Our Wicked Witch...

In early February, Veronica and I went to Brussels with Jenny for the Grade 8 LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts) exam, the highest level of exam offered. Like her previous exam, which was Grade 6, Veronica had to sing two songs.

Here she is practicing No Good Deed from the Broadway play Wicked. She also sang When She Loved Me from Toy Story 2. Lastly, she had to perform a song as a dramatic monologue. Jenny recommended that Veronica choose a piece from a musical that she’s unfamiliar with so that she wouldn’t bring any preconceived notions to the performance. She chose Macavity: The Mystery Cat, a song based on a T.S. Eliot poem. Jenny and I weren’t allowed in the room during the exam, but could hear laughter, which we assumed was a good sign. Apparently it was because Veronica earned a Distinction, the highest honor.

Milk and Rose Petals...

Whoever would have guessed that Ashlynn’s first paid modelling job would be in our own bathtub? Veronica paid Ashlynn €50 to pose in a tub filled with water, milk and rose petals. It was more challenging to shoot than Veronica expected.

The results were pretty amazing!

Another Shoot in Amsterdam...

Ashlynn had one other test shoot in January, this time with Dutch photographer Yorick Nube in Amsterdam. I always research each proposed photographer. This time I found something I didn’t like: a blog of young models in provocative poses.

I agreed that Yorick could photograph Ashlynn as long as I stayed for the entire shoot and none of her photos were to ever be placed on his blog. He agreed and took some nice, simple shots of her without make-up and using only the natural light in his apartment.

Ashlynn in B&W...

One day after school, Ashlynn and I headed down to Rotterdam to meet with photography student Demi van der Starre for a B&W shoot as part of her senior project. For the first time, Ashlynn wore a few individual fake eyelashes. I didn’t think to ask Demi to take a few shots without the heavy make-up which was unfortunate as Marjolein of Dune Agency said she couldn’t use these photos for Ashlynn’s portfolio because they aren’t natural.

I’m starting to see that it’s not just models that struggle in the fashion industry due to the high amount of competition. I have no idea how young photographers, stylists or make-up artists can actually make the jump from doing free work to being able to make a steady income considering schools are always cranking out another batch of new photographers, stylists and make-up artists.

Veronica's Photos...

Veronica took some amazing self portraits in the woods during the winter.

It wasn’t until after we saw the photos that it dawned on us that perhaps this wasn’t the safest way for a young girl to spend a Sunday afternoon.

She took this cool nighttime shot on the canal in front of our house. If you look closely, you’ll see Orion in the top right corner, and Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, in the center.

Here’s a great shot that Veronica captured of the school. She liked it so much that she had this printed on thank you cards for her favorite teachers.

Burns' Night Hash...

Our celebration of Rabbie Burns continued the next day with the Burns’ Hash in The Hague. A lot of Amsterdam hashers came along for the first time on this unusually warm and sunny Sunday in January .

Scotsman Five Pack is always entertaining.

Abbie and Derek made homemade vegetarian haggis which was quite delicious. After dinner, the tables were cleared out and Anton’s basement was turned into a disco. Boghole did a great job with the tunes...

...but is showing his age that he needed his reading glasses to read his songlist.

Burns' Night Dance...

For Burns’ Night this year, we both wore our new kilts from Edinburgh.

As always, we had a great time dancing...

...and hanging out with our friends. We were thrilled that Carlin and Kent joined us for the first time.