Mana Rayne, Sideshow Artist

01 Dec Mana Rayne, Sideshow Artist

Here’s what you can’t see:

It was late at night, on a lakeshore in central Alberta. I’d driven through a storm to get there (and gotten completely lost while distracted by the glorious storm-soaked sunset, good light is always my Achilles heel), but it cleared up as I arrived and left the night perfectly still- with just the tiniest bit of a breeze to keep us on our toes. We had a hundred or more feet of extension cord for my lights running from a nearby cabin. We were there with dozens of friends, geeks of every description, but had snuck off to do our experiments in private; we could hear laughter from the campfire and see warm light in the windows of distant cabins.

Mana, ironically, was freezing her beautiful derrière off, but still she worked the fire like a lover, caressing, coaxing, demanding. And like a professional- her assistant, trained in fire safety, kept my artistic inspirations in line and my lights out of reach of the flames, and had an entire kit ready to deal with every eventuality.

Despite having been friends with Mana for nearly a decade, I had never seen her play with fire before, and didn’t know what to expect.  But I guess I should have known; graceful, beautiful and talented have always been her hallmarks.

My next project with Mana, I think, will involve filmy lingerie and contact juggling.  Maybe a Labyrinth theme? Stay tuned!

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