We are given myths and distortions about our bodies, our sexuality, our desires from many places: our society, our religion, our parents, our significant relationships, our experiences.  These are messages and myths we then “embody” and take with us. Our bodies “don’t belong, don’t fit in, take up too much space.” Chairs are not big enough, clothes are not affordably made to fit us, airplane seats, theatre seats cannot contain us. We are continuously asked to control and contort our bodies. Or perhaps our face is not what others want to see, or our hairstyle, our fashion—not acceptable. We are too short, too thin, to ungainly, too much– and while we try to fit in, we “fail” to hide ourselves enough. What is an acceptable body in public?  In private? What’s acceptable sexual behavior?  How has an unspoken need for acceptance shaped our ideas of our body? How do we begin to own, respect, and love our bodies again?

We are already given plenty of ways to think about our body–but we need to see those body image messages, confront them, and replace them with true, accurate concepts of body image through our own study.

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Often, it takes a lot of work to reshape, re-craft our physical expectations and embrace our unique bodies, genders, sexual expressions. We must change our eyes, our perceptions, our beliefs. One way to re-vision our bodies again is through art-making– painting, sculpting, music, dance, writing, photography, etc. I wrote about this in my essay, “A Fat Lot of Good That Did: How an Art Studio Transformed My Eyes,” originally published in Fat & Queer: an anthology of Queer and Trans Bodies and Lives (eds. Morales, Grimm, Ferentini. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2021). I learned a lot about my body and myself through art-making, through photography, and later through daily watercolor art. That daily practice also improved my art making skills, and my body acceptance, tremendously.

This class will take inspiration from Classical Art to contemporary art, from Bouguereau to Boudoir.  Daily, you will be invited to create art with a pen, a brush, a camera, with writing, or song, or dance, to understand the body you have better, to understand others better, and possibly to understand ourselves better. 

Based on the concept of thirty day art challenges to improve skills, you will receive email prompts, from October 1-31, with links that lead to our Discord channel—with a piece of classic or contemporary art and a short reading and prompt, asking you to think about the art, or the story surrounding the art, and inviting you to choose a way to creatively express your response to the prompt—through making art, photography, or writing (or dance, song, etc.).  When you are finished with this month, you will have 31 expressions that you created that are in direct response to your personal exploration of bodies.  You do not have to use yourself as a model.  You do not have to share anything private that you are not ready to share. 

There will be 2 LIVE ZOOM sessions ( 1.5 hours each) at the beginning of the month (October 5) and the end (October 26), both on Saturdays, where I will offer prompts that we can work on together, offering a “body-doubling” opportunity for us to create work at the same time, and teaching some art-making techniques. Some of us (especially those like me with ADHD) do more focused work when we have a body double, someone working alongside us, even online. These are available if you want to participate, come together, and/or talk about our experiences.  You are not required to participate in those sessions any more than you want to. Students can talk about their experiences, or not, share work, or not. This won’t be a “critiquing” workshop. The work you do here is strictly for your own understanding, but there will be a chance for you to listen to, and share with, like-minded folks who are in the same process of shedding old stories and re-discovering better stories. 

I will also have a few pre-recorded videos you can access introducing basic watercolor techniques that anyone can learn quickly, some painting demos, some discussions of how I create art. 

Ways to take this class: 

You can just use the 31 prompts for a personal exploration of Bodies, your own, or others, and never share those with the group.  You are encouraged to journal your 31 days.  I guarantee you, if you stick with it for 31 days, you will be a) better at the art you choose, and b) have a better understanding of the topics or ideas you are considering. 

You might use a sketchbook with at least 30 pages and create a collection of art + writing. You might record 30 videos, or take 30 pictures and create a collection. You might create a 30 poem chapbook. You might buy a set of 30 watercolor postcards; or craft 30 figures out of clay, fiber art, paper mache, glass. It’s up to you how you want to use these prompts to create art, up to you how you interpret the readings and the art you are given; ultimately, it is your journey of discovery.

This class is open to everyone regardless of gender identity, sexual identity, age, race, country of origin, ability, religion, or any other unique qualifier. Be a person with a body ready to understand your body better.

To sign up for this course, please send an email to jeromestueart@gmail.com confirming your desire to join the course, and agreement to the statements below.

Statement on Class Conduct: While people joining this group must have an inclusive acceptance of others, including others’ bodies and sexualities, I also know that we may harbor negative feelings about ourselves that we project onto others.  We may have biases and negative feelings that we are not aware of—some of which might come up in your own personal exploration.  We all carry some trauma about our bodies, our sexualities, handed to us (or forced on us) by others, so please handle your Psyche carefully, and be kind with others as they are on this journey too. Be forgiving, compassionate, and treat others as you want to be treated.

In this classroom, and afterwards, you will treat others here as fellow artists on a journey. While the imagery we show and talk about and make might be sensual, this class is not a place to sexually harass anyone. No sexual harassment will be tolerated. Complimenting work is great! Telling someone they’re beautiful is awesome! But if you need a primer on where it becomes sexual harassment, consider this link. If you feel uncomfortable with anyone’s attention, please inform them in writing, and me. Those who violate this policy will be asked to leave the class, discord, etc. and will not receive a refund.

Please note that because of restrictions online about erotic art and the naked body in general, all participants will be required to sign an age verification (18+) and consent form acknowledging the presence of nudity and/or erotic art as part of this class, and discussions that will include sexual topics.  The consent form must be signed and returned before you can be added.

Refund Policy: Refunds for full ($120) payment are available after 3 days for any reason, but thereafter are partial payments only, ($60) till October 4-15, and no refunds after the 15th. Refunds for payment plans are not available.

If you find this class after Oct 1, go ahead and use the 4 payment plan below and just make payments for the weeks you attend.

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Jerome Stueart (2007 Clarion Workshop) is an American and Canadian queer illustrator, writer, and professional tarot reader.  His writing has appeared in F&SF, Tor.com, On Spec, Lightspeed, Strange Horizons, Geist, and elsewhere. He was a finalist for a 2020 World Fantasy Award in Short Fiction for “Postlude to the Afternoon of a Faun” (F&SF).  His PhD in English (Texas Tech U) with specialties in Creative Writing, Science Fiction & Fantasy, and Spiritual Memoir put him forever in debt, but has allowed him to live and work as a teacher part-time for more than 25 years, running writing workshops in academia and through city programming, in schools, in churches and online. He also has a background in theatre, history, tourism, and marketing. He was the former Marketing Director of the Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse, Yukon. An emerging artist and illustrator in watercolor and acrylic, he lives now in Dayton, Ohio.