Today I picked up my photos from Amy at the framing store. Not only was the job completed in one day, but it was done superbly well! The Rainy Day Company--a locally owned business--will definitely get my business again. I drove right from there to the Lawrence Street Gallery to submit my photos in the juried Body Eclectic show. I'll let you know as soon as I hear if my works were accepted. I then drove across town to join my women's community at their monthly song gathering. I was hours late but it didn't matter; just being with these women fills me with life.
During our breaks and afterwards at dinner, I talked with several of the women about my latest project, the Winter Nudes. My hope was that I might interest one or two in posing for me. Well, these wonderful women responded with enthusiasm, and I've now got four definite models and three or four possibles! So much for yesterday's "inspiration overload." I am SO excited to continue working on this series!
This Winter Nudes project feels so important to me, and the responses from the women validated my feelings. This is about so much more than art; it is an act of resistance to our culture's skewed definitions of beauty. The saddest thing about the obsession with thin, youthful bodies is that it's hard not to internalize the message that anything else is ugly. I am determined to fight that stereotype, to show that ALL kinds of women's bodies are beautiful. Not only do I want to photograph older women, but also women of size. One of the women who has agreed to model is a breast cancer survivor who is scarred from surgery to remove part of one breast. I want to celebrate her beauty. I told her about some of the wonderful comments you PBasers have left on my Winter Nudes gallery. I specifically shared what Denise and Phil had said about how scars, stretch marks and other "flaws" are actually badges of honor.
As I shared a couple of days ago, I am already seeing real changes in my own attitudes about my body. The most surprising came earlier tonight (Saturday) when I'd posted a nude self portrait that I then deleted less than five minutes later. My reason? It was too sexual. Sexual??? At 65??? Now that is a REAL change in attitude!!!
