When the artists of a photoshoot honor human dignity, the space is quickly filled with a fullness of life.
The Litany team intentionally made room for dainty dances, celebratory shouts, warm conversations, restful breathing—which resulted in an altogether delightful collaboration of creatives.
Claire Kretzschmar (below), who lives the dream dancing with the New York City Ballet company, shared that the whole environment of the day felt free—free to create and share ideas. Conversations ranged from fashion, art, each creative’s craft, what moods to create, but Clare specifically mentioned, “We even talked about our faith and how God brought us altogether that day but also in different ways in our lives…something I don’t often share with people at photoshoots because it’s often harder to tap into everyone’s backgrounds with their spiritual life.”
But here there was room.
Veronica spoke about the need to make space for mistakes to happen so the pressure is off. To allow space for mistakes means to recognize the humanity of everyone involved. Unrealistic expectations and standards are shut down when we admit that mistakes will happen. Veronica made it a priority that everyone felt a part of the process and listened to, “Art is meant to be lifegiving—especially the process…it should give a sense of peace.”
And there was this sense of rest and relief.
Michaela pointed out the relief the factory has given Litany. Particularly with the photoshoot, they had the ability to be present on set and focus on the day itself rather than making sure each piece was complete and ready.
Claire mentioned how she has had a lot of experience with photoshoots that are typically “tense and time consuming” but this one “felt relaxed…everyone was calm in their roles.”
The pressure was off and everyone had the space to simply create, to celebrate each other’s craft, and receive the gift of that moment.
Marilyn Lamanna honored us with her photography skills for the Verdant Collection. She describes the day as “full of so much love and light” and particularly noted the joy of the encouragement that came from this all-female artist collaboration.
Julia Galanski (below), who delights in dancing and motherhood, loved the moment in which she reminisced with Marilyn and Veronica about their time in college during which they all met as artists at the Catholic Center for a Bible study. This discussion soon bubbled over with gratitude, realizing that, “Four years out of school, we are still doing what we love and getting to work together professionally and see each other thriving in our respective disciplines.”
An abundance of joy and thanksgiving burst through the day.
To give you a better sense of what the day felt like, here are some overall comments:
“I think I lost my voice from laughing so hard on set.”
“It did not feel like work—more like hanging out with friends or sisters”
“The clothing made me feel elegant and gracious…filled with gratitude…fun to move in and flowy—the vibrant color brought joy in wearing it and some of the items made me want to dance.”
“Wearing the pieces made me feel so feminine, beautiful…a princess…comfortable...most of the dresses have pockets.”
We are excited to share more insight and details with you soon, to be continued in Part 2…