A Garden of Virtues

LOVING YOU Minnie Ripperton Lovin' you is easy 'cause you're beautiful Makin' love with you is all I want to do Lovin' you is more than just a dream come true Everything that I do is out of lovin' you No one else can make me feel The colors that you bring Stay with me while we grow old And we will live each day in springtime Lovin' you has made my life so beautiful And every day of my life Is filled with lovin' you Lovin' you I see your soul come shining through And every time that we, ooooh I'm more in love with you No one else can make me feel The colors that you bring Stay with me while we grow old And we will live each day in springtime Lovin' you has made my life so beautiful And every day of my life Is filled with lovin' you Lovin' you I see your soul come shining through And every time that we, ooooh I'm more in love with you

These are images from the omukae ceremony that I held for Ophelia and Shelley, my Dream of Doll Tender Bee-a and Too, on December 6, 2006, close to their second birthday. The omukae, or welcoming, ceremony is a ceremony designed by the ball-jointed doll company Volks to introduce new Volks dolls to their owners in a special way. I learned about the ceremony by reading threads and viewing images on the site Den of Angels. From what I can tell, Volks uses music, recitation, candles, and flowers in their omukae ceremonies. I created a ceremonial photo shoot with Ophelia and Shelley using candles, evergreen branches, and tiny flowers. The photos were taken at night with artificial lighting. Taken with my Palm Treo 600. MUTABILITY. Percy Bysshe Shelley We are as clouds that veil the midnight moon; How restlessly they speed, and gleam, and quiver, Streaking the darkness radiantly!--yet soon Night closes round, and they are lost for ever:

Josette holds her grandmother's wedding dress against her and gazes into an antique mirror. "Last night I dreamed of wearing this dress and veil. I held a bouquet as I posed for a photographer. A feeling of happiness radiated through me as I anticipated marriage to the man I loved. When I was a child, I used to look at pictures of my grandmother as a bride and dream of what it would be like to walk down the aisle in such a glorious gown.

From "She Walks in Beauty," Lord Byron And on that cheek, and o'er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!