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Baring it all for the sake of art. And beer. And fun.

Patrick Fort
/
Aspen Public Radio

At the Woody Creek Community Center last week, people brought their charcoals and pencils to sketch a nude model as part of their Nudes and Brews session.

It was a cold, rainy and snowy night. Everyone was bundled up in their winter clothes. Hats, boots and any other accessory you could think of. Everyone, that is, except for Tracie Wright of Carbondale, who had the pleasure of being the night’s nude model.

 

As a nude-modeling first-timer, she had to get to a point where she felt comfortable with her body. She says she has a strong mental image of herself right now.

 

“It’s pretty cool actually," said Wright. "It reminds me a bit of yoga," says Wright. "You have to hold a pose. You have to have composure. I’ve been working on trying to relax my face and smile a bit and think about my third eye a little bit. Just relax.”

But it’s tough to relax at first. At the beginning of the session while people are still settling in, Tracie has to change poses as the people drawing her get their fingers and wrists ready for the long night of sketching. But she says she feels safe in this environment. A room with couches and quiet music.

 

“I think when we’re naked, we are with people that we’re really close to," said Wright. "To come in here and expose myself in a way where I’m exposing myself to people I’ve never met is very interesting, but this is a really good place for it.

 

Bethany Halloran was sitting in the back row of the session. She found out about the event while visiting the Woody Creek Cafe a day earlier. Like it is for Tracie the model, Bethany is in a completely new situation.

 

“It’s way too fast," said Hallorano, here from North Carolina. "I can’t draw so it takes me forever, and then I have to erase and redraw. It’s very therapeutic for me. I feel like I can’t make anything that is presentable to anybody, or would mean anything to anyone else, but it’s meaningful to me.”

 

It’s one thing to see yourself in a mirror, but it’s another to see drawings of yourself. Tracie was definitely on board to see the results.

 

“I actually asked people beforehand, and a couple of them were excited to show me," said Wright. "One in particular was like ‘No, I never show my work.’”

 

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