I have modeled for over 10 years but mostly in a non-professional setting. The artists for whom I worked for are people I consider close friends or acquaintances. Even the professional photographers with whom I worked were normally a result of mutual friends or colleagues drawing the two of us to work together. This is in no way a way of diminishing the caliber of artists I have modeled for. Many of my close friends from high school later attended art schools with stellar reputations such as Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Pratt, The Corcoran, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and so on. I inadvertently began modeling for the artist friends of mine and their classmates and occasionally entire classes. I never really considered myself a "model" in that glamorous sense, but a friend helping friends with assignments, projects, shows and installations or simply posing for a class.
I decided to submit a profile for Model Mayhem because of gentle pressure and encouragement from those same friends who have become established artists in their respective mediums. I am still modeling for friends and contacts made through those friends. Their logic for me establishing a profile as a "model" was to be compensated in someway besides my old college tariff of a sandwich and a beer. I never looked at my amateur modeling as anything other than permitting me to be a part of the beautiful art process in and of itself.
I consider myself to be an avid art appreciator and collector, when possible, with the unfortunate curse of being void of the skills people attribute to artists. I guess my contribution is enjoying the art and in that same vein, being part of the process has led me to an even higher respect for the aesthetic as well as incredibly fortunate to have been able to participate in work I revere.
So, here I am now, essentially attempting the impossible which isn't unique to me but to all of those whose lives have been made richer because of art in many forms and capacities, I am trying to explain why I love the art and enjoy modeling. Hopefully, I will really take something from this opportunity to be part of something such is Model Mayhem. And though my old friends still enjoy the whole sandwich and a beer price for their work, they strongly advise harsher negotiations in the future with those I work with...

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