Goldilocks and the Three Robes

A good robe is hard to find.  I'm goldilocks when it comes to them.  I'm short, so they can't be too long.  And if they are too short I feel like I'm streaking campuses.  Sounds like fun, but I'm not in the mood.

They have to have an inner tie so the robe doesn't gape open, and an outer tie- just because it has to.  Yes, I'm picky but I feel better that I'm not looking frumpy.  No house coats here.  So that leads me to what is, in my eyes, the perfect robe.

My favorite robes are made of silk and look Asian.  Here are some good websites to find one of your own.  It's fun to dress up for gigs.  Here's some handmade creations that dazzle from Plum Pretty Sugar, Asian Expressions and 1920.  All of them are much cheaper than Victoria Secret and not as transparent.

Manet's Olympia 1863

I got my vision back, there might be a few figurative obstructions in the way but I can see past them now.  I love contacts.  For the period of time that I was glasses only I had the strangest feeling of vulnerability.  During the modeling sessions I had to take the glasses off.  I was stared at but could not stare back.  I couldn't even make eye contact with the people who were painting me.  They were blurs in my vision.

In college I studied Feminist Theory and International Relations Theory.  There's a power in the ability to observe and learn.  Most men hate being stared at or seen as an object of another man.  Women are used to it.  I say most men.  For those male art models out there, I am so proud of you.  I wish there were more of you.  But for the majority of men, they feel degraded when someone stares at them.  They are uncomfortable with being an object of a gaze. 

When Olympia was exhibited for the first time there was an uproar.  A naked woman dares to stare back at me?  Wow.  And for that very reason I love it.  A naked woman with power; a hundred years later it still sounds revolutionary. 

 

Give.

Every week I give you a mudra, or hasta, that signifies an emotion for me that particular week.  This picture of hands is worth a million words that don't need to be written in Sanskrit to be holy.  Just give.

no details please...

All I can tell you are generalizations.  The organization that I modeled for is handling the matter in an adept manner, so I don't want to slander them hence 'no details please.'

Today I noticed a security camera while I was art modeling.  It didn't look like the traditional security cameras, so I thought it could wait until after the session.  I asked the teacher, and he told me it was only on at night.  To double check, I asked the campus police about the matter.  They didn't know about it, so the policeman took me to the art department's office and inquired.  Yes, the cameras are on all the time, (however they reportedly only record at night).  I saw live feeds of the room I was in as well as others.

Thank the Heavens for police.  Because of the policeman's insistence the matter will be dealt with immediately.  This has happened before and there was not as much muscle to hold my back.  Please, if you live in Austin or the surrounding area email me at recyled.vision@gmail.com, or just post on this blog so we can start this Art Models Guild.  We need to support each other.  And as a reminder: be observant. Even the art teacher who works there didn't notice the camera.  Good luck to you all.

Buddhist Hand Gestures

Hand gestures come from various countries, so there are various terms for them.  In searching for more information about hastas, I found the term mudras, and I'm sure there are more.  I'm learning just as we all are.  So that brings me to these boys in training to become Buddhist monks.  Here they are, charming as ever, showing this weeks mudras photographed by Dennis Cordell.

Eve Larson

A few weeks ago I modeled for Eve Larson and Theresa Bayer in Eve's home. It was lovely. We used the morning sun as I posed. I've been a model for eight years, but I've never felt as comfortable as I do modeling for Eve.

Last Friday I modeled as well at AVAA in a portrait session. It was so sweet. I came in with a whole bunch of outfits and they said, "You look so cute in what you are wearing!" "You're a paper doll!" So that's how I feel whenever I model for Eve, like I'm part of an artist family that plays dress up with me.

Eve switched careers mid-life, and that gives me the courage that I can too. Originally she worked at Ballet Austin in an administration position. Thankfully though, she studied to become an artist, sharing a studio with Phillip Wade, and now she is a successful portrait artist and teacher at Laguna Gloria. It's what I hope for after my studies.

Check out her website, which has many beautiful paintings, or take her class at Laguna Gloria. She's a great teacher and there are peacocks galore!