Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to me. Last year I was in Paris, eating croissants, killing imaginary space invaders with 80s makeup and a crew of rapidly speaking French artists in my hotel room, and later overindulging on champagne at a show with talented dancers who happened to be bordering on naked. This year I have commenced the day with the ringing of a gas truck and the tardy departure from bed which resulted in being unable to reach the street with the canister in time. My cooking will be put on hold until tomorrow's clanging arrival of a gas truck, and the microwave will be how I heat my teas and coffees. I showered, ate a delicious eggplant and rice bowl I had prepared the night before and headed to a cafe where I currently sit with intentions to write and not just play online. I am sipping an overpriced coffee for Bolivian standards, but thinking about another as heck, today is my birthday. What else will be in store for me this afternoon and evening, that is still an unknown.

I have been markedly vacant from my blog here as I decided my adventure in South America is not exactly modeling related and perhaps not relative for this blog, even if I do end up finding some modeling opportunities every once in a while.

As an art model, I have been traveling almost continually the past 4 years, and until my stay in Bolivia, the longest I spent in one city "living" without getting up and traveling again was 5 weeks. I have been in La Paz "living" in the home of an artist these past 7 weeks, and although this stay was not planned, I know I needed to take a few moments away from traveling and while I have so many friends in the US and welcome homes, I needed to remove myself from the modeling world of the US to do this. When back at home I always felt the pull to visit more people and create more art, but this journey in South America is not about that, hence I was able to allow myself to learn how to stand still for a moment. As a model who needs to travel to earn her income, I have become accustomed to continually thinking about my next city and next gigs. I go through times when all time away from shoots, I am thinking about my next shoots. This great motivation and determination is a positive when working, as it means I am productive and busy, but sometimes I think stepping aside and slowing down the brain's work ethic is necessary. Of course, this past 7 weeks I have been doing several shoots a week, with camping trips to gorgeous locations where I can freely find shooting locations, and as I have been accompanied by an artist friend, I have not been without modeling.

My plans on this journey always change, but right now the itch to get back to traveling has returned. 7 weeks in one place, even if I was camping about a third of that time, is an absurdly huge amount of time in one place for me. Monday I will head to Peru.

Right now I am experiencing winter in La Paz, with freezing temperatures and atypical rains. Please enjoy the return of the warm weather in the northern hemisphere for me. When indoors, wearing a down jacket and still cold, I sometimes longingly think of playing on trees and rocks in the nude in the forests and deserts of the US, but that will have to wait.

A few photos from about two years ago, when I was in Oregon. Photographed by John W.