Apron Belly

Sketchbook Friday!

These scans are from a sketchbook from Summer of 2018.I believe all of these were created while I was in residence at Middle Tennessee State University, teaching a “sketchbook bootcamp” class with my partner, Blake, for Governor’s School. Gov School is a place for high school students gifted in the arts of music, film, art, etc. to come take classes on a college campus for the summer.

It was an incredible place to teach and hang with other artists. It always got my creative juices flowing just to be there, making all day. My dream.

Looking back on this book, I can see I was trying to grasp the new body I had grown post the birth and weaning of my first child. As he grew older, I was uncertain how I might grow, change, shrink, come loose at the edges.

As someone with a past of disordered eating, coming down off of a pregnancy over the years can be even more of a challenge.

This world doesn’t help us along in this acceptance of self, either.

The woman rolling her apron belly above is from a meme going around the internet at that time. I usually cite all of my sources for studies in my sketchbook, but failed to do so here. So I just did a bit of searching and found the woman is named Christine, and this image was about her weightloss and a yahoo series she made about it. I see the image now as a celebration of the body as is.

The term “apron belly” was new to me then. It’s taken many more years after learning what it is to learn how to love mine.

Tits like wind socks, belly like a slab of dough. I’m soft. I’m not on a weightloss journey. I’m on a self love journey.

Ugh, “self love journey” sounds so greeting card. Maybe I’ll say instead, I’m drawing my way into this moment. Right now. With myself and those around me.

I was really sad when Anthony Bourdain died. I loved to watch him talk to people about food, eat their food. And by doing so, he created community both with those he met on his journeys, but also at home with us. There was something beautiful about the way he could connect people across continents and cultures, all through one of our most basic needs and greatest enjoyments: food.

Apparently during this time I was also really obsessed with drawing scrolls. Of various kinds. Wish I had a pepperoni scroll right now, honestly.