"Renee"

November 3, 2011.

As a child, I would run through the pages in my mom's big, bulky Sears (and Roebucks) gift catalogs, looking for toys and games I wanted to have for Christmas.  But lo and behold, the tall, leggy models quickly got a hold of me, playing the parts of ingenues...glamour girls...leading ladies in the latest fashions and elaborate designs, making me forget about those goofy games and toys for a while! Well, so much for Santa Claus, I suppose.  

A couple of days ago, I created a sketch that reminds me a little of a look once considered ideal among models (and designers...and photographers) and popular among the men and women who flipped the large pages back and forth all the time.  Tall, trim, chic, statuesque.  And of course, very beautiful.  A mere escape.  Then again, that was the 1970s and society has grown to embrace differing body types and been questioning body image in the media since.  At the same time, this sketch is, for me, a pleasant reminder of my coming-of-age, my growing curiosity, and my aspiration to something greater than a Magic 8-Ball.  I'm quite certain it could never have predicted that I'd make this.