Painted Body Series - Melissa Weiss Steele

		"The images are like a dream, opening us to a world of myth, magic, and allegory. They re-awaken ancient senses, enchanting us with a poetic and archetypal power."	The Painted Body series reflects Melissa Weiss Steele's fascination with cross-cultural customs, rituals and beliefs. The work is informed by her immersion in Norse, African and Native American sacred traditions. All images are taken alone on the land- in the arroyos, caves, canyons, & tunnels surrounding Melissa's Santa Fe home. None of the photographs in the Painted Body series have been altered or retouched in any way. The Painted Body series is also the images for Melissa's original divination deck, The Oracle of Initiation.