My muse shoot

Clickbait title much? So this week I did something a little bit crazy. Let me explain… 

I am planning to release my own art collection in a few months’ time. I had some scenarios in my head that I wanted to illustrate. But I’m terrible when it comes to getting it out of my head and onto the paper or screen. I really need to see something in order to draw it. 

The theme of the collection will be around ‘freedom’, inspiring women to live life on their own terms. And what’s more free than being nude? So for the pieces, I had some ideas of nude women posing with different props. 

I asked five of my friends to get nude and pose together so I could photograph them and use the photos as reference for my drawings. 

I don’t think you’ve ever known awkward until you ask a friend to let you photograph them nude! But amazingly, they were all such good sports about it. 

For many of them, it was a personal experience they wanted to go through to step outside of their comfort zones and connect more with their bodies. So I really felt like it was bigger than just my artwork. It was so beautiful. 

I think I was doing well in the lead up. No big deal, right? On the day, I had this panic moment of ‘what have I done?’ How could I ask these women to get nude for me? I shrugged it off and just tried to embrace the experience. 

We met at the studio space I hired and sat and talked for a bit before stripping off. I stood up to shut the door and asked the girls to get down to their undies to start with. I did actually mean undies AND bras, but I turned around and all bras were coming off! They got right into it! 

After getting them to put bras back on, I did then get them all to strip at the same time in front of the camera. And I’m so in love with the shots I got. I feel like these illustrations will be really beautiful in a bathroom or bedroom. 

I feel like after only a few seconds, everyone really eased into being naked. I’m not sure I can put into words what happened. But it just became about ourselves. There’s nothing to hide. We just stepped into who we are, with everything stripped away. We weren’t even looking at each other’s body parts and there was no judgement. Body hair, no body hair, stretch marks, scars, tan lines, dimples, none of it mattered. It did make me realise that all bodies are beautiful, and everyone’s is so different. We really are portrayed so many unrealistic expectations. And I felt like what I saw in that studio was more beautiful than any photoshopped image I’ve ever seen in a magazine. 

Before the experience, I did ummm and ahhh over taking my own clothes off. I thought about what would make the girls comfortable and what would make me comfortable. And in the spirit of freedom and the nature of the project, I decided to strip also. And I’m so glad I did, because the room was filled with just such beautiful energy. All of us just owning our bodies. I did just leave my bottom underwear on, because I was climbing over the girls to take their photos laying down etc and no one wants to look up at that. 

Obviously for privacy reasons, I won’t share the photos. But honestly they are just so beautiful. Flicking through them just brings tears to my eyes. 

I can’t thank these ladies enough for sharing this experience with me. It’s something I won’t ever forget. 

And I also recommend every woman trying something like this in their lifetime! 

I totally get why people live in nudist camps now. So don’t be surprised if in a few years time, that’s where I’ll be! 

I can’t wait to turn these shots into beautiful art pieces for your homes. 

Heidi x