Poses past, part XII – Storey Auditorium

22 September 2012 was originally scheduled as a repeat of  the group life model event held at the Storey Gallery, Lancaster in July. When organiser Alan Ward kindly invited me to return, I accepted immediately and bought an advance train ticket while fares were low enough to make the day profitable. Thus it was disappointing when the event was forced off due to financial uncertainties blighting the future of the gallery. Being a true gentleman, however, Alan found me alternative work on the day: a two-hour solo session at the neighbouring Storey Auditorium.

A series of short standing poses was followed by a half-hour reclining pose, then a tea break, and finally a forty-five minute seated pose with a gentle twist.

I misjudged my pressure points during the reclining pose. After twenty minutes my ‘upper’ leg lost feeling and a slight tremble set in. When the half-hour was up, all the artists withdrew for their tea while I literally dragged myself off the platform and onto a chair. Sensation soon returned and I joined the others for a brew. There, one artist observed with a compassionate smile: “I saw your leg fibrillating…”

I made a mental note that if this were to happen again then I too would describe myself as “fibrillating”, and thereby sound more technically-minded and professional than if I simply apologised for getting the shakes.