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The Citizen, 2016-09-08, Page 11THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016. PAGE 11. Locals featured in pin-up fundraising calendar On the big stage Julie Sawchuk from Blyth is one of a handful of Huron County women featured on the pages of a new calendar that will serve to benefit the Huron Women's Shelter. The calendar, the brainchild of Marcie Riegling, employs classic pin-up style thanks to the photographic talents of Blyth's Heather Dietz and Erin Bolger of Brussels who did makeup for all of the calendar's models. (Photo courtesy of Heather Dietz Photography) By Denny Scott The Citizen The Inspiring Women of Huron County Pin -Up Calendar is set to launch on Saturday and it features local talent, local settings and local props. The calendar, which is a fundraiser for the Huron Women's Shelter, features women from across the county done -up and shot to resemble vintage pin-up shoots. One such model, Julie Sawchuk, who is the calendar's April model, said the experience was a unique one. Sawchuk, who was paralyzed from the chest down in a vehicle - bicycle collision last year, said she got involved with the project when organizer Marcie Riegling asked her to be one of the models. "I didn't know anything about it, but Marcie approached me through Facebook and asked me if I would be interested," she said. "It was definitely an experience to remember." Sawchuk's shoot took place at the home of the Cole family in Blyth and featured her beside, along the edge of and inside a pool with a pink flamingo floatation device which suited the makeup artist for the shoot just fine. "Erin Bolger did the makeup for the shoot and it was quite the experience," Sawchuk said. "I didn't get to see it until it was done. It felt like a lot of makeup, which it is with this kind of stage makeup." Bolger, the former owner of the Pink Flamingo Bakery in Bayfield, is likely best known for her book, The Happy Baker: A Girl's Guide to Emotional Baking. However, before the Blyth -native and Brussels resident penned the book or opened the bakery, she was a makeup artist in Toronto. Sawchuk's shoot was run by Blyth photographer Heather Dietz of Heather Dietz Photography. "Heather must have taken a million shots," Sawchuk said. "It was really fun. I've never done anything like that before" Sawchuk said part of what made the event fun was Riegling, who has a way of helping people forget about their inhibitions and just be in the right mind set to have fun. Dietz also said that taking the photos was fun for her, and a departure from her normal practices. "I've never done pin-up shoots before," she said, adding that volunteering for work like this is one way she enjoys giving back to the community. "When Marcie contacted me, I was honoured." Dietz shot Sawchuk's pool -side pin-up shoot as well as a farm - themed shoot for Jessica Morrison who lives outside of Lucknow. She said the freedom the professionals involved in the shoots was given helped to make it a memorable experience. "It wasn't really any different from what I normally do with wedding or private shoots," she said. "I strive to make everyone beautiful and comfortable on both sides of the camera and, because I was able to do much of my own style, I didn't really have to do any extra editing." Dietz added that she was able to shoot outside for both of her contributions to the calendar, which made for some good shots. Both Dietz and Bolger said they weren't completely sure what was being asked of them when they heard the term pin-up, but were glad to find it was a wholesome experience. "People might thing it's a bit more risque than it is," Bolger said. "It's really not. It's very tasteful and a very nice calendar. It's really classy." Bolger recently returned to makeup artistry after selling her bakery and hopes to make that her full-time career while she spends down-time working on her second book. Riegling reached out to her to be a part of the calendar. "We chatted about the project and I said I would be happy to be a part of it," she said. While each photographer was paired with a couple different shoots, Bolger was the makeup artists for the entire calendar. Part of what lead to her feeling that classy was the way to describe the shoots, Bolger said, was how the professionals were treated on -set. "We were really allowed to do what we thought would work and, in the end, I think that led to some great shots," Bolger said. "I had talked to Marcie and said I wanted to do all the different shoots to keep some cohesion throughout the calendar and she agreed" According to Bolger, the calendar will feature shoots focused on aircraft, hippie aesthetics and a shoot inspired by the T.V. show Mad Men. Bolger also said that, when it came time to get the props for some of the above shots, she knew exactly where to turn. "Don McNeil's shop [in Brussels] proved to be invaluable," she said. "With all the props he has there, like the aviation gear for the antique airplane shots, it was great." Bolger said McNeil parted with some of his artifacts because he knew Bolger through her community connections in her home village of Brussels. The Blyth Festival, the North Huron Museum and CKNX Radio Station also contributed providing props and shoot locations. Videos showing the behind -the - scenes work for the shots are available on Facebook and a special documentary, made by FauxPop Media, is airing on Channel One and available on Vimeo. Riegling, in an interview with The Citizen, said the calendar was an idea she had been working on for awhile and eventually decided the shelter was the group to approach with it. "I talked to them in January about the idea," she said. "I had done a calendar for the shelter two years ago with the men involved with the organization and the idea came from there. I pitched it to the shelter and it went from there." Riegling had been working on the roster of pin-up girls for some time, saying her love of everything vintage played heavily into the idea. "I've always loved the pin-up culture and vintage culture," she said. "When it first started it was empowering women and their femininity. That's where I really love the concept." The calendar will be launched at a special party on Sept. 10 at the Woodlands Links golf course just outside of Clinton. Tickets are available for $30 each and half of the original 120 available tickets are already sold. The launch will be the first place the calendars are sold, after which they will be at the Maker's Market in Goderich on West Street and JMR Collections, a vintage store, in Bayfield. Riegling's work in the pin-up world doesn't end in Huron County. She recently landed a deal with the LA Times to create a similar calendar with homeless women as models in the Los Angeles area. Ml HEATHER DIE - Out in the fields Jessica Morrison of the Lucknow area was another of the calendar's local models. While Morrison spends her days in the fields of her organic community -supported agriculture (CSA) farm, on this day she was out in the field for a different reason, having been glamorized by Blyth native Erin Bolger and photographed by Blyth photographer Heather Dietz. The calendar will be released this Saturday night at a special release party in Clinton. (Photo courtesy of Heather Dietz Photography)