Fingertips blackened, eyes sharpened, a soul-settling satisfaction and post-meditative state of mind result when I draw from life. I had almost forgotten… But lucky for me, the desire to draw from a model is strong enough to create a weekly 3 hour session open to any of the many artists who live here (and come from neighboring towns) to scratch, dab and color their way in a fleeting attempt to capture life, light and flesh. Well over a decade ago I actually hosted such sessions in the studio I temporarily inherited from Freeman Butts - a fitting tribute to the artist for whom I was lucky enough to pose. For fourteen years I happily played muse for his big bold brush strokes along with a gaggle of local gals, many of whom I found for him and coaxed to his model stand.

I remember now – the pull of a pose. The work. The play. I am rusty. Unpracticed but no-less-enthusiastic and infinitely grateful that despite a decade and half of lapsed attendance, the invitation to join the sessions and draw never ceased. But it took the enthusiasm of a life-drawing newbie to rekindle my own. Thanks Audrey!