I now have nine images in my "Winter Nudes" gallery. CLICK HERE to see them.

And I thought "Facing Up to My Face at 65" was an emotional series to photograph and post. How could I have known what I'd be doing five months later? Actually, I couldn't have imagined this even a week ago. I mean the idea of taking and putting up nude photos of myself and my friends would never have occurred to me. But I didn't know then what I know now: This work is NEEDED in today's world! How else can we counter our culture's insistence that the only beautiful flesh is firm, taut, thin and young. Well, guess what? There are billions of us out there who will never again be firm, taut, thin and/or young. So what are WE supposed to do? Cover ourselves in shame? Diet ourselves sick? Use all our money to buy the bodies we want from "cosmetic surgeons"? Ply ourselves with pills to take away our appetites? Work out at the gym for hours every day? Give up and become couch potatoes? Or can we learn to embrace our bodies as they are, to celebrate all our curves, even those we wish we didn't have. ESPECIALLY those.

For me personally this series is profoundly life-changing...and I've only been at it for four days! But it's the last two that have been getting under my skin, the days that I've been taking and posting nude self portraits. Yikes. What would my proper southern mother say??? Good thing she isn't around to see this. She always knew I marched to a different drummer, but I'm not sure there's even a drummer in front of me this time!

OK, so that's my little girl speaking, but my old-lady self? She's cackling with delight! And that 65 year-old crone is being revitalized. For too many years, whenever I thought about my body it was only in relation to the disability, or maybe the swimming and exercising at the gym. But my body as a sensual object? Hadn't considered that in a very long time. Now when I take these self portraits, that's exactly what I'm feeling...my sensuality. And it feels darn good. Your responses feel good too. Women & men, old & young, sending public comments & private messages. In every case you are letting me know this work is important, that it's changing your attitudes about your own and others' bodies. That's all I need to know.