Some birds are misunderstood.
People think of the Wild Turkey as odd — until they really stop and look.
The iridescence.
The confidence.
The unapologetic swagger.
Wild turkeys are ancient-feeling birds, full of ritual and intelligence, moving through the landscape with surprising grace.
When Xandra smiled and chose the turkey, I immediately understood why.
“There’s a little wild in me,” she said. And there absolutely is.
How We Met
I first met Xandra on the beaches of Grand Haven State Park at sunset.
We struck up one of those conversations that immediately feels familiar — like two people recognizing something in each other.
We later reconnected in my studio, and eventually photographed at the home and land she’s been tending near Pickerel Lake Park.
It felt meaningful getting to know her across multiple landscapes:
- the shoreline
- the studio
- the home
Because Xandra herself feels deeply tied to place, movement, and return.
Who She Is
Xandra’s mantra is: “love more. feel more. dance more.”
And honestly? That energy radiates from her.
She has spent years vending vegan food at festivals, facilitating womb-centered retreats, creating talismans, and building community through ritual, movement, nourishment, and care.
Music and dance led her across many different places.
And then… life called her home.
Over the last year, Xandra has shifted inward — tending less to crowds and more to:
- herself
- her family
- her home
- the land around her
She spoke about the challenge of developing roots after years of movement, and about how her younger brother’s journey also pulled her back toward grounded presence and care.
There’s wisdom in Xandra. The kind that comes from intentionally choosing healing.
Why the Wild Turkey
Wild turkeys are surprisingly beautiful birds.
Their feathers shimmer with:
- bronze
- copper
- green
- gold
- deep brown iridescence
And their heads?
Bright blue and red — almost ceremonial in appearance.
Turkeys are also deeply social and protective birds, often moving together in flocks and communicating constantly with each other through calls and body language.
But perhaps most importantly: They know how to survive.
Wild turkeys nearly disappeared from Michigan in the early 1900s before conservation efforts helped restore them. Now they confidently roam neighborhoods, forests, and even city streets — stopping traffic with complete certainty that they belong there.
That confidence felt deeply aligned with Xandra.
She carries wildness. But also resilience.
The Look
We built Xandra’s look around the turkey’s rich, iridescent palette:
- Brazil Nut and Patchwork stretch denim
- Cerulean blue rayon jersey top
- Oxblood red scarf tied as a kerchief
- Brazil Nut crinkle rayon shrug
- Large dark brown linen-rayon scarf for movement
The draped scarves became wings.
The blues and reds mirrored the turkey’s striking face.
And Xandra added blue eye makeup and a red clown nose — an homage both to the bird and to her own playful clowning practice.
It worked perfectly. There was humor and ceremony, too.
The Session
We photographed around her home and eventually wandered toward Pickerel Lake.
The gardens were alive. The grass roof glowed green. And then we reached the boardwalk.
At one point, Xandra climbed onto the railing, and the wind caught her scarves completely.
For a second, she looked airborne.
Her movements carried both softness and authority. Years of dance and ritual work lived inside her body language. You could feel the confidence that comes from someone who has spent time listening deeply to themselves.
A Season of Returning
What struck me most about Xandra was this: She could have kept moving forever. Festival to festival. City to city. Crowd to crowd. But instead, she chose to root.
And there’s something sacred about that.
The wild turkey doesn’t migrate long distances. It stays connected to the land that sustains it. That felt symbolic.
This season of Xandra’s life isn’t about escape. It’s about embodiment.
Color Connection
The Wild Turkey palette is earthy but regal:
- Brazil Nut brown → grounding, wisdom, nourishment
- Oxblood red → vitality, ritual, rooted passion
- Cerulean blue → communication, expression, emotional depth
- Black and dark brown → protection, steadiness, mystery
Together, these colors create something ancient and alive.
A reminder that groundedness doesn’t have to be boring. It can shimmer.
Coming Home to Yourself
There’s a kind of energy people carry when they’ve done the work.
They don’t spill chaos into every room because they’ve learned how to sit with themselves first.
Xandra carries that energy. Watching her dance through the grasses and take flight on the boardwalk felt healing — not because she was pretending to be the bird… but because she had already become someone deeply at home in her own wildness.
Find Your Bird
Sometimes the bird you choose reflects who you’ve always been.
And sometimes…
It reflects the version of yourself you’re finally allowing to emerge.
Whether your inspiration comes from birds, color, movement, ritual, or play—
I’d love to help you build a look that feels alive in your body.
Let’s see what’s waiting to take flight.
