When my friend originally approached me about using my blog to introduce her own blog "Skin Deep: Memoirs of a Cutter," I was a little apprehensive. She also asked me to photograph her scars. Which made me even more apprehensive. My blog has touched on some controversial topics over the last few years, but this one was so far out of my realm of reality that I was afraid that I may approach it wrong. My fears were quelled the day her and I finally got together. We talked for awhile about what it meant to be a cutter, which was really eye-opening for me. Then I photographed her scars. We both agreed that black and white would be the best medium for the photos. I published my blog the next day. We were both a bit anxious at what the response would be, me for different reasons. I was afraid for her. I have so much respect for her and the courage she has to come forward with this. I was also afraid of how it would be received. Much to our utter surprise, not more than an hour after I posted the blog, I was contacted by The Phoenix newspaper. They had come across the blog and wanted to do a story on my friend, the idea of using the internet in a therapeutic way and they wanted to publish my photos. We were blown away by how fast we got a response. The article will be in tomorrow's edition of The Phoenix. You can find it in most stores and restaurants around the Portland area. You can also access it online. At this point, I don't know if the article and photos will be featured online, but you can check it out. So, I'm happy to see my friend rise from her own ashes and take her wounds and turn them into wisdom. Thanks to Jill for her amazing strength and words helping us with this project. I may have very well stolen that last sentence from her.
