Waves of Feminism, Tsunamis of Juices

Attending a university that places minute emphasis on the Fine Arts, one struggles in finding outlets for creative ventures. Two of my b.f.f.s, Adina and April, managed to find an imaginative means for expression in a weekly life-drawing class on campus. Lack of attendees soon forced the class to be cancelled, and my friends were out of artistic luck. This past October, Adina decided to act on her lack of inspirational imagery and start a life-drawing class herself. This idea soon evolved into our weekly night life-drawing society, otherwise known as Flowing Juices.

Six of the society’s members live together in the Clark House where the class takes place, but the amount of participants can reach double that. One of the potential twelve women will volunteer to model for the group about a week previous to the scheduled drawing class, so as to leave time for bodily research. Each Monday, that brave friend stands up, de-robes (literally, we have a satin turquoise kimono-robe with fire-breathing dragons on it which is reserved especially for the model of the night to get into the mood), and powerfully poses for at least an hour so the attentive artists can succumb to her image in admirable silence. We draw each other naked. What.

Those drawing remain quiet, however we always play songs which reflect the intensity of the situation. The model’s and artists’ concentration is never disturbed by the surging music, however if any of the songs on the Flowing Juices playlist pop up during a dinner-making session or house party, you can always see a glint of amusement in the eyes of all society members. Besides the sometimes humorous musical repetition, all other aspects of the class are taken extremely seriously. No one can be present who is not drawing, those participating are not to invite others without the blessing of the upcoming model, and anyone who does not feel comfortable sharing their drawings or their bodies with the class receives no pressure to do either. We have tried our hardest, and in my opinion accomplished, a safe space in which women can come together, engage in communal artistic sensations, exchange creativity, and not only feel good about improving our drawing styles critically but also ourselves essentially.

Volunteering to model has just as significant a role in the Flowing Juices experience as the actual life-drawing facet. Many of us feel more comfortable to frequent nudity than others, but both exhibitionist and wallflower can bond over the sensation which arises when standing vulnerable to scrutinizing charcoal until the “buzz” of the egg timer signals a position change. To describe the artists as “scrutinizing” may conjure allusions of judgment, but it is rather with loving dissection that my friends’ eyes pore over each other’s similarities. The posing timeline is decided upon before the session begins (typically, we start with 5 minute quickies and eventually evolve into 20 minute portraits) but can easily be vocally adjusted as pose difficulty often is misjudged. Some pose facing forward, some pose backwards, and often a chair is used for more interesting positions (again, mischievous glimpses are exchanged when an unsuspecting party animal decides to rest upon the infamous seat which has held many a bare ass).

Whenever I describe our story of Flowing Juices to other friends, family, or potential employers, the most common response has been "When can I volunteer?" It is this positive reinforcement which helps us in realizing how unique our society is, aiding in the continuation of our weekly sessions. We have only had one valiant male model thus far, but are more than welcome to future volunteers from all the spectra of genders. No matter the complexity of the shadowing, nor the intricacies of body parts, each artist fully supports the model’s choices and does their best to achieve the reproduction they most desire. At the end of each session, the model first receives a hearty applause and after the show-and-tell portion of the evening, the artists receive one too. Support, camaraderie, and of course, creativity are what constitute our society’s objectives. Each aspect aids in our outlooks on each other and ourselves, helping to sustain the movement and add to the strengthening current of Flowing Juices. Sometimes we even need to lay down a towel.