Maia Saavedra

✦ 𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚? ✦ Creative Direction: Maia Saavedra-Weisenhaus and Shaina Rose Chainmail Garments @catholicguilt_clothing Creative Design+ Styling - @shainarosee and @maia_saavedra_ Photography + Lighting @_chaseharding_ Lighting Assistant @juaanjromaan Photography + Lighting @holysmokephotography Makeup @ediebo.mua Flames @maia_saavedra_ Flame assistant @tom.mendenhall

𝔗𝔬 𝔟𝔢𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔱 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔞𝔩𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔗𝔞𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔟𝔲𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔯𝔢𝔰 ℭ𝔞𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔦𝔪𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔭𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔯? 𝕮𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖈 𝕲𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖙 + 𝕱𝖑𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖑𝖒 • 𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 IV .𖥔 ݁ ˖. BAHJA .𖥔 ݁ ˖. There’s no AI, just real people, cameras, lenses, lighters, and extinguishers. In the last few years swords, knives, and arrows have been re-circulating as the popular props. As a flame artist Maia had multiple people ask her to light swords on fire, as if an unlit sword was too basic. We are obsessed with armor and weaponry, and “I think that this is because we value strength, protection and playing with danger.” Even with the obsession with medieval-era armor, we essentially understand that clothes are complicated* symbolism. Femininity, sexuality, humility, these are qualities that belong to people, not clothes. Clothes cannot define the identity of a person. Or to put it another way, never underestimate or assume too much about a woman from her appearance. Creative Direction: Maia Saavedra-Weisenhaus and Shaina Rose Chainmail Garments @catholicguilt_clothing Creative Design+ Styling - @shainarosee and @maia_saavedra_ Photography + Lighting @_chaseharding_ Lighting Assistant @juaanjromaan Photography + Lighting @holysmokephotography Makeup @ediebo.mua Flames @maia_saavedra_ Flame assistant @tom.mendenhall Model @bahjasmalls

𝔗𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔡𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔡 𝔰𝔨𝔦𝔫 𝔴𝔢 𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔞𝔩 𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔳𝔢𝔰 𝔖𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢𝔰 𝔡𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔩𝔶 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔩𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔢𝔶𝔢𝔰 𝕮𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖈 𝕲𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖙 + 𝕱𝖑𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖑𝖒 • 𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 III .𖥔 ݁ ˖. TURBO .𖥔 ݁ ˖. There’s no AI, just real people, cameras, lenses, lighters, and extinguishers. Shaina brought her own hand to the styling, sourcing lace, feathers, and fabric from her closet and de- and re- constructing at her sewing machine. She stitched together pieces of dead stock lace and crochet, inherited from a late wedding dress designer. Most of the material comes from a box of dresses that never were. Naturally, she hand-fashioned these into tops, lacey undies, and shapely figures upon the women to complement and soften the chainmail armor. On the shoot day, the models are involved in the construction, helping each other spray paint through lace from decades past, creating lace-graffiti tights. In addition to the stenciling, the lace cut-outs are taped directly onto their bodies, each framing a tattoo or clavicle. Creative Direction: Maia Saavedra-Weisenhaus and Shaina Rose Chainmail Garments @catholicguilt_clothing Creative Design+ Styling - @shainarosee and @maia_saavedra_ Photography + Lighting @_chaseharding_ Lighting Assistant @juaanjromaan Photography + Lighting @holysmokephotography Makeup @ediebo.mua Flames @maia_saavedra_ Flame assistant @tom.mendenhall

𝔏𝔞𝔶𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔞𝔩 𝔣𝔩𝔞𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔩𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔣𝔩𝔞𝔪𝔢 𝔓𝔯𝔬𝔱𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡 𝔞𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡 𝔲𝔰 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔪𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔬𝔣𝔱 𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔱 𝕮𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖈 𝕲𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖙 + 𝕱𝖑𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖑𝖒 • 𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 II .𖥔 ݁ ˖. ZEYI .𖥔 ݁ ˖. There’s no AI, just real people, cameras, lenses, lighters, and extinguishers. There are many reasons to use computer-generated elements in photography (safety being a great one), but there’s no way to replace the environment created when things are coinciding in space and time, and the camera can do what it was originally made for - capturing that moment. Shaina and Maia drew up the photoshoot concept to match the visceral, mystical quality of the Catholic Guilt’s signature chainmail work. Ella Jackson, the designer of Catholic Guilt, hand makes her garments, inspired by her own dreams, art history, and religion. Each one requires hundreds to thousands of hours to create. “Every Catholic Guilt piece is a future artifact or holy relic”. She’s invented her own chainmail techniques to construct these relics. Chainmail armor protects against swords and blades, but there is the inevitable vulnerability of the areas between chainmail segments. These slivers created opportunities for death, and naturally were targets for anyone who wanted to draw blood. Modern adornment of chainmail leaves space in between to admire and complement the body intentionally, a reverse effect to the once necessary necessity to protect oneself. Creative Direction: Maia Saavedra-Weisenhaus and Shaina Rose Chainmail Garments @catholicguilt_clothing Creative Design+ Styling - @shainarosee and @maia_saavedra_ Photography + Lighting @_chaseharding_ Lighting Assistant @juaanjromaan Photography + Lighting @holysmokephotography Makeup @ediebo.mua Flames @maia_saavedra_ Flame assistant @tom.mendenhall Model Zeyi Moise

𝕯𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖋𝖑𝖎𝖈𝖐𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙, 𝖈𝖔𝖓𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖊𝖉 𝖇𝖞 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖞 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖕𝖍𝖔𝖊𝖓𝖎𝖝 ❤️‍🔥 Clothing as armor Armor as clothing Keeping us safe Revealing our soft sides A relic on on our skin Our bodies a canvas for our creations Clothing as artwork Artwork as clothing 𝕮𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖈 𝕲𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖙 + 𝕱𝖑𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖑𝖒 • 𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 I —— There’s no AI, just real people, cameras, lenses, lighters, and extinguishers. The flame-wielding, decorated women of the artists’ dreams become real in front of their eyes. Donned in layers of lace and Catholic Guilt chainmail, each model completes her look with Shaina (stylist, producer, designer, model) before stepping into the scene. Maia (fire designer, science consultant, stylist, producer) soaks cloth in flammable liquid, drapes the fabric over large stones, and then, with the help of her flame assistant, Tom, lights each one before dashing off camera. For a few minutes, the models move gracefully within the circle, thirty pounds of chainmail reflecting the dancing light, until the flames burn away. The ritualistic rounds of ignition last only a minute or two, and yet the flames raise the temperature drastically and create vortexes of heat that make hair and loose fabric appear to float mid-air. The imminent danger of flames is met with safety demonstrations, equipment, and debriefing. Even with the preparation, flames are flames, there’s a healthy amount of precaution to working with them,and each model needs to have an exit route so she can step out as soon as she needs to. The shoot is a delicate balance of playing with danger and protection - mastery of risk while appearing graceful yet strong with each pose. Creative Direction: Maia Saavedra-Weisenhaus and Shaina Rose Chainmail Garments @catholicguilt_clothing Creative Design+ Styling - @shainarosee and @maia_saavedra_ Photography + Lighting @_chaseharding_ Lighting Assistant @juaanjromaan Photography + Lighting @holysmokephotography Makeup @ediebo.mua Flames @maia_saavedra_ Flame assistant @tom.mendenhall model @shainarosee

I am head over heels, fork and knife for my guy.

Flames for Liaba’s House of Metal Designer, director, producer @liabayasir Camera @larryarm Model @agnesazria Gaffer @jacob.telo Light and flame assist @tom.mendenhall MU @crystallozada

Some sicko BTS from Blood Barn 🩸

@sparkburnglow in my backyard with me

Slithering in flames A collaboration with the ultimate flame photographer @sparkburnglow

Me by Shaina and Shaina by me 12:08 White top made by @shainarosee

12:03 - wind picks up Photos of my by Shaina and photos of Shaina by me.