🎨 Ask a fat artist: Angelica Dred

Hi friend,

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is my Fat-Positive Posing & Selfie Techniques workshop, where you'll learn how self-portraits express power, some photographers’ tricks for good portraits, and poses you can use forever.

At 5:30 pm Pacific time (PST), we’ll cover:

The relationship between portraits, power and profit
Why selfies are sometimes considered vain and shallow
The basics of exposure, lighting and composition
How to take good-quality photos with just your phone
Dealing with emotions that come up with photos
Five easy-to-strike poses to take with you

Expect to spend 90 minutes to two hours at the workshop. A recording will be sent out to everyone who signs up, so register even if you can’t make it and watch later at your convenience.

The workshop cost is $29; Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC); queer folks; disabled and neurodivergent folks; and people with hip measurements over 50″ can take $10 off with code SELFIEEQUITY.

Current SEEN. participants can attend for free! You'll receive the Zoom info via email.

The website maintenance continues, so expect the site to be extra quirky this week.

And on Friday, over in the Body Liberation Blanket Fort we'll be watching the Your Fat Friend documentary together and having a discussion afterward.

Now, to this week's letter, an interview with fat artist Angelica Dred!

Tell me about you! What’s your name? What pronouns do you use? Where do you live? What do you like to eat for breakfast?

Hi! I’m Angelica! I use she/her pronouns and I live in Colorado Springs, CO. I am a polyamorous wife, and mother of two children. My favorite breakfast is over easy eggs with steak or salmon. I love cartoons like Steven Universe and She Ra.

What kind of artwork do you create? What are the themes? What’s your favorite medium?

I create digital and traditional artworks of plus size people in various states of undress. My favorite medium is acrylic paints, but I also enjoy using my tablet and creating digital pieces in Autodesk Sketchbook.

I also participate in my local burlesque community! I bring a visual art to the stage through dance movements and costuming I build myself.

How did you get started as an artist? What has your path looked like so far?

I have been into arts and doing artwork basically my entire life. I have been drawing as long as I can remember. About 4 years ago, I decided to really buckle down on my artwork for my mental health. I found that putting my efforts into painting made me feel better and gave me a purpose; it also allows me to process my emotions more efficiently.

So I looked around and realized I didn’t really see enough fat people in the art around me. I rarely saw people like me. And I find fat so beautiful, I had to begin translating this beauty to canvas.

I began in burlesque about 2 years ago. I discovered that my local community really needed another fat performer, and I had been following burlesque for almost a decade at that point. I wanted so badly to try it myself, so when the opportunity presented itself, my bestie pushed me to jump in. I haven’t looked back since!

Read the rest of Angelica's interview »

Unapologetically fat,

P.S. Share this week's letter or save to read later here.

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"The word “fat” is not inherently bad. It’s an adjective. It’s a benign descriptor of size. As Marianne Kirby explains, “‘Fat’ means adipose tissue. ‘Fat’ means ‘having a lot of adipose tissue.’ There are no other words that mean precisely those things in precisely those ways.”

Saying “I’m fat” is (and should be) the same as saying my shoes are black, the clouds are fluffy, and Bob Saget is tall. It’s not good, it’s not bad, it just is.

The only negativity that this word carries is that which has been socially constructed around it; our aversion is completely learned. It’s our association that is disparaging, and this is what we must change.

We don’t need to stop using the word “fat,” we need to stop the hatred that our world connects with the word “fat.” So I use it because I have decided that it’s my word now. And the more I use it positively, the more stigma I smash." » Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls

> Jes Baker

The Conversation

Here's what's interesting me this week:

» Participation opportunity: Fat-positive researcher Christina Cook is doing a study on barriers to seeking medical care and their effects among fat patients with a fat liberation praxis in the United States (see)

» Event: Monthly free fat swim night, Brighton, England (more events are shared in the Blanket Fort)

» The Fat Zine is looking for illustrators (see)

» Reader Question: How to Follow the Weight Loss Industry Money (read)

» Core Belief Exploration: Why did I refuse a wheelchair in the airport? (listen)

» Generative AI is a climate disaster (read)

» Trusting Your Body's Changes with Sophie (listen)

🦄 Unicorn chaser: I accidentally created an army of crow body guards (read)

14201 SE Petrovitsky Rd Ste A3 #234
Renton, WA 90858, United States