The Fly

Yesterday was thoroughly exhausting.  I didn't sleep well Saturday night.  Sunday morning, I did double-duty childcare at church.  I was with the infants for the 9:15 service; then I went down to a room of one-year-olds for the 10:45.  Once I got done at church, I drove over to Dallas and modeled for another session at Oil & Cotton.  It was similar to the one I did there last week.  The glass double doors were still uncovered, and I was visible to anyone who came into the shop.  There happened to have been three customers in the store when my first break arrived.  I put on my robe, went out into the shop, and tried to convince them that they should all sign up for the next figure drawing class.  I don't know if any of them did, but I sincerely hope to see new faces in that class in January (if it makes).  When I came back into the studio, I told the instructor that I was trying to sell her class, and she seemed appreciative.

I do like having these open sessions.  With the draping over the doors, it seems like we're back there doing something that we don't want anyone to see, as if we should be ashamed of it.  Figure drawing shouldn't be like that, especially in a center that caters to artists.  As long as the models are willing, they should treat and promote it just like any of their other classes.  Of course, the model's comfort level in regards to outside eyes should always take precedence.

The class did have one other visitor, this one rather unwelcome.  I was bothered by a fly at various times throughout the three hours hours.  We have had a warmer than normal December, although we did have a stretch of cold days last week.  Our morning low was down to 25 degrees on one of those days.  But apparently, it did not stay cold long enough to kill the bugs, and our afternoon highs were back up in the 70s by this past weekend.

The fly would land on part of my body, then slowly crawl around.  I tried to stay as still as possible, but I had to break pose at one point when it landed on my genitals and shoo it away.  We ended the class with a long reclining pose, and the fly buzzed around my face several times.  I had to make a conscious effort to breath in through my nose and out through my mouth.  I kept thinking about the scene in the 1981 movie Raiders of the Lost Ark where a fly could be seen entering the mouth of actor Paul Freeman.  I certainly did not want to inhale that fly and gag while on the model stand...