Friday 28 February 2014

What does a life model think about?


Hi everyone!

This is me last Saturday modelling at Bury Art Gallery for a drawing class. 

As a former burlesque performer I still have a great collection of costumes and accessories, in fact they even have their own wardrobe! This is my Bavarian Goat Herder look. You can see where this costume originated from in one of my performance videos HERE

From time to time I get asked to model for art classes and Manchester's Dr Sketchy's events, which are a fab combination of burlesque and life drawing. I love doing these kind of things, because it gives me a chance to still dress up and act out a fun character in front of an audience.

But it also requires the ability to hold a pose, and sometimes hold it for up to 30 minutes or more, which gives you quite some time to think! 

What does a life model think about as a room full of eyes study her and commit her to paper? Is it something profound and deeply creative? Well, not really. Here's some of the things I thought about while I was posing at Bury last weekend:

Gosh it's nice to not have to DO anything for a while!
I hope the trams are working on the journey back because I really want to go to Mum's for a brew this afternoon!
That lady over there has got a nice jumper on
That man over there has done a good drawing!
I wish Lee would take a bloody photo!
Ahhhh my arm is aching now!
Another 10 minutes! Come on arm, stop aching!
My hair turned out really well today

So as you can tell, not very deep or profound either! But posing and being drawn is one of my pleasures because I am part of a creative process and very much part of a shared moment.

Any other life models out there I'd love to know what you think about while you pose! 

Gemma ***

1 comment:

Layla Garner said...

Itchy eyebrow. Itchy ear. Am I frowning? Will they notice if i move my mouth slightly so it feel less frowny?...Deep stuff x