A girl can’t have too many diaries. I began art modeling as an interesting way to earn money to support my acting career, unaware that this would become another new vocation. I now await with anticipation my modeling bookings. I crave the unique almost surreal experience that I enjoy when I step on the model stand. Very different and yet strangely similar, the art modeling world couldn’t be further away from Hollywood. Yet, it is the same as getting on stage or in front of a camera. There is one necessary common element. Honesty. As with any performance, it must come from the heart. Even if that heart is in a broken state, the expressions must be true and revealing. The poses must hold anguish, joy, seduction, fearlessness or vulnerability. A true art model has her own palette from which to work. She possesses her own mental and physical brushes sweeping her from one pose to another. Effortlessly, like a dance. One movement to the next, twisting and turning, all the time aware of the shapes she is creating with her torso. Shapes that will create shadows, shading, and foreshortening. She knows that she is creating a story that will be interpreted differently by each person in the room. The dedication must be impeccable: No moving, no shifting, often no comfort. Although there may be constrictions, it is her body. Her gaze. The model is ultimately set free up on the stand. There can be no “stand-ins” in this job. Each model is one of a kind. She or he is a living breathing work of art: A muse, an inspiration, a challenge to recreate or reinterpret. As grand as this sounds, we are but a small cog in the wheel of art. A model is nothing without her class, her instructor, her students, the paints, the charcoals, and the pencils. It is a collaboration and an ethereal meeting of mind, body, and spirit. Something is created from nothing. This is the nature of art. It is a birthing experience. The artist and model are the parents. They reach out to one another and the art is the offspring. It is pure and uncomplicated. Perhaps the reason I adore art modeling. I completely surrender myself to the completion of fully realized moments. My mind has to find ease in my body. There is nowhere to run but inwards. I just am. I’m am me. A hard to find place in this busy world.
With such an appreciation of this new treasure I’ve uncovered, I can’t help but want to share my experiences. It seems that I leave each class with a pearl of wisdom. It may be something that a Professor says or a personal revelation, but there is always a gift. It’s always more exciting to open gifts with other friends present, so gather around, I’m pretty sure there will be one or two gifts in there for you as well.
Recent Comments