As spring turns quickly into summer (and then decides to be sweater weather again) I give you my TILT!

• house parties with photos of Prince everywhere,
• house parties that also include play-do, bubbles and other games.
• waking up to cartoon birds meant to be John Lennon on my kitchen chalkboard,
• eating Hemp I Scream cookie sandwiches to motivate me to do school work,
• looking for a new house in Austin (on the East side!) seeing so many cute families and dogs and parks that I want to live next to.
• Finding out that there is a Clown Escort Service in Austin. Let the erotic nightmares begin!
• morning rain,
• Philip Glass (forever and ever and ever)
• Reading Julie In Japan (one of my favorite gals – Julie and I go back to 2003 LJ days!) and now wanting desperately for one of my friends to get the itch to move to Japan so I can go and visit them for an extended period of time.
• the octopus teacup at anthropologie
• convincing 5 of my friends/roommates to join OKCupid so now I have an endless feed of giddy people who are just getting back from their first dates!! Springtime!!!
• and of course, Angel’s Easter Party was an absolute delight and I ate so much chocolate and saw all of my friends glittery and confetti covered in the shade.

In honor of Ray Donley’s Houston show that will be opening May 1st at the Laura Rathe Fine Art Gallery, here is a mosaic of masks, including one of yours truly posing for a painting:

1. Flapper and Mask, 2. 00125ppz, 3. masque flapper, 4. by Ray Donley, 5. Black Mask, 6. Guillaume Seignac (1870-1924) Pierrot’s Embrace, 7. Homage to Caesar (2), 8. Castiglione, 9. Waiting for the Wind to change

For those of you who have not been following me for very long, this next outfit may come as a bit of a surprise to you!

• Black bodysuit – American Apparel
• Necklace from Lux Jewelry via Uncommon Objects
• Stretchy black skirt – Express circa 1998
• Green handpainted parasol
• Tapestry bag
• Black flats

This is my typical modeling outfit. Because I must be flexible and sit in one position for a period of time, I choose to wear very free form clothing that shows my shape but does not interfere. Of course, this skirt is very clingy and I often don’t wear it except as an under-thing because it isn’t too flattering. It gets the job done, though!

I am an artist’s model for Ray Donley, who is based in Austin but who shows in galleries all over the world. He and I have been working together since the spring and our sessions are a time I look forward to because I’m excited and inspired to work so close with someone so prolific. He has certain characters that I have been studying and adapting. I look at a lot of giant art history books in the library on my down time from graduate school, just to get poses and moods down pat. There’s Rembrant overtones, for sure, but there’s also flavors of VooDoo, Catholicism, and Man Ray.

A show of his closed in Toronto in late October and in Anaheim, CA just last week. My image will be in Amsterdam, Houston and LA early next year, so if you are in these cities, keep your ears perked..

If you are in the NOLA area, please come out to the show in December! There are many exciting pieces in this show that fit perfectly with the backdrop of New Orleans.

If you are a reader of ARTnews, you may have seen a familiar face within!