My hair was being combed at Magnolia Jane Salon when I first heard of the art of shelling; the act of looking for unique seashells that wash ashore. Lucky for our family, we live close to the picturesque barrier island known as Shackleford Banks. The pristine shoreline offers whelks, scotch bonnets and sand-dollars to it’s beachcombers. As I diligently walked around the banks looking for buried treasure, I felt jealous of all of the people around me that were effortlessly finding what I coveted— knobbed whelks! For months I continued my desperate search for something spectacular and left disappointed. Who among us isn’t attracted to shiny, shimmering things? I was intoxicated by the lure, the capacity for delight and the buried treasures I had heard about. So what was I doing wrong?
With envious eyes, I watched fellow beachcombers climb up the ferry ramp with their buckets and mesh bags full of the ocean’s treasures. I went back to Shackleford Banks three more times and left empty-handed each time. My feelings of frustration washed over me as I closed my eyes and thought of the words spoken by photographer Rodney Smith, “You must realize your own wisdom. It’s not that you don’t have talent. It’s just that you haven’t risked enough.”
Sometimes it’s best to surrender to the world around us. After obsessively checking my shark tracker app, thinking through jellyfish sting first-aid care and watching the waves for any signs of rip-tides, I made the decision to risk my mental hurdles in pursuit of that perfect shell. At this point, I had realized that instead of picking up seashells from the shore, you had to dive for treasure. It was my fourth trip to Shack and I observed a woman in scuba gear lifting a beautiful whelk out of the water and asked what her secret was. “To find the big ones, you have to shuffle your feet to expose seashells that are partially hidden in the sand. It will either be a big rock or a whelk.” Up until this point, I figured that finding great shells was sheer luck! “May I steady myself on your shoulder?” I asked as I stood in waist-deep water, using my feet to dig. I squealed the moment I found my first knobbed whelk and hugged the generous stranger next to me as we shared in the pure delight of the moment. Life is inherently risky, but occasional failure makes the reward SO much sweeter.
The concept of risk versus reward applies to shelling and segues into photography. The more risk I take in art, the more likely I contrive favorable outcomes. This can look like collaboration with a florist, hairstylist or model I’ve never met before, which was the case with Geneen. When I posted a “call for models” on social media, I wasn’t expecting Queen G to respond from Pennsylvania and after a 12 hour drive to New Bern, I met the most vibrant soul on planet Earth! And here’s the truth, I never know who I’m going to meet during a photoshoot and I can say that this particular risk was worth it.
Geneen and I traveled to Cape Lookout together by ferry and spent the day talking, laughing, frolicking, transcending and making beautiful artwork together. As a full-bodied woman in her 50’s, Geneen had always worn a cover-up to the beach, but not this time. “Come through hourglass!” Geneen exclaimed as she confidently walked along the shoreline in her black & white swimsuit, with dappled sunlight accentuating her perfectly coiled hair. Queen G’s magnetic energy encapsulates those around her, so it wasn’t surprising when the captain of the boat was eager to get her name and number on the ferry ride back to Ocracoke Island.
It’s been six months since we met, and Geneen and I agree that our relationship is purely serendipitous. Serendipity is the effect by which one accidentally stumbles across something truly wonderful, while looking for something unrelated. I was looking for a model and Geneen was looking to be a model and somehow we’ve stumbled across a beautiful friendship! We periodically check-in with each other and talk about everything from clouds, breaking out of our comfort zones, and how our time on the beach was “much more than a photoshoot.” Sometimes Geneen voice messages me with misty eyes, because she’s so happy that we’ve found each other. We both took a risk meeting each other and the reward has been more meaningful than a pocket full of perfect seashells.
