Where the men are naked

Charcoal, coloured chalk, sketchpads, a fun environment and a naked man.
What more could you possibly want?

Friday 9 May 2014

Spontaneously original creativity

This was my third booking at the Tron Tavern and was the liveliest one yet - probably the liveliest class I've ever had.  For a while, I was getting very nervous because the class was due to start at 3PM, but the group didn't turn up until just after 4PM.  I had to keep stepping outside to send text messages to the lead hen, because there's no 'phone reception in the sub-basement of the Tron.


I finally met the lead hen, just as I was leaving a message on her answering machine.  I was sitting on the steps of Hunter Square and saw a taxi pulling up, full of girls.  I walked over, introduced myself and reassured her that although she was running late, I was able to be flexible with the times and I could give her the full hour.  But she had her booking notes handy and she was adamant that she was early - that her class was scheduled to start at 4:30PM.


When we got set up downstairs, the girls started producing bottles and revealed that - once again - the agency had told them to bring their own drinks.  By this stage, though, I knew that once we were set up in the sub-basement the bar staff were not about to disturb us, so I let them drink their own alcohol.  I just made sure I cleaned up all the bottles and glasses and took them away with me when the class was done.


Not the best start to a class, and I made sure that the agency were notified about the details very shortly afterward.  And a week later, I got a call from a representative who told me that the drinks issue had been cleared up, but insisted that the class was definitely supposed to start at 3:30PM, so the original time was the correct one.  So ultimately, I was left unclear about where the scheduling mistake came from.  But still... it was better that I started an hour early, rather than an hour late.


Once we got underway, though, we had a great time.  The bride was the only person being kept in the dark for this specific event, so I was able to talk discreetly with all the other girls in advance.  One of them was very excited when she saw we were holding the event in the Tron Tavern.  Seems it's a favourite spot of hers.

The bride was led into the room blindfolded, but I recommended that she be taken down the stairs first, then have the blindfold put on.  And since everybody else already knew what to expect, it was suggested that I get naked from the outset.  That was another feature that the girls really appreciated.  Two of them bounded right up to me to pose for photographs as soon as they entered the room and saw me.  I knew right away that it wasn't going to be difficult to keep the enthusiasm high for this bunch of girls.


They had their own props, as well - a giant inflatable penis being the most prominent.  There's something about the average penis, I suppose.  When it swells up, it just demands attention.  Half its purpose must be purely to advertise its presence.  Which makes it a bit of a shame that this one was largely forgotten as the class progressed.  I had fully intended to pose with it at some point, but never quite got round to making full use of it.

The paper suggestions were more popular this time.  I passed round the previous suggestions - the ones from the class in Inverness - and got the girls to read those out, so they could get an idea of how things had gone.  I figured that would act as a good ice-breaker, by giving them an idea of how to proceed with the concept and - hopefully - some thoughts of their own.  It was definitely a bit more successful than the previous attempt.  But a lot of the suggestions were either wildly unrealistic or just downright impossible.


My favourite photo opportunity came right at the end of the class.  One of the girls must have knocked over a tray of coloured chalks, so when I was cleaning up after everybody had gone, I saw the mess she had left behind.  I thought it looked surprisingly beautiful.  If I'd seen it earlier, I might have awarded her some bonus points, for... I don't know... spontaneously original creativity, or something.


Or I might just as easily have subtracted points for wasting good chalk.

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Smoke

I made up a book of some of my pictures. Just in case anyone's interested. It's very expensive, but you can see and buy it at the Blurb website and you can get a preview of it here. Just the first fifteen pages, though. Consider it a teaser.