ALLISON
	2 min gestures                             Hilde Lambrechts

Allison is a beautiful woman who cannot be easily overlooked. Being 6’4” tall, she is used to people staring at her and long ago decided “Why not give them something to look at?” As a former student of Canterbury HS, Ottawa (voice) she has always been drawn to the Arts in the broadest sense. She was a fashion model in her early teens, after finishing a 9th grade fashion modeling course. She now works as a professional art photographer’s model (since Dec 2008) and life drawing model (since late 2009).

Allison has a self-confidence that is very appealing. She knows who she is and what the camera loves. She is very comfortable with her body and does not shy away from nudity, even when it has an erotic component. She is a free spirit, and her body is a canvas for the artists she works with. She loves to learn from their suggestions.

Her photographic experience filters through in her life modeling. Her poses are improvised on the spot; basing them on her mood and her changing physical limits. “The body has its own memory”, she says, and it is up to her to find out what it can do and gently push it to expand its possibilities. Her poses look very natural and are inspired by yoga, props, and themes from myth and folklore. They radiate calmness and grace. With her height and thoughtful demeanor she is quite a presence, yet she can also look fragile when she curls her limbs and curves her spine.

Although she prefers the shorter poses for the variety and relative easiness on the body, she loves the longer poses for the end result: a finished art work. It exhilarates her to see what the artist has created, not only to be able to adjust a pose in the future, but also to have a beautiful pose confirmed. The art works after all echo who she is.

Allison works for schools, life drawing groups and individual artists, and afterwards she always goes home with a grin.