A New Era

The birds are chirping, the sun is shining & I am sipping my morning coffee as I reflect on this new chapter in my career as a creative.

This is an image from my first ever tour in Providence, Rhode Island!

In 2015, I began working as a nude art model. Initially I was posing for artists - holding poses for long periods of time while figure artists studied my form in an attempt to recreate it on a page or in a sculpture. Often it was just part of an art practice, but on occasion I've been the subject of some really incredible paintings.

What started as a bit of a curiosity for me quickly became a fundamental part of my financial life - especially when I learned that there was a whole subculture of modeling called 'traveling art models' who roamed the Earth in search of creative (often nude) work in front of the camera lens.

A kind traveling art model took me under her wing to show me the logistics & standards I could expect from that type of work. With an hourly rate much higher than I could hope to receive working in a coffee shop in Chicago & the promise of traveling the world, I quickly set out to make freelance modeling my full-time work.

I have been asked about the nudity aspect of the work, but frankly it just felt relatively easy. Fewer clothing items to pack when you travel for work... besides the job is not about fashion, it's about form. The fashion industry is a small subset of modeling work - a genre that often feels unattainable to models who fall outside of a certain size or mentality. I know nudity is a big topic - so I'm going to chat about that in a different blog.

This blog is all about celebrating my incredible career as a traveling freelance model & joyously sharing what is to come. I've decided to transition away from the hustle of the traveling model life. While I've loved the travel of it all, it no longer feels right to spend so much of my time mired in the logistics or randomness of booking work in various cities. It's a GRIND!

Simply put - I'm over it. I'm still working as a model, but now I will only work with clients who book me for 2+ days & cover my costs in addition to my daily rate. I'm happy to work with photographers in Chicago for shorter shoots. Of course, I will also always make time for the incredible group excursions I've come to love with fantastic organizers like Muses of the West or Femme Nue. I totally understand that will certainly limit who I am able to work with... but isn't that the point?

Even more than that, I'm ready for my creativity to flow in a different direction. Over the years I've amassed an incredible portfolio of images that many of my favorite collaborators have given me permission to use as I choose. SO - I've decided to share these images with the global figure artist community through art reference packs that I am now selling on this website. You can go to my product page if you are interested!

I also offer live drawing sessions through my company Silhouette & Shadow which are in person & live-streamed online. So any artist can create art with me no matter where they live. These ventures are more than enough to keep me busy & funded, so I felt it was time to let go of the hustle & bustle of the model life I once loved.

Fundamentally, I need to be in Chicago to keep pushing my acting career forward. A career that has unexpectedly included the side-quest of writing my own stories these last few years... another passion that I must make room for in my busy life!

But more on that later... thanks for reading my first blog post! Delighted to have you here in my digital space.