Silences of Late

I desperately want this on my wall. It's gorgeous and I love it. It reminds me so much of me and Erin. I think it really looks like us too.





This is painted by my friend Scott French down in Atlanta, GA, whom I'd love to pose for and create art with.

Please visit his blog and his Etsy shop.

my safelight

I really think I should just camp away from civilization for a few months. Being with nature really calms me and gives me focus. But then again, creating art does too. Maybe that's why I feel so exhilarated when both are combined.

Being back home is an overwhelming reality check, and I wasn't ready for it. My beast (as Claudia so rightfully names depression) has come back to bite me in the ass, despite me being faithful with my pills, and despite the wonderful adventures I just returned from. I just hope I can scamper back off to the woods and shake it off before it clamps on for good and causes me to backslide. I'll have to prepare myself more diligently before I come home again.

I must have been crazy, but Matt and I shot this the day I got home. Yes, this is a lightpainting and I electively chose to do an intensely hard pose. It was back-breaking. Remind me again why I always try to do the impossible?

Oh yeah, it's for art. He tortures me sometimes, but he's always worth it.

I'm home!...for a couple of days.

After 15 days, 4000 miles, and over 60 hours in the car, I am finally home!!

I saw some amazing sights, saw some incredible wildlife, and got some amazing workouts from the hikes in the state parks.

But I could go on an on, but what good would any stories be without accompanied photos? Not very, me thinks. I'm a total tease, I know, but all my travel stories will come in bits with pictures, I promise.

I haven't even started to copy Dave Levinston's onto my computer, and I wont get Dave Swanson's until we meet up again June 13th.

Starting this Friday until we meet up with Dave, Matt and I will be on our vacation camping at a few of the state parks up on the North Shore, with no access to the internet. I'm very excited to get away and relax with no agenda or schedule.


Wow, you can tell I haven't been blogging in a while, everything sounds so disconnected.




But... guess who's photos I finally received? And guess what makes them even better?




sometimes, life has perfect timing.


I hope your L.A. shoots are going perfect, Erin! I miss you.

______________________

James M. Graham. with Erin.

Collect Call

"Collect Call" - Metric

If the fire's out baby
How you gonna keep me warm
Supposing you let me
With the door wide open no one can leave

I know it's a lie I want it to be true
The rest of the ride is riding on you
Over goodbyes we'll buy some place

For wishing you could
Keep me closer
I'm a lazy dancer
When you move I move with you

If somebody's got soul
You gotta make them move
Make them move

I know it's a lie I want it to be true
The rest of the ride is riding on you
Over goodbyes we'll buy some place

For wishing you could
Keep me closer
I'm a lazy dancer
When you move I move with you

O'Hare, Oh Erin!

I usually hate cell phone camera pictures, but how can I hate a photo when Erin is in it? Especially one where she's next to me.



11 hours of driving for an hour and a half of time. It was completely worth it. Dave Swanson was the catalyst, and I am completely indebted to him. Thank you so much Dave.



"It's not goodbye, it's 'I'll see you in August'."




Please don't hate me Danny. I'm not going to steal your wife, but you do have to know that she is my girl.

My love...

I absolutely unequivocally utterly adore you. There are no secrets. No matter what happens in our lives, you are my muse (even though I don't hold a camera nearly enough as I should).


_______________

"New Secrets" - Matthew Scherfenberg

One Dave for Another

Read Levingston's and Swanson's blogs for the latest travel updates. I'll do an extensive summary of all my travels once I get home June 1st. Then Matt and I will be gone June 5th for a week of vacation up at the north shore. I'm looking forward to not having any internet or any communication with the outside world for that week. I'm going to make Matt store away his silly iPhone too.

I'm feeling quite lazy today, despite being productive on the potter's wheel. I wrecked two and created two clay bowl shaped... things (the latter only because of Dave's amazing wife's recovery skills on the wheel). Maybe it's the piss poor weather today (although its not that cold, thank goodness!). Or maybe I just need a recharge. I believe I'll get a big boost of energy and quite a few butterflies in my stomach tomorrow...

I'm really looking forward to this trip with Dave. We're going to a couple amazing state parks and then to the Kinsey Show. It should be a blast!

I'm wearing my "Iron Determination" shirt that Matt got me after our 3rd week of shooting. I look at this picture Matt took and cringe though. I'm currently over a month and a half smoke-free and absolutely love being able to breathe again and not having that constant taste of something having died in my mouth. I've heard I smell much better too. Apparently smokers reek, although I wouldn't know it.





Seriously, Dave and his wife are the nicest people ever. I just love them!

Watch out, it's RANT time.

I wish I could be an art model, traveling around the world, posing for photographers, painters, drawers, sculptors and artists alike as my full-time career. Nothing else gives me as much pleasure than participating in the creative process, collaborating to create art. It seems like it could even be feasible... if there was an active market and demand for figure art. If only more societies were more reverent instead of ashamed of the nude body. It just makes sense to me to consider the body a natural and beautiful thing. I mean, its not like we were born wearing clothes!

Clothes (or animal hides way back in the day) originally were made/used only to protect us from the harsh elements in extreme climates. They were never meant to hide the body or our sex. Knowledge did not create this shame we have for the naked body. There was no apple, there was no garden, there was no adam and eve, and the whole fucking world was not created in 6 days. And anyone that disagrees with me and believes in creationism can kiss my blasphemous, bible-hating, pro-nude ass and leave my blog right now as you are not welcome here anyway. Wait a minute, you'd probably like kissing my ass and... what the hell are you doing at a "objectionable content" blog anyway? You hypocritical heathen!!

Okay, I was unnecessarily nasty there, and if I look at it from the other perspective, I get it. And its not all their fault. Examining my own pre-modeling attitudes about nakedness in hindsight, I know I was ashamed of my nakedness. Most are raised to believe that nakedness is wrong and only meant for our husband/wife. But yet, we accept and sometimes greatly admire paintings and sculptures in museums of the naked figure. People need to realize this hypocrisy and challenge the beliefs that they were raised with. But people clinging on to their ignorance for the sake of their personal comfort have absolutely no sympathy or even an ounce of respect from me. But who cares right? Its not like those people would want my respect anyway.

Like most lewd accusations in this country, you are considered guilty until proven innocent. We'd like to think it's the other way around, and our judicial system is based off of it, but do most authorities truly believe it? Correct me if I'm wrong (Stephen), but if the focus of the picture (and how wide or narrow is that interpretation?) is of the pubic area, and you dont manage a nearly impossible record keeping system of photos taken after March 18th 2009, under the 2257 amendment, you are breaking the law despite what your intent is. Now I know that the purpose or intent of this amendment is to try and cut back on the number of inappropriate photographs taken of minors, and reducing the production of child pornography. And I unequivocally agree that child pornography is horrible, disgusting and absolutely unacceptable. But does anyone honestly believe that this will stop or even deter the production of child pornography? I honestly don't. All it is is just a real pain in the ass for nude photographers and possibly even for nude models.

I know I don't have much to worry about 2257 with my art, but it still bothers me that the following pictures would be considered inappropriate by the vast majority of people only because I'm nude in them.





sigh.

Wow. That was quite a rant, and I'm sorry, only because I know I'm preachin' to the choir.

-----

The trip is still going magnificently.

We (Gaea, 'Tina and I) were pretty cold this morning, okay, we were FREEZING at our shoot, as it was 45 degrees, very windy with no sun. (For evidence, look to Dave's post from today). But we pushed through it, and we got some wonderful photos, including the one up above with the roots of the tree. For some reason, probably because of the wind, I was more cold today than yesterday posing in the rain with that huge ice chunk.

Hopefully tomorrow will be warmer.

And speaking of temperatures, how come when I leave Minnesota it finally decides to get unseasonably warm? I heard yesterday's temperature of 97 shattered the previous record of 87 back from 1977. Now that's hot!

Oh well. I probably would have just stayed inside with the air conditioning on anyways.

-----

As a couple of lovely side notes, Matt Scherfenberg got featured for the first time on Univers d'Artistes! So check it out! It was long overdue in my (highly biased) opinion.

And I got featured a couple days before that in my first interview on UdA, by Unbearable Lightness and was made an Art Editor of Univers d'Artistes! I'm very honored!

___________________

Photos by the near and dear, Dave Levingston.

Big Sky Country

So, did anyone else, other than me, fail to realize just how fricken big Montana is? Yeah, its huge.

Dave, Gaea and I are having a lovely time out here. I'll leave you to Dave's blog for more specific examples of our adventures.

One adventure we did have yesterday was a long 2 mile uphill hike along Avalanche Creek to Avalanche Lake. We thought the trail might never end, but of course it did, and it was completely worth the hike and the stiff and sore legs I have today.

Here's the view we had.

Yeah, its gorgeous out here.

------

On Sunday, I got to meet and shoot with Chris Ryan and I also got to meet his lovely wife 'Tina. They are both outstanding people, and I had a wonderful time with them both. We shot in two different locations: one in an old barn and one on the receded north shore of Flathead lake. Here's a (not so lovely) "tourist" photo of me from the beach.

The driftwood makes for excellent shooting possibilities. I'll get to experience this awesome location again when Dave shoots me, Gaea and Tina here tomorrow.


I did shoot early this morning with Dave for about 10 minutes despite it raining quite steadily and the brisk 45 degree temperature. But Dave got the shot and, as always, it's always worth it for Art. But Art wore us out yesterday and today, so we have all decided to take the rest of the rainy day off.

Fear and Love

The biopsychosocial explanation to all emotions and motivations in humanity. These rule our hearts, our thoughts and our actions. Either individually, in unison or in discord.

I fear too much, and love too little.
Probably due to my dysfunctional childhood, I suppose.






______________

Michael Sloane.