A zillion years ago when I was an undergraduate at Oberlin College I organized a weekly figure drawing session as the art department faculty had no interest in providing models for the students. When I couldn’t find anyone willing to model I would fill in so we could keep the sessions going.

The very first time I took a pose it was supposed to last 10 minutes. One of the watch-wearing students there to draw to keep time for me. Within a few minutes my body was becoming really uncomfortable and I knew we must have gone well past the appointed 10 minutes. Asking how long the pose had gone so far I was curtly told ” four minutes.”

I’m embarrassed to admit I actually asked again two more times before the timekeeper finally announced the entire ten minutes had elapsed. I realized time passes a whole lot more slowly when you’re naked and motionless. And I learned there is an art to finding poses you’re body can hold as well as an art to the state of mind one needs to achieve if you’re not going to go nuts while modeling. I smile at the memory of all this now.