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@texashuntress
ash final wt VO for Export from Texas Huntress on Vimeo.
Texas Huntress Riding through Iceland 2017 from Texas Huntress on Vimeo.
Incredible Adventure Horse Tour wt Ishestar riding August 2017 over the North of Iceland in a herd of 120 horses.
What is a REAL Huntress, they say..."You can't be a real hunter if you're into fashion." You can't be a REAL hunter if you're a Progressive Liberal. You can't be a REAL hunter if you're a strong, feminine woman..." and blah blah blah. Strange letters and uproarious comments I get from threatened men and sometimes vegans. And I say, "You can't put me into a box." I am all of these things and many more. And yesterday I was a wishful RACE CAR DRIVER at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin in my racer friend, Luca's 1957 vintage Cooper 1 hour before he came in 2nd place!! (even after his 2nd Gear went out!)
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Helen Keller
What IS The Texas Huntress?
It is a series of films, photographs and journals from the past 4 yrs of my life…{and ongoing} in which I'm exploring the literal and metaphorical manifestations of "hunting." {+ some special secret leather goods, a book about my family history in Texas, and several other elements which I will not yet reveal} It is a body of work. and no, it is NOT a television show. Yet. Perhaps someday it will be…in a Casey Neistat sort-of trajectory… I AM like…a Huntress S Thompson. I have always hunted characters, stories and adventures while living from the road. My greatest asset as a storyteller is the total RANDOMNESS & SERENDIPITY of my life...I am constantly running into fascinating people & getting into wild adventures with them. I am a social chameleon who has run in many different crowds from traveling through seedy underworlds with gangster drug dealers to hanging with a few Fifth Avenue Billionaires and everything in between. TH is a Journey... Exploring issues around consumption, representations of women, blood, boobs, guns, guts, sustainability, travel, adventure…so many things. Forcing myself along a path that is guided by intuition and some kind of deep belief that if i just stay on it, somehow, someway i can get THERE. Wherever THERE is. It is about the strong independent spirit ingrained in my roots in Texas. It is even more so about the strong independent spirit of Texas women, of all strong women. It is about Authenticity. It is about Fearlessness.
And Sticking to my Guns. (and yes these Gun Puns arise endlessly...) This week/month/year-good god!! I am feeling constantly critiqued. By various friends and colleagues who cannot yet identify what the texas huntress is.
I respectfully request that everyone Hold Their Horses. I have three YEARS of films, photographs, and written stories that are soon coming to you from my TEXAS HUNTRESS MAILBAG, contained in approximately SIX FREAKING TERABYTES, highly organized and logged and 90% edited on a whole slew of hard drives. Oh my. I feel like I have been doing my PHD in Anthropology…Research, Development, Exploration. Perhaps that is a more digestible way for me to articulate where I am in all of this…. On the ISSUE of TV: I am very flattered that various television producers from East and West Coasts have approached me to take The Texas Huntress to television. I had some very fun and interesting dialogs wt the guys who produce Anthony Bourdain's shows, (the company Zero Point Zero) as well as a very serendipitous encounter late at night with the filmmaker, Morgan Spurlock while I was coming unglued in the sound- mixing room at the fabulous Parabolic Studios in NY. I was under a VERY tight deadline wt my new editor, trying to finish my South Texas wild boar hunt film for a festival, when Morgan came knocking on my sound room door to find out who/what/why was this thing he was hearing about called The Texas Huntress and would I like to meet with his development head at his company, Warrior Poets? I had just been in conversation about Morgan on the night of April 27 of this year at PsychFest in Austin in a psychedelic state of mind watching The ever-mystifying Black Angels, perform directly under The Flight Path of Bergstrom Airport. The gist of it was that I needed to find Spurlock bc he would truly GET The Texas Huntress…After seeing his film, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, I felt we might be like-minded irreverent subversive kindred spirits of sorts. Cut back TO: Me attending Steve Rinella's Book signing in Brooklyn, Fall of 2012 wt one of the guys from ZPZ, (the company that produces both Tony Bourdain AND Steve Rinella). Upon our introduction, Steve just could not seem to wrap his mind around me. WHO is this bizarre Texas girl in these very high-fashion black suede boots (IE NOT in cowboy boots or Texas-looking in any way, except perhaps for the big wild Texas hair) telling me she:
a) knows Ty Mitchell from Marfa &
b) that I (steve) may now have to share my producers' time and attention wt HER? HELL NO, said the look on his face. He kept gazing back at me wt THAT look numerous times throughout the night. In the end, the guys at ZPZ came back and said that the principals there didn't want to work wt me yet bc they were afraid I was going to Miss An Animal and Wound it, bc i was not an Experienced Hunter. That I needed to go out and practice and become AMAZING wt a shotgun. The very reason they said they loved me in the first place, was that i was NOT an expert hunter, but someone who had only hunted for 3 years and was learning along the way...which made me more real and accessible to a non-hunting audience…They loved that I had been an anti-gun animal lover, rejecting my family's love of bird-hunting my entire life, until 2008, when I first picked up a rifle, in order to "meet my meat" hitting a wild turkey at 200 yards. Then an 8-point buck one hour later, then a pheasant in Virginia, and a wildebeest in Africa. My first four shots were my first four kills. I have never missed wt a rifle. (Now bird-shooting, IE shooting at high-flying, fast-moving tiny creatures is a whole other story.) When I discussed ZPZ's concerns about me "wounding animals" wt my friend from Marfa, Cowboy Ty, who had guided Steve Rinella in a West Texas hunting episode of The Wild Within, he reminded me that Steve himself had wounded several animals in the course of that show. ON TV. So none of this was making any sense.
Maybe they really just wanted me to lose 11.75 pounds, get super-ripped, and run around in a loincloth like a Native Warrior Tribal Huntress…??? And this is how the meetings wt the tv people go. None of it has Ever really made any sense. But it's been quite an experience. ;) The first producer who approached me back in December of 2009, begging me to let her take TH to TV, only two weeks after I finished shooting my first film, said to me "Little Girl you have no idea what you're doing. You're going about this Entirely the Wrong Way," when I told her I was an artist who wanted to post up my films and adventures on the web FIRST, building an audience and a following, and then LATER, perhaps I might do television. I told her the Internet was the Wave of the Future, that television just Might be Dying. ;)
And here we are, 4 yrs later, and Television has been forced to change and transform and INTEGRATE to accommodate the ever-changing landscape of media and of the Internet. In order not to Die. Let the gatekeepers fall away, i say! And so it goes…..
xxo The Texas Huntress #sexguns&rocknroll #standwithwendy
The lovely ladies of the delicious Simple & Crisp interviewed me this summer on the State of My World.
Barbara, Lois and Clay Chiles, South Texas, circa 1974.
I come from a family of hunters. My "Grandaddy Clay,"my grandmother, Barbara, my father, Bill, my brother, Brett...My grandparents moved down to South Texas for the oil boom in 1946, in the heart of oil, cattle and bird-hunting country. Close to the famous King Ranch, near the Mexican border. My dad, Bill, tells me that all of his birthday parties from the age of nine on were dove hunts! And my whole life, up to this point, I was totally anti-gun, and a huge animal lover, so I never understood the concept or philosophy of hunting.
My influences: My family, even though I didn't know it until much later. My former love, a hunter and chef. A dear Houston friend, John Flournoy, who was responsible for my success with a rifle. Long-time friend, farmer and sustainability advocate, Stephanie Scherzer of Austin's Farmhouse Delivery. And Jesse Griffiths a hunter and chef, who influenced me in my knowledge of "slow food" before it was really a buzz-word. My dear friend, Miss Charlotte Wood, who was vegan for many years and who encouraged me to watch the film, "Meet your Meat." Incredibly painful, but incredibly helpful in understanding the real horrors of factory farming.
My father, Bill Chiles...I finally began to understand why he loved to ride around on those hunting trucks down in South Texas with the dogs and one's compadres, sometimes laughing and bantering, and sometime lost in your own thoughts watching that weird, sort of ugly brushy landscape passing you by, but seeing in its rough ugliness that it feels strangely beautiful and comforting. The adrenaline rush of the dogs flushing out the quail and of the potential danger of shooting so close to one another. Yes, we really could all end up doing What Dick Cheney Did.
My grandmother, Barbara, who is still a larger than life charismatic Texas woman, who always ventured out to do what the boys did, but still looked fabulous doing it, with her hair, makeup and nails done!
We Texas women, come from a heritage of strong, charismatic ladies like Barbara Jordan, Ann Richards, and Molly Ivins.
There was a Charlie's Angel... aka Miss Farrah Fawcett, whom my parents knew back in their college days at The University of Texas. The story goes that the guys used to hang outside her apartment complex ALL day long playing football, just to get 1 glimpse of her. She was legendary even before she WAS.
And the character, Sissy, in Urban Cowboy? We can't forget HER!
And there is my aunt, Lois Chiles, the actress and Bond Girl, who is a fierce and fiery Texas woman. She influenced me more in the metaphorical elements of a "Texas Huntress."
The Texas woman is a breed all her own. *********** As I moved into the experience of literal hunting and forcing myself to "meet my meat," I realized that the metaphorical manifestations of hunting were just as significant to my identity.
Because I have always been a seeker, a connector of friends and a ringleader… I hunt out characters, stories, and adventures.
And inspiration. And beautiful food. And so many other things.
I love evoking the magic of a dinner party, which is a kind of performance, an experience that can never be recreated. A celebration of friends, great conversations, and appreciation for the sustenance we bring to the table.
If those of us at the dinner are killing the animals for that table, there arises a higher level of consideration for the experience. And gratitude.
This continually brings us to the disconnectedness with our past. Only about 60 years ago, before the advent of factory farming, most Americans had more connection to the foods they consumed. They raised and slaughtered animals on their own farms or they knew the farmers and butchers personally who sold them their meat. Many of us are now struggling with this disconnect. It really just depends on whom I'm talking to. If I'm talking to a food audience who's engaged in this discussion, by now, they likely find my thoughts here cliche'. Slow Food advocates like Alice Waters and Michael Pollan were starting these conversations, approximately 15 or 20 years ago? If I'm talking to people who have not yet engaged in these discussions, they almost find what I'm saying to be the talk of an alien. Or some kind of "liberal hippie Socialist." ;) Ha!! I actually eat much less meat now than I ever did. I don't need meat every day. And being an American, I have access to many other healthy food options. I am far from perfect in this realm, but I will say, that i have not eaten meat from a fast food chain in 4 years. If i buy it to cook, I buy ethically raised meats. If I eat out, i try to eat at a restaurant that only buys ethically raised meats and vegetables. What slips through the cracks for me is sandwiches, occasional pieces of pizza, other foods with bacon or other meats…This topic of accessible food continuously brings up the discussion of privilege. Having these options is mostly for those of us who have the time, knowledge and finances to make these choices. Fortunately, there are current food advocates who are trying to change this.
In "hunting out the characters, stories, adventures," I'm discovering guides, incredible chefs, and larger than life friends who want to experience killing an animal for food. Whether it's in a South Texas hunting lodge, in an old New England barn above a distillery, or the middle of the African Bush, the characters on these adventures are always colorful and captivating. Fierce sexy women, badass hunting experts, an occasional rock and roll star, artists, writers, cultural figures. Hell, perhaps Bill Clinton will want to come hunting with me. He's a friend of a friend here in Austin, so he does get down here from time to time.
And what a sell! "Hey Bill, I'll invite a harem of fierce, sexy Texas women, some fabulous chefs and Willie Nelson. Do you want to come hunting with us?" {Roy Spence, I am relying on you to make this happen!}
Exploring the history and culture of food and place, from the field to the table, I'm asking all of us to confront our meat. And my question for you is...
"Are you Hungry?"
In Fall of 2009, I hunted black wildebeest in Africa in order to "meet my meat" for the 4th time. The first three animals I shot in this order were a wild turkey, a deer, and a pheasant. I had a good clean shot each time and never missed. It got more complicated in South Africa.
My incredible guide was Chris Bolton, of Zungah Safaris, in Port Elizabeth. He's such a badass, he hunts and tracks barefoot. After the hunt, we transported the meat to a talented Cape Town Chef, Pete Goff, of The Kitchen Cowboys, for a lovely feast with friends. (and PS, I did pack up a nice piece of wildebeest meat and got it back to Texas for my dad's birthday.
This was a very emotional experience for me and my friend, Sonja Kroop, who was shooting the video. We had not anticipated the hunt nor filming, when we originally traveled to visit our friend, Alex in Cape Town, so we only had our shoddy old low-quality mini-dv cam, NOT high quality HD. Hence the picture quality being not-so- great. Some viewers may find this to be GRAPHIC CONTENT, as it shows the killing of the wildebeest.
Representations of Women and Beauty...a subject I've been exploring in my visual work and study of feminist and media cultural theory since I was very young. I am simultaneously enchanted by and disturbed by expectations of beauty surrounding women. Throughout the Texas Huntress project, I am playing around with the "coding," and stereotyping of women.
Answering the question "what does a woman hunting look like?" continuously comes up via my films and photos. I have sometimes been dismissed or attacked by followers of my Texas Huntress Facebook page with "Do you think this is a fashion show? Do you even know how to shoot a gun?" It's kind of amazing, actually...My response back is "Can i not actually shoot and gut and skin and cook an animal while wearing the clothes that are "me" and also functional for hunting?" Which I will delve more into later...I'm designing several clothing pieces which are BOTH functional, IE, rattle-snake proof boots you can hunt around in down in South Texas brush AND that look gorgeous enough to walk off of the field into a fancy dinner party.
I have adored fashion since I was a little girl, influenced by my mother, my grandmother and my aunt. Fashion has been a form of expression and creativity in the same way my work is in film, design, and any other visual medium. However, fashion, style and beauty are disconcerting in that they can move over into frivolity, vanity and extreme pressure to "look" a certain way.
BUT, I don't think ANYONE ELSE gets to decide "what a woman hunting looks like" or what a woman doing ANYTHING else looks like. And yes, I CAN shoot a gun AND look stylish doing it! (with my hair and nails done just like my grandmother!) ;)
And on the topic of beauty, fashion and representations of women... My Austin friend, Denise Prince, is exploring this subject in deeply thoughtful and provocative ways. In her words, "In the spring of 2009, the Italian fashion house Missoni printed an eleven-page catalog for their high-end Estate line in which the theme was a beach scene without a sea, photographed in a studio. The photographs are exquisitely retouched. I began working with and against the strategies of this catalog, photographing people who have experienced severe physical trauma from accident, birth defect or assault to surpass standards of representation. The results offer a glimpse past life’s pretends; functioning as an homage to the real, with sublime respect for the human condition."--Denise Prince.
Please explore her work on her site www.deniseprince.com.
An original...My grandmother, Barbara Chiles, a born and bred Texas woman. Posing on the truck down in South Texas. Even now at 90 years old, she's still perfecting the art of a Texas huntress. Beautiful mind, sharp wit, "never meets a stranger" and always looking fabulous.
"Under the Gun" New Article on Texas Huntress in Houston Luxury Magazine by NYC writer, Ann Abel.
Read it online.
Posing wt the gash on my forehead after my scope-ring accident. Photo by Tai Power Seeff. Film clip on the Accident en route.
theconversationwithamanda
I was sitting in the cocktail lounge of The Bowery Hotel in New York with my long-time friend, Heather, ruminating on the trials and tribulations of the heart...and looked over to see the beautiful, Amanda de Cadenet sitting nearby. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what she does with her new show, The Conversation. And I do love this quote....Reminding me of one of my favorite characters, Miss Penny Lane, in the film, Almost Famous.
The Berkshires Part 1:
Texas Huntress in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts hunting with culinary hero, Brian Alberg of the Red Lion Inn. Also starring Torrey Oates, the Food Nymph. Chris Weld, hoochmaster of Berkshire Mountain Distillers. Gregg Charbonneau of Barrington Coffee Roasters, Elena Letteron, interior design architect. Andrew Gates of Little Gates Wine. Max Watman, author of Chasing the White Dog...and many other interesting sustainable food characters on the scene. More stories, films and clips en route momentarily.
xxo The Texas Huntress
Some great moments with J.J. Jones... one of my culinary heroes from Houston, Texas. On our Texas Huntress set.
Our hero, Amy, after field-dressing the hog. And Me loading my Shotgun.
Our 2 Houston chefs in South Texas after the field-dressing. Photo by Tai Power Seeff.