let lemons be angry

I've never actually said anything here about the nude models for drawing class, so here goes. Today we finally had new nudes. After a semester of Maria (fatless bodybuilder) and Tanya (very very round assortment of voluminous shapes), a change was more than welcome. Except it came in a double dose: TWO MALE NUDES for us today, it seemed.

We were lucky enough not to get Benny last semester. He was a fatherly figure with glasses and absolutely no muscle, with a penchant for striking horrific superhero poses. He was constantly in his t-shirt and boxers when not on the job, and we would shudder when we saw him in the corridor. What could be worse than getting a male nude model who's your father's age, we thought.

How about two male nudes your age? When we saw them come in, we had this enormous sense that something in the atmosphere must have collapsed. We hid behind our drawing boards as they got ready. The first one we shall call Dragonboat Boy, because our bubbly german teacher so considerately informed us that he's an ntu student from dragonboat, recruited by the dame joan kelly while he was working out in the gym. As if we really want to know personal details about our nude models. Now every time we see the dragonboat team, we'll have no choice but to notice the one whose muscles we know so well. Dragonboat Boy, obviously with a reputation in school to protect, and not wanting to run the risk of bumping into any of us in the canteen etc, did not fully strip. (Thank God.) He also seemed really uncomfortable with the poses, and kept his glasses on throughout the session, which sarah pounced on in her sketch.

The second was an i-think-i'm-gorgeous malay (or indian, or mixed) with tattooes on his stomach and back and very styled hair. Everybody's reaction was "isn't what he's doing haram?" Oh well. The guys in class said from observation that he had gone through the required rite of passage for Muslims. I don't want to know, i don't want to tell. We shall call him Narcissus, because of the way he stands and casts his eyes about. He was actually more feminine than Maria (fatless bodybuilder). Good Maria was the epitome of toned muscles, and beautiful in her strong-woman way i suppose.

For $60 an hour, for a 4-hr session, minimum 2 sessions a week, it's no wonder that such random people show up to be drawn in the studios. There are definitely the downsides to the job of course, such as running into students who have seen them naked. Tanya walked into a starbucks where i was and walked straight out.

Despite how easily i tell these stories, i am still not at all used to nudes. I'll never be. I'll still be traumatized by another Tanya, or a Benny, or anyone who doesn't believe in personal hygiene or modesty. Ah yes, strange, but there are some nudes who are more modest than others. For example, i bet not all of them would come to work during her time of the month.