Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Emotions, Emotions

Hi everyone!

It’s official; fall has come to New York City.  How do I know this?  It is because of the changing foliage, the Halloween displays on the steps of apartment buildings, or the copious amounts of people drinking pumpkin spice lattes?  No.  I know it’s fall because for the first time in months, I’ve had to wear a sweater and a coat each time I go outside.  Case in point, it was 44 degrees outside yesterday, and the highest temperature of the day was only 51 degrees.  But I’m not complaining.  I’d much rather it be chilly than grossly humid!

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get to what you all came here for.  I modeled in a class on Sunday that was undeniable one of the most fun modeling experiences I’ve ever had.  In many ways, I almost feel like it was more like an acting class than a modeling session.  Before the class officially began, the instructor took a moment to talk to the class about how different poses can convey different emotions.  He drew some quick sketches and pointed out the emotional impact each one had.  As he spoke, I kept thinking "Me, an actress, doing poses that are all emotionally driven and meant to represent strong feelings?  This is going to be great!" And great it was.

I've mentioned before that I prefer doing sessions that start with shorter poses.  Well, this class was nothing but short poses.  I started off by doing a series of poses that were only thirty seconds long.  Admittedly, I got a little crazy with these.  I balanced on one leg a few times, did a downward dog, and even did a standing pose while bending backwards.  Not only was this a fun way to explore what my body could do, but it really forced me to think on my feet as I changed positions.  Following a pattern of "pose, change, pose" thirty seconds at a time for twenty minutes was both a physical and mental challenge, and I loved every minute of it.

After these short poses, the instructor did something that was really interesting.  Instead of just asking me to find different postures for the remainder of the class, he provided some direction for me.  When I got back on the stand, he named an emotion for me to portray.  He used words like "joyful," "anguished," and "terrified" to help guide my poses.  This is where the session reminded me of my high school and college acting classes.  I thought about all the times directors or teachers would try exercises with their students that were meant to help us emote and show different feelings.  Flashback indeed!  To help the class and me to better capture the emotion he wanted, he also played a variety of music, ranging from Bob Marley to Evanesence to The Rocky Horror Picture Show ("Let's do the Time Warp again!!!")

I also learned a lot about how emotions really do affect your body's energy.  I found that it was much harder to hold the "sad" and "angry" poses, as opposed to the "happy"and "excited" ones.  You try furrowing your brow or standing hunched over with your mouth wide open for two minutes.  Trust me, you'll feel the tension sooner than you'd think.  I had never really bought into the idea that holding your body with a more positive energy could make you feel physically lighter.  But now that I've actually experience it for myself, I think I'm going to try harder to carry myself in a more uplifted way.

The class ended with an exploration of movement.  I did a series of poses for one minute each that emphasized different ways the body could move.  I did some walking gestures, seated to standing poses, and I even got to swing an imaginary baseball bat.  (Shout out to my dad for teaching me how to do this when I was a kid!)  I walked out feeling happy and recharged, which is always a great way to feel once a class ends.

With that, I think it's time for me to get some rest.  Thanks for sticking around, and be on the lookout for more posts from me.  I have something big planned for my next entry.

See you soon!

Saturday, October 20, 2018

The Art of the Dress

Hi everyone!

Before I get into the topic of today's post, I want to take a quick second and mention something.  Last night, I modeled at a new school for the first time.  The class was pretty standard.  Short poses to longer poses, breaks in between, etc.  The instructor and the students were all very nice, and I had a great time.  I may write a post about this experience in the future, but for now, I just wanted to put this information on there!  Now, back on track.

Remember how I mentioned that art models don’t always pose nude?  And remember how I mentioned that sometimes, my sessions are six hours long instead of three?  Well, that's what happened today.  Today was the first time I posed clothed in a class for more than three hours.

I have to admit, I was pretty excited when I first got the email asking me to do this booking.  I was told to bring "a few interesting tops (street clothes or costumes)...for the instructor to choose from."  I  decided to wear a long black dress with a floral pattern, as well as my favorite pair of brown lace up boots.  It was an outfit that not only looked interesting, but that I was more than comfortable in.  An important factor, considering I was going to be working for twice as long as I normally do.

As soon as I arrived at the booking, I knew that I was going to have fun.  The students were all incredibly kind and welcoming, as was the instructor.  One of the students even came up to me before the class began and said that he was happy that I was there.  That made me feel great, even before I got on the modeling stand.  When the class did start, the instructor had the students gather around him and took out a book of paintings by the French-Polish artist Balthus.  He talked a lot about how Balthus often painted his models in natural postures (e.g. standing up straight, seated in a chair, etc.,) but that there was usually something "off" about the pose itself.  For example, he presented a painting that had the model standing erect, but with her shoulders slightly titled to the right.  He also showed some other Balthus works that did this, in order to give the students some inspiration for their own paintings.

When something like this happens, the model for the class isn't technically required to sit and listen with the students.  But I always like to do this anyway.  I not only think it's interesting, but I've found that having the same information the students do makes my modeling that much better.  Understanding what the students are trying to achieve in their works, and how I as the model can help them achieve that makes my sessions so much more gratifying and fun.

The pose for this class was fairly basic.  I sat in a chair with my legs crossed and my hand resting on my knee.  Nothing too extreme.  But like my other six hour session, I held this one pose for the entirety of the class.  I suspected that my legs would get stiff and numb, but I didn't think my arms would too, especially since I wasn't doing anything crazy with them.  I guess that'll happen though when you're trying to sit completely still for twenty minutes at a time.  It wasn't the best feeling, but it was nothing I couldn't handle.

After a few hours of posing, everyone got a thirty-five minute lunch break.  Normally when this happens, a lot the students leave the classroom to go eat outside or at nearby restaurants.  Today, though, the students and instructor set up a table and invited me to eat with them.  The instructor asked me about what I do outside of art modeling, and I told everyone about being an actress.  I found out that one of the students also graduated from Ithaca College, much to my delight!  Before we were all done eating, I decided to ask the class about what they thought makes a good art model.  Their response was simple; a good art model is someone that holds still.

I know that sounds like an obvious answer, but their reasonings made a lot of sense.  While you're certainly allowed to shake out any stiff or numb muscles in a session, some models forget that it's important not to completely lose the pose.  It makes the students' jobs a lot harder when this happens, and it gets frustrating if this occurs constantly in the class.  Apparently, a lot of the students had been in other classes where this happened.  As you might have guessed, this isn't advisable behavior for an art model.  It's definitely not "model behavior!"  Ba dum, sshh!

I was happy to know, though, that the students thought I did a great job this session.  A lot of them gave me compliments about my focus, and told me that I had a great face and hair for modeling.  Their kind words boosted my confidence so much, and I loved getting to see their final paintings at the end of class.  All of them were, as usual, beautiful to look at it.  I even got up the courage to ask them if I could take a few pictures of their work, and they agreed!  I would share their paintings here...but I didn't ask the students if they'd be okay with me sharing their work on social media.  I wouldn't feel comfortable posting the pictures without their permission, so I won't be showing any of them in this post.  But I don't want you to get too disheartened.  The great thing about this class is that I'll be posing in it again next week.  Maybe by then I'll have mustered the courage to ask them about sharing their artwork online.  Either way, I had such a positive experience at work today, and I'll really looking forward to coming back!  I've said it before, but I'll say it again; I love my job so much!!!

That's it for me tonight.  I'm off to watch some more YouTube videos before I hit the hay.  Here's hoping my internal clock decides not to wake me up at 6am tomorrow.  :P

See you soon!

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Animating Art

Hi everyone!

You know what I love?  I love it when different art mediums are combined to create new pieces of art, bursting with talent and creativity.  You know what I love ever more?  I love getting to witness said pieces of art being created.  Finally, you know what I love the most?  I love that my job allows me to be a part of this process, both as a spectator and a model.

Yesterday’s modeling session was fascinating, mostly because it was structured a bit differently than most sessions I’ve been in.  When I arrived at this booking, the first thing I noticed was that they students were watching the movie “NausicaƤ of the Valley of the Wind.”  I was both surprised and a little confused by this.  My first thought was that the students were watching it to relax before they started drawing.  After all, I had arrived a bit earlier than expected, and it is a beautiful movie to lose yourself in.  But once the movie was over, I quickly realized that it was going to play a key role in the class to come.

It turned out that the instructor was using “NausicaƤ” to help explain a technique that a lot of artist and animators use called “The Rule of Three.”  He explained it much more eloquently than I ever could, but the jist is that this rule is used to help create dynamic tension in a piece of art, depending on where different subjects are placed.  He showed this by marking three dividing points on screen, then went on to play an action sequence from the movie.  During the scene, he would pause the film and point out how the different characters were positioned according to the divides, and what dramatic effect that produced.  I had never considered this before today, but everything the instructor mentioned made a lot of sense.  I’ve always known that attention to detail is important when creating art, but I had never fully considered this when it came to animation.  I guess it’s no wonder that the Studio Ghibli movies are so visually and emotionally powerful.

The lesson didn’t stop there, though.  Once I got on the modeling stand, the students were encouraged to think about this as they worked.  As I posed, the instructor projected different images of landscapes behind me, which we incorporated into the students' drawings.  I had never done a class before where the students were directed to draw both a background as well as the model.  The results were, to be blunt, AMAZING!  Not only did the projected images get drawn, but a lot of the students took their work into a more creative direction than expected.  For example, in the final pose of the class, I was leaning on my side with my head propped up against a stool in front of a beach landscape.  Several of the students transformed the stool into something different, like a sand dune or a treasure chest.  I wouldn't have even of thought to do that, but I'm glad they did!

Not only did the drawings turn out beautifully, but this session had an added element that I really liked. Throughout the class, the instructor played orchestral tracks from Studio Ghibli movies.  In addition to the main themes from "NausicaƤ," I also got to listen to pieces from "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Spirited Away."  I even got to listen to "Jupiter" from Holst's "The Planets" while posing in front of a background of Mars.  The music helped my posing immensely.  Listening to it helped me relax my body and made the time go by much faster.  Plus, I'd be lying if I said I didn't love hearing some beautiful music while I worked, especially the ones in this class.

It was such a great sensation to feel all different art forms combine in this session.  Film, drawing, music.  I walked out of the classroom with such a positive, inspired feeling.  It's moments like these when I think to myself "Wow, I really love my job," and makes me look forward to many more modeling sessions to come.

That's it for this post, folks.  Thanks for reading as always, please keep your comments and question coming!

See you soon!

Monday, October 15, 2018

Why I Became An Art Model

Hi everyone!

Even though it's been just shy of two weeks since my last post, I feel like it's been forever.  The reason for that is because I have been busy the last few weeks.  I know I say that a lot, but believe me, it's true.  Between modeling and working as a substitute teacher, I've only had a few days that were completely free.  Since both of my jobs make me tired easily, I find that I tend to spend my off days locked away in my apartment, either baking or watching YouTube videos (not that I mind!). But I'm feeling more energized today than I've felt in a while, so I figured it was time for an update.

I realized today that I haven't really explained why I decided to become an art model.  I know I've touched on it a bit in other posts, saying that I like the physicality of it, how it allows me to be creative, meeting the instructors and the students, etc.  Today, though, I wanted to get introspective and give you all a more fleshed out answer as to why I chose this job.

A lot of you know that when I'm not art modeling or teaching, I work as an actress.  A lot of you also know that becoming an actress, primarily in the theatrical world, is my main career goal.  Pursuing acting is the primary reason I decided to move to New York City.  I wanted to to be closer to audition opportunities and be a part of a larger, theatrical scene.  For the most part, I've done that.  I've gone on a lot of auditions in the past year, and I'm now a part of a play that'll be performed at the end of the month.  But I realized pretty early on that if I wanted to stay in the city for as long as possible, I'd need to find a job, and fast.

This is where substitute teaching came into play.  I had worked as a substitute teacher for a few years in my hometown before coming the city.  It only seemed natural that I would continue doing it once I got settled in.  I found out about a subbing service through an online search, interviewed with the company, and the rest was history.  Substitute teaching was a great way to earn money when I was in between acting jobs and auditions, and I loved having a flexible work schedule.  But that was the caveat about being a substitute; I wasn't always called in to work.  Sometimes, weeks would go by, and I wasn't offered any subbing opportunities.  Unfortunately, that's the nature of the beast when you have a job with no set work hours.  After considering my options, I knew I had to get a second job.

I've always believed that no matter what your job is, even if it's just a temporary position, you should be doing something you love.  A lot of people suggested I become a waitress or a nanny.  Either of those jobs would have been fine, but I knew they weren't things I necessarily wanted to do.  I also knew I'd run into scheduling problems when it came to things like auditions, callbacks, and rehearsals.  So, I needed to find a job that fit the following criteria:

1. It had to have flexible work hours
2. It had to be something I could potentially do every day
3. It had to be something I really loved doing

I did a few Google searches for part time jobs options, but nothing caught my interest.  But then, something happened.  For whatever reason, I started thinking about art modeling.  I typed in the words "how to become an art model" into my search bar, and soon I was reading articles about modeling stories, posing tips, and most importantly, how to find work in this field.  The biggest piece of advice I read was to contact art schools and inquire about being a model.  It sounded simple enough.  I found a list of art schools in New York that hired live models, and about a dozen emails later, I had gotten a few responses.

I think most of you know how the story goes at this point.  I interviewed with a few schools and was hired shortly afterwards.  That's no secret, and one that I certainly don't want to rehash.  But I do want to mention that I did have some reservations before my actual work as a model began.

The biggest one was, of course, the fact that I would be posing nude more often than not.  I wouldn't say the thought of this terrified me, but I was a little intimidated.  The closest I had ever been to being disrobed for an audience was wearing a leotard and a pair of booty shorts for my dance recitals in high school.  I wondered if I would be able to handle posing with no clothes on in front of an entire class of art students.  But in order to ease my nerves, I kept reminding myself of three things.

The first was that I wasn't displaying my body for any sexual purposes.  I would be posing in order for the students to study things like shapes, lights, and contours on the human body.  The second was that the schools I'd be modeling for were professional art institutions.  I wouldn't be the first or last model they worked with, so I had faith that the instructors and students would be nothing less than professional.  The third and final thing is admittedly kind of silly, but it helped me nonetheless.  Since my dad's side of the family is Greek, I was no stranger to art that featured partially or completely nude subjects.  I remember telling myself "You're Greek!  Your ancestors have been doing this kind of thing for centuries, so you can too!"  What can I say?  Sometimes, you have to think outside the box!

Posing nude turned into less of a concern as I continued to book jobs.  However, a new concern began to surface after my first few sessions.  I knew that my body would feel stiff after posing, but I don't think I was prepared for how stiff I would actually get.  During one of my first sessions, I remember sitting on a stool for twenty minutes.  I noticed that my left hip was getting tight, but I did my best to ignore it and not fidget.  As soon as I got off the stool, however, my left leg buckled (not noticeably, thank goodness) and the left side of my lower back was in pain for about a week afterwards.  I didn't have any major incidents after this, but I do remember having some sessions where my shoulders and back felt like they were screaming at me.

I wish I could say I that I've figured out a fool proof solution to this predicament, but I haven't.  Like drawing a picture, it's a process.  But I've said it before and I'll say it again; self care is vital in this line of work.  I've tried to be stricter about working out, because the stronger my muscles are, the easier posing gets.  Massages, hot baths, and stretching also help.  Like any job, though, experience helps the most.  I've learned to become more aware of my body, paying special attention to when a pose feels good, and to make any adjustments I need when it doesn't.  It isn't always easy, but I do the best I can.

This leads to one question, the subject of this post: "If your job is tough and taxing on your body, why do you continue to model?"  I can tell you, with no doubt in my mind, that my answer is this:

Because I absolutely LOVE being an art model.

I remember being told during my first audition/interview for one of the schools that I now work for that "you'll discover quickly whether or not you like art modeling, and if this is something you think you can do."  This has proved to be true more than once since I started modeling in January.  Each time I finish a session, I think about how lucky I am to be doing what I'm doing.  My job I rewarding in so many ways.  It's helped me to become more confident in myself, and to accept that my body, while far from perfect, can be beautiful in many different ways.  Granted, it does get hard to remember this, especially when I'm having a bad day.  But when I get to see all the different paintings and drawings of me once a session is over, I'm floored by the fact I've helped create so many artistic depictions, with the proof literally surrounding me.

I also love that my job allows me to meet so many interesting people.  I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but it's true.  I have such a high respect for all the students and instructors I've met and worked with, because I sure as hell couldn't do what they do.  They truly are some of the most knowledgable and focused people I've encountered, and I love getting to work with them.  I've learned more about art from hearing their discussions in class than I ever thought possible.  It's such a rewarding feeling.

Lastly, it's a great feeling to have a "side job" that's in a creative field.  I love getting to use my imagination to create poses, and discovering more about what my body is capable of.  It's also wonderful to get inspired in my daily life.  There will be times I'm doing yoga, taking a dance class, or even standing on the subway and I'll think to myself "Oh, this could be a good modeling pose!"  Having a job that not only helps pay my rent but constantly inspires me feels amazing.  There's just no other way to put it.

Whew!  What a long winded response that was.  If you've made it this far, thank you!  Also, I hope this post helped you understand more about what I do and why I love it.  With that, I think it's time for a hot shower and sleep.  Have to loosen up those muscles, after all!

See you soon!


Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Painting Her Portrait

Hi everyone!

First of all, major brownie points to anyone who can name the musical that the song I stole this blog post’s title is from.  Anyone?  (Leave a comment if you know!)

I figured that it would be a fitting title for the subject of this blog entry.  As you might have guessed, my most recent modeling session was a portrait class.  You also might have noticed that I don't often write about what it's like to do a portrait sitting.  The reason for this is because I've only done two of these classes since I began modeling in January.  I tend to get hired for sessions where the students draw my full body as opposed to just my face.  But since last night's booking was a departure from what I normally do, I thought it would be a good idea to share that experience with you all.

You might be wondering how posing for a portrait is different or similar to posing with your entire body.  Well, I'll tell you.  I've come to find that there are two major differences when it comes to portrait sitting.  The first and most visually obvious is that you're clothed when posing for a portrait.  Since the artists tend not to draw their subjects below the waist in a portrait class, it makes sense that the model (or models) in question wouldn't be disrobed.  In addition to drawing a person's face in a class like this, the artists also practice capturing what the model is wearing in their work.  I remember being asked to wear a shirt with an "interesting neckline" before this class began.

The second biggest difference is how much you move around as a model in a portrait class.  I know I've said that a large part of my job is holding still in a variety of poses.  While that is true, I tend not to hold one pose for the entirety of a session.  More often that not, I get to change my pose after a certain amount of time.  Even if I'm asked to hold one pose for the duration of a session, it tends not to be one where I'm sitting upright in a chair, looking straight ahead with a neutral facial expression.

But, as you might have guessed, that's exactly what you do in a portrait sitting.  The students tend to move around the room as time goes by in order to capture different angles of a model's face or to get a new visual perspective.  But as the model in question, you're pretty stagnant.  After all, it's not called a "portrait sitting" for nothing!  You might think that sitting still for twenty minutes at a time, having a five minute break, then repeating these two things over and over again until the class ends would be pretty boring.  But, as it turns out, posing for a portrait can be just as interesting as full body modeling.

One of the cool things about the portrait I've done is that I haven't been the only model present.  In fact, I was one of three modelings being drawn last night.  This was especially fun, because it gave me a chance to get to know the other people I got to pose with.  One of the models I talked to had been art modeling over twenty years.  Twenty years!  She also told me that she had taken some time away from it later in life to settle down and start a family, but she returned to modeling as a way to make some extra money after she retired.  The other model that was there told me that he had just started art modeling about two weeks ago, and that he had been working a series of odd jobs to help support his writing career.  It was absolutely fascinating to hear both of their stories.

I also got the chance to talk with some of the artists.  Everyone was incredibly nice and more than willing to show their work to me.  The portraits they did of me were great.  It still blows my mind that an artist can create something like that in only a few hours.  Getting to chat with them about what else I do for work outside of art modeling was also nice.  Making those kind of connections is always rewarding during a session.

And there you have it.  Now, it's time for dinner, a quick workout, and some well deserved chillaxing.  Thanks again for your continued support of my blog!

See you soon!