The Body

Portraits are an act of adoration. The most precious act of reverence, and the painters’ house of worship. The self portrait is a practice of observation, and an introduction to oneself. Like a baby discovering the muscles in their hands, I am introduced to every inch of my lived-in skin. The self portrait is the amateur's guide to self love, and is a practice that grows as the tides shift across skin. In a fat, disabled, lesbian body, the adoration I have for myself is forged only by my own hand, and based off of no template. In a body that can’t be loved, I experience the mind-numbing ecstasy of loving and being loved to the highest degree. As I write the guide on how to love a body like mine I become the God of my precious house of worship, and invite others to join the reverence of my skin. Heaven is the experience of adoring the shapes that hold you, and scripture is written in the lines of my skin. Portraiture is a practice of love for the human and the shapes that form our physicality. My portraiture is an act of blatant lesbianism and of the gift of building a home.