Daughter’s imagery reflects mother’s battle with ovarian cancer

Photos and cover by Britt Elizabeth

Photography by Brittany Strickland

Naphtali Foster models as the angel Kitt Hall Squyres models as the devil Ashley Cooper models as the warrior Assisted by Jennifer Driskill

Standing amidst the remnants of broken lives, an angel dressed in a robe holds a ballerina’s pose, her face is turned to the sword she wields from her outstretched arm skyward. She is victorious.

This is the final photo session for the photobook, “The Angelic War Trilogy,” a self-published book by local artist Brittany Strickland as a tribute to her late mother, Donette Muse.

Muse, of Stonewall, died June 22, at the age of 57 after a long battle with ovarian cancer.

“One of the last things my mom said to me was, ‘I’m leaving it up to you to leave my legacy. I want you to do your purpose.’” For Strickland, depicting that legacy means to pick up her camera and show her mother as a warrior.

“I wanted to show the struggle between good and evil, so I chose to portray her as I saw her, which was strong, wise and passionate,” Strickland said. “She loved the unlovable and could see them in the way that the Lord sees them. And, that’s what she taught me. My mom rocked.”

The backdrop for this scene is in an alley between abandoned buildings where others have left their mark, through discarded clothing, take-out Styrofoam trays from a food program and empty food cans and packages. It’s a sad scene, but through the lens of her camera, Strickland sees strength and beauty, as well as her late mother. Clicking away, she is completely focused on the model, giving her direction on movement and emotion. Suddenly, a wind whips through the alley, setting the model’s robe just right to reveal just what Strickland is looking for. Overcome with emotion, she lowers her camera and wipes her eyes. “Oh my God, that’s my mom.” Suddenly, with the wind, the clouds and the lighting just right, her team of models and assistants yell, “Don’t stop shooting, Brittany! This is perfect! Don’t lose this moment!” And, she’s back on her game. This is Strickland’s journey through art. Strickland said “The Trilogy” depicts the life of her mother from the beginning of her career as a hairdresser and salon owner and mom to Strickland and her two siblings. The second part of the series, Strickland said, shows Muse’s diagnosis with cancer, her fight against the disease and her death. Strickland said the third part shows Muse rising up against death and her legacy living on through others.

“The story is about good versus evil and my mother’s battle with keeping the good in her life while she battled evil, which was the cancer,” Strickland said.

Strickland’s version of that battle is in her photographs of an angel and the devil in war over the soul of a woman who was strong in her belief in God and strong for those around her.

“Mom didn’t operate on this realm,” she said. “She was really a muse; it’s funny that’s her last name. She knew things before they happened and call you out on stuff when you didn’t even know what was going on. She was just amazing.”

Throughout her illness, Muse continued to run her business as a hairdresser and remain active and influential not only in the lives of her family but in the lives of those around her. Her creativity made a huge impact on Strickland’s work as a photographer.

“Mom taught me to be creative and to step out of the box,” Strickland said. “She was passionate and dramatic and stood strong for what she believed.”

Muse provided make-up, hairstyles, costumes and backdrops for annual whimsically haunted Halloween photo sessions.

Muse’s spirit can be felt among this troupe gathered in a downtown studio apartment to prepare for the final big shoot of the series: the fight scene. Alanis Morissette is singing from a portable music speaker as Jennifer Driskill, the creative director of the production, applies black eye shadow around the eyes of Kitt Hall Squyres, who is portraying the devil. Driskill explained the reason behind the dark mask.

“Devils are supposed to be sneaky but we wanted to give her a little bit of a bite. And, Kitt is beautiful so I wanted to bring that part of it into it, too. Devils can come in all shapes and forms. They can be beautiful and sneaky.”

“There’s something inherently inviting about a devil that sneaks up on you, and all of a sudden you’re too far in it,” said the devil herself, Squyres. “If darkness wasn’t scary, nobody would get caught up in it.”

It takes 90 minutes to do hair and make-up on the three models portraying the devil, the angel and the warrior. The warrior, of course, is Muse.

“I remember that first [Halloween] shoot,” said Ashley Cooper, who is the warrior in “The Trilogy.”

“Donette was so sick and hurting and not feeling good. And, you could tell she wasn’t feeling good, and she stuck through the whole shoot. She was such a fighter.”

“Everyone has their demons,” Squyres said. “And you can either choose to sit back and cry or fight. And, Donette was a fighter.”

Driskill met Muse when they worked together at a Shreveport hair salon 15 years ago.

“I was pregnant with my daughter, Hannah, and she just practically took me into her family. She cared so much about everybody,” Driskill said. “She never stopped thinking about people, stopped loving them, never even missed a day telling them so. And, it didn’t matter who you were, where you came from or where you were going.”

Even now, Strickland has a tough time describing her close relationship with Driskill, “She’s my sister. Well, not my real sister but like my sister, and Hannah is like my niece, even though she’s not really my niece.”

After applying face paint, eye make-up, bronzer, hairspray, corsets, robes, leather and horns, the models are ready to go. They pick up their swords, giant wings (handmade by Driskill), mp3 speaker and cellphones and head for the streets of downtown Shreveport to enact their ethereal fight scene.

Middle Earth it isn’t, but Driskill has some great locations in mind, including a crack house and an abandoned parking garage.

Emerging from the apartment building and onto the sidewalk, the group turns heads and literally stops traffic. While the first scene is being set up, a police officer pulls to the curb in his patrol car, rolls down his window and said, “I don’t normally roll up on something like this every day. This is pretty cool.”

Strickland laughs and does a few dance moves to Gwen Stefani playing from a camera bag. She is in the moment, using her skills, her keen eye and her camera to channel her mother. And, it’s working. She bounces with excitement when she gets the shot she wants.

Driskill is constantly by Strickland’s side, moving the models, straightening wings, moving hair into place and telling them where to stand. The two women work together smoothly and without many words.

“See, this is why she is who she is. I just showed her a picture of a man painted up, and this is what she did,” said Strickland of Driskill’s creative vision. “It’s like she looked in my head and could see my vision.”

The clouds are creeping in and the sun is getting lower on the horizon and Strickland knows she’s up against the clock to get her shots. It’s on to the next location: the corner of Crockett and McNeil streets. The models take their stance in the middle of the street and their shadows from the fading sun cast an eerie scene. And, Strickland is amazed at the effect. “Wow! I’m getting tears in my eyes!” she said. And, once again, it’s exactly as she wants it.

“Brittany’s work is so exciting.

When she posts something on Facebook, everyone wants to be a part of it, so a lot of people will just volunteer to be in it,” Squyres said.

There are two more location changes for the battle scenes and just as the sun is about to set, the angel defeats the devil, and Strickland calls it a wrap. “That’s it, guys!” she said, and whoops as she lowers her camera and high fives Driskill and the models. Then, there’s a round of applause as this final session comes to an end and the devil, the angel and the warrior head back to the apartment and back to their lives.

Some of the photos were shot in a wooded areas and others in the streets of downtown.

“There was really no rhyme or reason why I chose those settings,” Strickland said. “I wanted to see the contrast between the woods and the urban backdrop.”

Strickland hopes to have her book out soon. It will be available through her website brittelizabethphotography.com, and she plans to get the word out about it through social media.

The Noble Savage will host the first showing of the Angelic War Trilogy Art Photography Show on Feb. 12-28 at the bar located at 417 Texas St. From 5 to 10 p.m. Feb. 12 Strickland will be at the Noble Savage for a meet-andgreet. The Highland Open Studio Tours will also feature Strickland’s project from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. March 1 at 424 Dalzell St.

“I just want to be a voice for others, to let others know that you’re not alone. Everybody goes through dark times. And, it can either keep you down or drive you to your purpose” she said.

All of the women involved in this project are mothers.

Naphtali Foster, who portrays the angel, has two young children, and warrior Cooper has a 4-year-old daughter, who stood by and watched her mom work.

Driskill’s daughter was also part of the team as a second shooter, and Strickland has a son and a daughter. But, on this day it was not about their roles as moms that drove them to depict the fight of good versus evil. It was about one mother who already went into battle. And, while she may have lost that fight, through Strickland’s work, Muse will win the war.

–Bonny Van

Learn More:

For upcoming exhibits, go to Strickland’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/Britt ElizabethPhotography?pnref=lhc.