In visiting The Body Farm (the one on the north side of the river), I invite the public to reckon with the reality, beauty, and diversity of the human form. Many people act like they don’t have a nude body underneath their clothes in our puritanical society. At the same time, the bodies we commonly see in popular media are a very narrow swath of the human experience. Women are supposed to show off their bodies for the public’s viewing pleasure, but not too much! By observing the nude body through the female gaze, I document anatomy with an emphasis on the subject’s humanity and personality, rather than as just a pinup. 
All of these figures were drawn from life. I believe in the power  of observational drawing more than ever: to merge my internal perception with external reality. Unlike a camera, I can imbue scenes with my thoughts and feelings. 

Everyone should try figure drawing as a body positivity exercise: Figure models are people of all different body types, ages, genders, and ethnicities. None of them are perfect, but all of them have inherent beauty. They have the confidence to stand bare in front of strangers, but the sketching strangers don’t focus on the model’s so-called flaws. Instead, the artists worry about how to get the angle of the elbow just right, or how to portray the light shining on the model’s hair. Each person views the model differently, but they all focus on the big picture, not a little cellulite or acne. If we all can see the beauty of each unique model, then why are we judging our own bodies so harshly? Maybe our physical insecurities aren’t so bad. Maybe we aren’t so bad.