Body Positive.

Yesterday, I did something that I never thought I would do.  However, my goal this year is to be healthier and more body positive.  So, In addition to stop drinking soda (day 15 without and counting), I worked as a nude art model for a drawing class.  It was one of the best decisions that I have ever made.

It wasn't exactly like the picture, but it was in the same vein.  I got there early since it was my first time posing and wanted some direction.  I had my boyfriend come to because I took half an Ativan due to anxiety.  I'm not thin or beautiful.  I am curvy, have spider veins due to injury and have cellulite.  However figure drawing is not about drawing straight lines.  I did three 30 second action poses.  Those were easy as were the 1 minute poses.  The 5 minute was challenging as was the 10 minute pose.  The 20 minute pose was difficult.  I had to break the pose on my upper body because it was so hard to stay still with my arms raised at an angle.  The comfort that I had was that my boyfriend stayed and was allowed to draw as he knows the instructor, hence how I heard of the job in the first place.  His first drawing was a stick figure with boobs.

My last pose was of me lying down in a classic art pose.  It was about an hour and the final drawings were amazing.  The students ranged in age from 18-65.  There were a few professional artists that were doing skills refreshers.   The students were quite impressive and some of the drawings will be going into their portfolios for college credit. 

As for me, I'm still feeling giddy and confident about my body.  It was a full body work out doing 2 hours of posing staying absolutely still.  I received good feedback from both the instructors and the artists. The artists didn't know that this was my first time posing.  I was trying to be as calm and serene as possible.  My boyfriend even gave me his last drawing. 

It was a great experience and would do it again in an instant.

Drawing by Brian O'Connor.  Used with permission.