Taking your clothes off in front of studious strangers on a weekday evening is not everyone’s idea of fun, and although I was often aware of the absurdity of the situation, I found this ultimately a very interesting and absorbing experience.
I was a life model for Shetland Arts’ Life Drawing classes for a year and learned a lot about patience, how to get comfortable and ignore an itch, and how to feel relaxed in my own skin.
In order to prepare for the class I would arrive slightly early and set up the space with a yoga mat (less slippy and cold than the floor when holding poses in bare feet), a stool and chair with draped blankets and pop a heater on. I would then undress and wear a bathrobe whilst waiting for the artists to arrive. Once the class was set up, I would begin with a series of short, 1-2 minute, often quite dynamic, poses - arms aloft or stretched out. Then I would move on to longer 5-10 minute poses before a short break. In the second half I would generally pose for much longer - 20-30 minutes. My mobile phone was invaluable for timing each pose.
I researched poses online and found lots of useful sites with suggestions for life models. During the short poses I would be thinking about the next move, trying to change my stance quite dramatically each time. However, during the longer poses I had lots of time to think and found it quite meditative.
Over time I saw many sketches of my body - except it didn’t feel like my body anymore. Seen from so many angles by so many eyes and rendered in so many media, I found it fascinating to see how the artist approached the shapes, shades and tones in front of them. I don’t draw and yet found it incredibly inspiring to be part of this artistic process.
