vancouver boudoir photography ~ the three of cups

I shot this series with my good friend – and incredible mother-fucking human being – Portia Favro. If you don’t know this goddess, Portia is a professional dancer, mover, burlesque-glitter-queen, community builder, and light beam. (Did I just call her a professional light beam? I sure fucking did).

We shot these photos in under 20 minutes, in her tiny apartment bathroom. We laughed so much I swear to god I almost peed my pants, and creating this art together was just a reminder of what magic you can make in a short amount of time if you just set your mind + heart to it, and just let things flow and unfold. No fancy costumes, no real idea of what we wanted to create, just two dorky friends, collaborating and sharing some giant belly laughs.

I’ve been meditating a lot and calling in the Three of Cups card lately – I pulled it at the beginning of the year, and I keep bringing it back to my mind almost every month.

In the Three of Cups, three young women are dancing with each other in a circle, raising their cups high in the air in a toast of joy and celebration. They look to one another with appreciation, honour and respect, and are bound by their emotional connection and friendship. There is a sense of lifting each other up and celebrating each woman’s unique contribution to the group. The ground is layered with flowers, fruit and a pumpkin, symbolising the celebration of an abundant harvest and the goodness in life.

The three of cups is a card of creativity, connection, camaraderie, and friendship and sisterhood. These are all the things I miss the most about post-Covid life, but also the things that I know we can come home to and keep in our lives - even if it looks a little bit different. The Three of Cups reminds me that even in the most dark times, in these weird stressful days of a pandemic world, that big belly laughter and sharing in our creative connections are what will bring us back home to ourselves, and each other.

Thank you Portia for being an amazing professional light beam, and radiating that light back into my life and helping to infuse it into this artistic collaboration.