in my drawing class on monday we had our (and my) first nude model drawing session.

i arrived a little late for class and readied my materials real quick and jumped right in. she did some varied poses for about 2 minutes each while we did gesture sketches just getting a feel for the form. then we got into the pose where we would spend the rest of class drawing her. my teacher taped her off so when the model took breaks, she could get back into the exact pose. after our first break, the model went up on the stand and was getting herself adjusted. she frowned as she was trying to figure out how to place her arm. i stepped around my easel, walked up to her, and started to place her arm for her in the correct spot.

the whole class gasped and a second later my teacher screamed my name, "AJ! that is the ONE rule that was said at the beginning of class! DO NOT TOUCH the model!"

"i'm so sorry. i was late and i didn't hear you say that. i am so sorry."

so now everyone in class is either jaw dropped or snickering behind their easels in disbelief.

"can i please see you outside, AJ."

crap.

she got outside and started shaking me as i profusely apologized and half giggled because i can't believe i just did the one thing you don't do. "aj. i can't believe you just did that. imagine if it was a boy who touched her. i would def. have to throw him out. and what? just because you're a female and it was innocent, i just let you stay? you've put me in a huge predicament."

then we laughed together. "of course i would be the person to do this. if you have to throw me out, i understand, i'll go home." but she doesn't want me to miss the session because she knows i'm one of the students who enjoy our time in class. "just because you and i come from some happy hippy artist world where being nude is no big deal and we're carefree, doesn't mean we don't have to abide by the rules."

"ok. let's go get a drink from the water fountain. can you keep a straight face when we go back in there and act like i reamed you a good one?"

"i think so. give me a second." laugh.

"do i have to punch you, aj?"

"no. i'm good. let's go."


soooo. yeah. awesome first nude drawing experience. it was totally innocent and i thought nothing of it. when i am shooting females i don't think about it either. i'm just too laid back sometimes. oops.

i have a new hobby. roller skating. well i'm not new to it. in 4th grade i got these awesome white skates with pink wheels and i would roller skate everywhere and all the time. since then i have always enjoyed the little ventures to the roller rink every once in awhile when friends in my life are feeling funky. nerd and i went 2 weeks ago to the adult skate and i have never been so into it. i went again this week...and i plan on going to the lessons on saturday mornings. i just can't get enough of it.

no. i don't want to roller derby. i don't want to speed skate. i don't want to break dance skate. i want to old school quad shuffle rhythm dance roller skate. i realized that this will be interesting. considering i am 6'3''. falling will hurt bad. but i dig it. can't wait to buy a pair of skates!

so i've made a new blog. a tumblr specifically. i always find myself photographing images off the television screen when whatever i am watching shows a super awesome image. i use the camera on my phone and usually pause the tv to get the image. i first starting doing this when i got really into space related programs. i love how gorgeous they portray space. whether its commercials, movies, or shows, i find images that i want to examine more than just a couple seconds. so i figured other people might enjoy some of the images i've captured. click here to view my tumblr: pause tv

i update it frequently and sometimes more than once a day. i made a handy link on the right side of this blog that links directly to my tumblr.

THAT amazing gem was found on my brand new point and shoot camera that Nerd gave me so i wouldn't be camera-less for right now. apparently i got the floor model. im so damn blessed sometimes with the smallest things.

getting myself back on track. i'm having allergy and sinus problems as well as a mysterious, intense pain in my lower abdomen for the past 3 days, but im working through it. had an awesome discussion with mama blackbird at work the other day about living in the moment. i have a problem with getting so hard on myself that im not doing enough, or producing enough. sheesh. im constantly looking forward to the future too. next summer, when im finally out of school, when i move to another city, etc. i forget sometimes that i am living NOW. the weeks have been flying by faster than any time in my life and i have to appreciate the moments in my day now. its rough with school and work.

a had a great dream last night.

it was 1995. the deftones were still trying to gain popularity and were touring. i was 18. i went to see them. the venue was small. the stage even smaller. i think it was a cafeteria in some abandoned school. there was barely anyone filling the floor in front of them. i found myself an empty spot and sat down to watch them set up and sound check. when they played, i loved it. it was visually obvious. i was in another world just dancing, and writhing, and rolling around on the floor. they took a break. i walked out the side entrance into the cool, night air to light a cigarette and catch my breath. i wandered around in the dark, dirt lot filled with cars. there were lights up ahead in the trees so i wandered in to this wood hangout like i was supposed to be there. it was the deftones and their closest friends. i was hoping i could hit a passing joint. everyone was having such a great time they didn't even notice me walk in and take a seat at a table in the back of this large room. it was dark. mostly lit by a string of bulbs. there was graffiti and drawings all over the unfinished, wood walls. everyone was laughing and drinking and smoking. the guy next to me turned around and it was chino moreno. he looked at me and you could tell that he recognized me as the crazy girl on the dance floor. his eyes lit up. he turned and grabbed a spoon and spread honey all over his mouth. then he turned to me and rubbed it all over my mouth and face. then he leaned into me mumbling something about it being a test to see if i am the one for him. we made out. oozing honey all over the place. i woke up myself up moaning. dammit.

i woke up and had tunnel vision on one thought. vitamin water. if i could just stop being drunk real quick i could get on to being hungover. i woke up with a birthday hat on and my best guy friend's t-shirt with a broken watch and wet hair.

thank goodness i could throw a large rock at how close the front door of the gas station is to my front door. i bought 4 and i was just about to open my door and go back to the couch when a little old lady with a red sun umbrella stopped me and asked how close a certain bookstore was to where we were standing. i told her it was far to walk but not a far drive so please hop in my car really quickly and ill drive her there. it took a little convincing because she was worried about inconveniencing me, and not having any money to give me, etc. i nipped all that in the fat butt quick. please come on, my car is right here. im just going to sit on the couch all day anyways and if you try to offer me money again i will be so angry. she told me this was the craziest thing she's ever done in her life and she's done many crazy things.

her name is merl christian and she's from trinidad. she was going to the bookstore to buy her 50 year old son a book on raising children that she saw on tv. she told me her grand kids are unruly. she brought out her wallet and showed me a black and white photo from when her son was 16. they went from trinidad to canada and then down to usa. she lives off a pension from canada and gives half of it to her son every month so she never has extra money. just enough to buy this book. the bookstore was closed so i turned around and drove her home and we talked some more.

we exchanged numbers. she's already called. she's gonna try and take the bus to the bookstore again tomorrow and my house is on the way. she told me she dug around and has a gift for me and wants to bring it to me.

im the happiest girl ever.

i need to shoot. and i need to model. im going crazy. right now my only operational camera is my vivitar pz3105 (35 mm used to take the photos in my previous post). been working on my website some more. hustling in school.

had tickets to go to stone temple pilots last night at the forum and tickets for tonights lightning game against the thrashers but, because of work, i did not and can not go to either. bummer.

so i have a list of things i should do / want to do today in front of me. its says:

- sketch
- practice stats
- model
- shoot
- get some sun
- clean
- edit website
- bicycle

so far i've messed around on one of my favorite new sites: www.studio6.com and stopped by here to procrastinate some more.

i could clean a little bit and then combine: sketch, shoot, get some sun, and bicycle all into one big event.

we'll see.