'the wednesday nighters'

❉ a present was sent to my parents house today from my old life drawing class; a wedding garter, a heart shaped good luck charm and a card with messages from everyone in the class! i was warmed to my heart with the kindness of it.

'the wednesday nighters' were an eclectic group of people of all ages and backgrounds, who used to meet on wednesday nights for life drawing in one of the ladies garages, which had been converted into a makeshift art studio. i've never met such a wonderful group of people, such a complimentary set of characters, all so lovely and special in their own way...

i joined the group as a life model and instantly felt like i belonged. i flirted briefly on the other side of the easel doing charcoal drawings but then went back to being the weekly model, realising i was better at that. we had so much fun in those classes... listening to music (mainly folk or blues), feasting on fresh vanilla slice and creamy pastries, supplied by richard who was a baker in his day job, group matchmaking for the sweet-hearted and single wayne, pissing ourselves at everything the hilarious hairdresser jazminka ever said, being envious of tim the instructor's continuous flow of masterpieces, and laughing at donna, the owner of the garage, who weekly relayed comments made by her husband and four sons who all disagreed with her using their garage for her 'perverts class'.

we all got to know each other really well and i looked forward to the class every week. when i moved to costa rica three years ago, they all came to my farewell party and i then i never saw them again ... so it brought a tear to my eye to receive their lovely gift.

and it was quite coincidental since tonight was my first life drawing class in london. i modelled with a red-haired beauty called isley for a class in islington. save for mine and isleys gossiping, there was complete silence in the studio- a far cry from the 'wednesday nighters' classes and much less fun! i didn't even get to walk around and look at peoples drawings, which was always my favourite part of the class. i think its a mixture between my vanity and my thrill of being involved in artistic things, but i would so loved to have been an artist's muse back in the renaissance days- like boticelli's simonetta. jerry ridicules it as exhibitionism and perversion and almost forbade me to model, but he's eventually come around and now just mocks it.