You know the feeling, when you are a bit light-headed, feel a bit drowsy. Do you then pinch your skin to check if you are actually 'there'?
Do you feel comfortable in your skin? Rather yes or usually no?
Do you often check in the mirror how time is treating you?
Do you notice small changes? Skin that was recently tight and mushy becomes delicate and thin, like parchment that is now too thin - no longer hiding your secrets?
I like to observe small changes, rubbing the skin until it becomes flushed, pinching it and seeing how quickly it returns to its original shape and colour.
I like wrists. Even when our skin is young, firm and moist, the wrists shamelessly reveal it's insides. We can feel the pulse, count the floral vessels, apply a drop of perfume - and warmth of wrist gives them real character.
The skin is not only the largest organ of our body (up to 6% of the total body weight), but it is also involved in thermoregulation, increases the absorption of certain substances, and is involved in water, electrolyte, fat and vitamin regulation. But also, and this seems to me the most important at the human level - it enables us to perceive impulses from the external environment.
Cold, heat, rough and smooth surfaces, dry and wet. The skin not only enables us to appreciate the complexity of the world, but also reacts, often independently of our will. The hairs on the back of our neck stand up when we get stressed, the goose bumps when we hear our favourite song, the flush that comes to our cheeks when we see someone our brain has found attractive.
These reactions are sometimes welcome - they are also can be quite embarrassing. But doesn't showing our true nature from time to time make us little more human? We scrutinise our surroundings, we spend hours upon hours choosing a good photo for a social media, we shop for clothes that 'enhance our personality', we pop our acnes, pluck our eyebrows, get rid of hair or transplant hair where it's missing. We want our bodies to be submissive to us. To not only serve us, but to look, smell and do what we want it to do.
And all it takes is a moment of forgetfulness, a moment of distraction - and our body takes over.
I like those moments when my own body surprises me. Sometimes I feel that it is a completely separate entity, that in fact my control is phantom like, and here only for a moment.
My hands sweat when I get very stressed. Usually they are cold, dry and the skin mercilessly and painfully cracks on them, but when I get stressed - my hands suddenly become tender, soft and warm. I don't feel then that I have the slightest effect on my body. I just try not to shake hands with anyone 🙃
I watch carefully changes in its(skin) appearance. Some time ago I started to be much more aware of its presence and how I treat it. I rub my eyes frequently, scratch my back nervously. I look for new wrinkles. I study them with interest. The new lines, at first shallow, are beginning to flare into 'crow's feet', the thin vertical line on my forehead has turned into a 'lion's wrinkle', the soft, light skin under my eyes is now the colour of a bruise that can pretend to be 'gained in a fight'. I welcome these changes with interest and a smile.
The wispy, stretching skin increases my distance from life and is my shield when dealing with others who still enjoy their illusion of control over their bodies:)
About the drawing
I've taken the liberty of combining my two loves - dance and anatomy. So the pose is very much a dance like but it does not expose the emotions - but the muscles:) Watching the body in movement not only reveals its weaknesses but also its strength. The resilience of the muscles, the tightness of the tissues and the skeleton that holds everything together. I've used soft 4B pencil at the very start, and then I've been using mostly technical, hard pencils apart form very dark shades.
Today, the skin does not prevent us from seeing little bit more.
I wish you all great rest of the week!
Yours,
Strega Azure
I have used pencils: 6B, 4B, 2B, F, 2H, 5H, 8H
Drawing & pics are my authorship if not stated otherwise, all rights reserved 
posted via Ecency