Mavienrose, Revisited

Sometimes it’s hard to determine the purpose of this site. In many ways, it’s a portfolio site with a sort of blog attached to it. In the past, I’ve made full use of this blog, albeit without really attracting much readership. With that said, Mavienrose is essentially a personal outlet of expression, which is less formal than the portfolio portion of the site. There are times when I’ve wanted to limit the blog’s entries to strict updates. However, I can’t help going on rants about inconsequential issues, or posting images of works in progress, and thus the site has evolved as it has.

Mavienrose is—as the name implies—”my life in roses.” Since my youth, I had been interested in Edith Piaf’s iconic song La Vie En Rose, which as a reference to her tumultuous life, was never really “in roses.”  It was this biting irony that became the basis for the website’s name. Then in 2005, I watched a Belgian movie titled Ma Vie En Rose, which dealt with a young boy whom even at a very young age insisted that he was born a girl. Echoing the famous song’s “en rose” to refer to this boy’s struggle with his gender identity further encouraged my resolve to name my site as such.

So that leaves us with the most recent transformation of this online identity: Mavienrose, Revisited—as it were. It’s times like this that allow me to contemplate the potential for longevity in this site; and so often I’m glad it’s called what it is and not, say Joseph Faura. Because although my name would be more long-lasting, I feel Mavienrose evokes a feeling of sardonic optimism about our lives, and about our future as embodied individuals.