Lalena Fissure, singer and guitarist

My doppelganger, Lalena Fisher, does illustration and design: www.lalenafisher.com

Collage made by my friend, painter Lisa Sanditz.

Photo and glitter rat by Stephanie Patton. Flapper outfit by my mom.

About my name: - "Lalena" is a late-'60s song by Donovan. My dad thought the song was beautiful, and they had to come up with something quick because they had planned for a boy and pre-named me "Robby." It turns out the song is about a prostitute! We both learned this when Dad took me to see Donovan perform, and Donovan told a kind of cool story about a woman during the feminist movement of the early 1900s who was conflicted about whether to be a housewife or a career woman, and she ended up "walking the streets." Alas. - Winona Ryder's character in the movie Reality Bites was named after me. The character herself is based on the screenwriter and my high school classmate Helen Childress. But Helen later said she always liked my name (though she spelled it incorrectly; that happens a lot). In a strange coincidence, I happened to be working for the Houston Chronicle when the movie came out--and there's a scene in which Lelaina interviews for a job at the Chronicle!

- In Spanish, "la lena" (with a tilde on the N) means "kindling wood." See photo: A restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico ... photographed by my concerned landlord.

- In a video game called Moontorc (Atlantis 1991), "Princess Lalena has been captured by the Dark Lord, and you have to rescue her by battling through four levels of platforming action and collecting the three parts of Moontorc," according to CPC Game Reviews. The character is obviously inspired by me. ...UPDATE (6/21/05): I got this exciting email today! "hi lalena, i came across your website, and the colour guard one. where you mention a computer game from back in the 90s... Moontorc, which featured Lalena. well i wrote that game. along with my two brothers." These guys are amazing. Artists, musicians, writers; here's their website, Sick Happy Idle.

Some of my artwork:

Theater

Soft Assassin

(ABOVE) This was a performance piece in which I used peanut butter to stick slices of bread to the wall in a Carl Andre-style minimalist grid (and then drizzled honey for an added touch). While I worked, I mused on George Washington Carver in accompaniment to a recording I'd made with music and factual information about adhesives. (RIGHT) Sweet Assassin, cast of cherry-flavored candy, and Cold Assassin, cast of cherry-flavored ice.

You could say this was an early conceptual art performance; at age 5, I dressed as Helen Keller for the Halloween party we had in our garage in Houston. This is a picture of when I was "It" during a game of Murder in the Dark. I was obsessed with Helen Keller after seeing The Miracle Worker, starring Patty Duke, on TV and begged my grandmother to make me a dress like hers. I was somewhat dismayed by the lace, but nevertheless got into character, feeling my way around the room and grunting, "waaaah-waaaah."

* * * I am looking for others with 3972del4, for ancestry purposes. * * * Email me at: suziblademusic (the "at" symbol) earthlink (dot) net.