber were taken by Katelyn, and all photos of Katelyn were taken by Amber.

Styling was a collaborative effort between Katelyn and Amber.

Makeup done by Katelyn.

Photoshop art and retouching done by Katelyn.

In came the heatwave

2011-06-24T14:11:00.001-04:00

Summer sweet, summer sweat; in comes the heatwave, out go the clothes.

All pictures of Amber taken by Katelyn, all pictures of Katelyn taken by Amber. Photoshopped/edited by Katelyn. Styling was a collaborative effort.

digging for bones.

2011-04-10T23:54:00.003-04:00

dirt under our fingernails from hours of searching.
shrouded in lace and velvet.
this is our occupation amongst mangled trees:
bone collectors.

we find them,
we save them,
we venerate them.

they are, after all, never completely dead.

All photos taken & edited by Reagan Lam. Styling by Katelyn & Amber.

MURDER HE WROTE

2011-03-17T01:45:00.001-04:00

"MURDER," He cried out in the night, words that cut like a bloody-tipped knife. Murder is in the moon, full and big as the pupils that dilate when the mood is right, the mood to annihilate like the nihilist waking inside with the lunar cycle. We walk on...we become like the tip of a gun, poised and ready, cold-blooded and fatally facing the inevitable end. We are one thing...or two things, we are all things (old and new things). We become what we see, we melt into three from two. But we only come out when the moon beckons, drawing us from sleep or deeper, in a fit of homicidal somnambulism beyond our control.

Photographs of Amber taken by Katelyn, Photographs of Katelyn taken by Amber. Styled in a collaborative effort. Photo manipulations photoshopped by Katelyn, edit by Katelyn.

OUT OF THE BLACK HOLE

2011-03-03T18:30:00.008-05:00

Months ago, a black hole opened up and your beloved gothmothers fell in, not knowing where they would be taken. We were lost, and with no concept of space or time, we knew it would be a while before we would be found. Spinning, seasick, homesick, our bodies & minds ached to return to what we knew. Finally, space opened and spit us back out. Enough kicking & screaming convinced it that we did not belong. When dropped, we landed amongst a landscape of stone & ruin. As we wandered & wondered & the sun burned our eyes & skin, some semblance of our lives before the black hole started to return. It appears that while we were falling back to Mother Earth, we took pieces of the late 1800s/early 1900s with us, making us seem even more bewildered and travel worn. Stay tuned as we regain our footing.

All photos of Katelyn taken by Amber, All photos of Amber taken by Katelyn. Styling was a collaborative effort. Photos taken at Lockridge Furnace Park in Alburtis, Pennsylvania.

retro(active)

2011-01-07T21:44:00.001-05:00

The gothmothers have not passed on to other worlds and other states of being, as many may have assumed due to our lack of activity within the deep, dark webs of the internet. Rather, we have been busy time-traveling and (attempting) to function as wage-earning members of society. We promise to return bigger and badder sooner rather than later. For now, enjoy us clad in vintage coats (which you can actually buy on Ebay through Bought It Sold It) that we photographed each other wearing at work. Amber's coat is from the 20s and the one Katelyn is wearing is from the 50s. Photo of Amber taken by Katelyn, photo of Katelyn taken by Amber, photos edited by Katelyn.

-Katelyn

INFINITE SLEEP.

2010-07-05T00:00:00.003-04:00

We dreamt of sleep and not just any sleep: one that would last a lifetime. One that would permanently send us into the darkness. Drifting, Floating...Down a river of darkness we would sail, never to return. But these are just dreams and we always seem to wake up at the wrong time, with the sunlight to punch at our skin and eyes. We awaken and set the cycle on repeat.

All photos of Katelyn taken by Amber, All photos of Amber taken by Katelyn. Styling was a collaborative effort between Katelyn & Amber.

Ugga Wugga Wicca Wam

2010-06-24T15:44:00.001-04:00

Cowgirls and Indians of the eternally black forest are constantly at war -- warring with each other while also battling the crippling rays of sunshine that decide to shoot through branches and leaves, shriveling our skin (virgin from the sun-kiss-of-death). Back into darkened wigwams and stables we retreat, hiding from the inevitable dawn of day (but still at war; always at war).

Photos of Katelyn were taken by Amber, photos of Amber were taken by Katelyn. Styled in a collaboration between Katelyn and Amber. All clothing & accessories are vintage. Photos edited by Katelyn.

When the Cat is Away...

2010-06-19T12:16:00.008-04:00

Bored with no where to go. Prisoners of a darkened house, left to occupy our time and wait. Fearful of the outside because the sun beats down, turning our foreheads into breeding grounds for sweat and our pale skin into red burns. And then, when he returns, nothing changes. We are still bored, perhaps even more so than when we are left alone.

All styling was a collaborative effort between Katelyn and Amber. All photos of Katelyn were taken by Amber and vice versa. This week's grounds for photos was provided by Dale Grandfield and Bradford Zuercher.

You Raucous Voyeurs

2010-06-08T21:35:00.004-04:00

We're supposed to be alone.

We always think we're alone.

We're not alone.

There are others -- They are voyeurs. They are waiting to capture us - to take us further into the darkness. Perhaps it isn't so much that they are watching from afar,

but that they are dormant pieces of ourselves, waiting to take us further into the darkness than we already are.

All styling was a collaborative effort between Katelyn and Amber. Photos of Amber & Katelyn were taken by Lisa-Noël Grandfield. Photos of Amber were taken by Katelyn and vice versa.

Ballerinas in the sky with(out) diamonds

2010-05-26T02:06:00.000-04:00

The sky was hazy, filled with a heavy thickness that could only indicate rain. Rain could indeed fall, and it could be sunshower summer rain, acid rain, cold rain, warm rain or....goth ballerina rain. Do you remember the day goth ballerinas fell out of the sky dancing? It was today. It is today. You will remember this day for the rest of your life. This is a rare weather phenomenon -- rarer than a double rainbow or a blizzard in Texas.

This is the beginning of the end, and the first day of the rest of your life all fused together and wrapped in darkness, crinoline and pink lace.

Finally, when they hit the earth they turned into multi-colored nuclear acid rain drops. The end.

All photos taken in a collaborative event, by Katelyn, Amber and Alex. Styled by Katelyn and Amber. Edited by Katelyn.

Showing Off But Still Shut Off.

2010-05-19T23:44:00.000-04:00

When you are constantly in darkness, you must find ways to fill the void that seems infinite. Because of this, your fairy gothmothers are women of many trades. By night, we star in a burlesque act that harkens back to the age of pin-up women, but with a much darker thread running through it. If you look hard enough, you can find us - amidst the fur and velvet lined walls and dimly lit rooms, we are there. We are there, but still, there is that infinite void.

All styling was a collaborative effort between Katelyn and Amber. Photos of Amber were taken by Katelyn, photos of Katelyn were taken by Amber. Photos of Katelyn & Amber were taken by George Schmauch of Zeitgeist Photography.

Is glitter a color?

2010-05-16T12:32:00.000-04:00

Swaddled in pelts, the Fairy Gothmothers venture into the woods (yet again).

We do not always wander in darkness. Sometimes the burning rays of the sunshine filtered through hazy clouds beckon us forth -- these balmy rays convince us (by psychic mind-control) to decorate trees with every bauble and piece of jewelry we own. They also make our noses bleed and our eyes bruise, seeing as we are not accustomed to the light.

I present to you our daytime tree-decorating ritual:

All photos of Amber were taken by Katelyn, all photos of Katelyn were taken by Amber. Set + wardrobe styling done by Katelyn + Amber collectively. Photos edited by Katelyn.

Wander, We still Wander.

2010-05-08T00:53:00.000-04:00

Our stomachs were full, but our hearts were still empty. You see, Miss Havisham,* we know how you felt. A table scattered with food, but no one but ourselves to share it with. Tragic. Now we are left to wander the darkness in our finest clothes.

All clothing is vintage, all pieces on the table and in the trees were plucked from our infinite closets. Katelyn's headpiece was hand studded by her. All edits were completed by Amber, all photos of Katelyn taken by Amber and all photos of Amber taken by Katelyn.

*from Charles Dickens' Great Expectations

WE LOVE THE WOOD(S)

2010-05-04T12:24:00.000-04:00

Frolicking in the woods, possibly in space, too (but always IN DARKNESS).

The Fairy Gothmother Woods Frolic from Katelyn Roof on Vimeo.

(Song - John Maus "Don't Worship the Devil")

I am relaying a message to you from the nether regions in the gray matter of YOUR BRAIN

2010-05-01T20:48:00.001-04:00

The message is: I suggest you follow this blog. I suggest you tell all of your friends to follow this blog. Not only because our hearts are full of eternal sadness and we want lots of love from YOU (you being the internet at large), but also because we say..."OR ELSE." And you don't want to find out what THAT means... because rumor has it that we can burn a whole in your forehead with the fiery stares from our respective third eyes.

These are the edits from Katelyn.
From the softest corner in my little black heart, I present these images of your two Fairy Gothmothers, the only Fairy Gothmothers you may ever know (and be able to call your own).

All of Amber + Katelyn's accessories/clothing are vintage. Amber is wearing a bone necklace that Katelyn made from the animal bones she collects while she wanders the forest in darkness, alone.

THESE ARE YOUR GOTHMOTHERS...

2010-05-01T12:36:00.000-04:00

in hiding.

in transit.

in velvet.

in the woods.

in wind.

IN BLACK.