- Me? Starting a new career? I'm going to be a model for 2 Life Drawing classes at Manchester Community College's Main St. Gallery. Next step: Vogue? Cosmopolitan? Stay tuned!...So – today is my first day as a nude model...is this something to brag about – oops – of course, I meant blog about? Sure, why not? (But reader feedback is welcome.)
First, the background.
How did a nice guy like me end up wearing no clothes on Main Street in Manchester CT?
The story starts about 18 months ago when I was at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Marlborough Arts Center (MAC). Folks were discussing the difficulty they had had finding a model for a recent class at the Center. Without the benefit of any thought process, I offered to be available if the problem arose in the future.
Time passed. Manchester Community College opened MCC on Main. It serves as an art gallery, a site for musical performances (including some very good jazz, for those who are interested), art classes, and other events. It’s a great addition to the ambiance of downtown Manchester, especially since many of their activities are free.
Not long ago, they added a self-directed Life Drawing program. (Not free, but low-cost.) They supply easels, chairs…and models. People bring their own materials. It runs twice a week, Fridays & Saturdays, from Noon until 3:00. No preregistration is required, and you come whenever you want. Just pay $8.00 per session ($5.00 for members.) I sat in on part of one session, and observed that there was a wide variety of artistic skill amongst the half-dozen participants. (More about this later.)
One member of the MAC Board happened to be in the gallery and saw the flyer for the program. She told the Director that she knew someone (male) who might be interested in posing.
(I was surprised that she even remembered my off-hand offer from a year-and-a-half ago. To the best of my knowledge, there had been no discussion of it in the intervening months.)
They were interested due to an apparent shortage of male models, and told her to have me give them a call if it was something I wanted to do. She dropped me an email about it.
Still unencumbered by the thought process, I jumped at the opportunity. No doubt, I was influenced by the fact that I’m retired and have wa-a-a-ay too much time on my hands. Having left the 60s behind (age and historical era), it also sounded like an interesting adventure and a chance to pick up a little pocket change. Close friends might even add that I’m a nudist at heart, so it’s not that great a leap for me. (I do try to avoid audiences, usually, but in this case I won’t be surprising anyone.)
I called, expressed my interest, and was immediately signed up for a Friday and Saturday three weekends away – also known, now, as Today and Tomorrow.
For those who are wondering, Kathy (also known as my wife) thought it would be a fun thing for me to do.
Anyway, that was on a Monday. The following Friday, I stopped by at MCC on Main and asked if it would be okay if I sat in on part of the day’s session in order to get a feel for how things went. Management said it was fine, so I walked back to the studio and introduced myself to the early arrivals, telling them that I was scheduled to model in a couple of weeks, that it would be my first time, and I wanted to see the set-up. Again, fine.
Then the model arrived. She was a young (twenty-something) woman, blonde, and attractive, and carrying a bag which turned out to contain what she wore during breaks, and an extra change of clothes.
Lesson #1: Don’t expect to hang around naked while chatting with folks in the class.
She was wearing tight-fitting jeans. When she started to take them off, she realized that it would take some contorting to remove them. She grabbed her bag, departed for the ladies’ room, and came back wearing looser-fitting clothes which she then took off. A couple of women in the group mentioned that it was amusing that it was okay to be seen posing naked, but not okay to be seen undressing.
I told her why I was there, that I was planning to stay for only 3 or 4 poses, and asked if my (non-drawing) presence was okay with her. Once more, fine.
At first, there were only four participants: a couple of older (not old) women and two college-aged folks, male and female. Two more women came in a little later.
From where I was sitting, I could watch one woman while she was working with charcoal, using sure, deft strokes as she quickly drew very good likenesses of the model. After watching a couple of poses, I walked around to see what others were doing, and it was evident that the first woman was by far the most accomplished in the group. It was interesting, though, to see the different styles and approaches that people were using.
The model, in the meantime, flowed gracefully from one 2-minute pose into another. It was pretty obvious that this was not her first time as a model.
I watched five poses, then thanked everyone and left the studio. I stopped in the gallery on my way out to see what was on the wall. After a couple of minutes, one of the women in the group came hurrying out and asked the staff person if she had seen which way I went. I came out from around a corner in the gallery and said I hadn’t left yet. It seems that the model had asked her to try to chase me down and find out if I’d be interested in talking with her during the upcoming break. Needless to say, I took her up on the offer.
She gave me a few pointers on the fine art of posing.
Lesson #2: As in sports, pacing oneself is important. Use the early short poses for harder-to-maintain standing poses, and save sitting and reclining for 10-, 20-, and 30-minute positions.
I had noticed that in almost all of her stances she had placed her feet at right angles to each other. This led to a discussion of balance and centering, things which I had not really considered before. (Amateur!) I probably would have put myself in postures I would have been able to maintain for, maybe, 10 or 15 seconds before I had to either shift or fall over…or both.
She said that standing with her feet slightly apart at right angles helps distribute her weight. She also pointed out that she made sure to spread her toes, broadening her support. (Who’d a’ thunk?)
Lesson #3: Establish a firm base.
She also pointed out that it was important to assume poses that kept my center of gravity between my feet, so that my core muscles (as if I have core muscles!) were doing most of the balancing, rather than putting most of my weight on one leg. Note to self: Work on core muscles for next two weeks.
Lesson #4: Distribute weight evenly, and center.
Finally, she said, bring water and something light weight to wear during breaks. Posing is hot work, and I will need to hydrate and avoid heating myself even more.
Lesson #5: Stay cool.
I thanked her for her time and consideration, especially that she had thought to call me back after I had left.
And now, in about 3 hours, it’s my turn. Stay tuned. I’ll try to blog about my experiences later today (or early tomorrow.)
Peace.
Monday, October 7, 2013
How did a nice guy like me end up wearing no clothes on Main Street in Manchester CT?
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