Indulging Pleasures of the Flesh

Tantalizing Images that Explore the Interplay Between Bodies and Objects

hanging from tied limbs. The slice of pumpkin pie on hands and knees.

It’s a dark and stormy night (literally). Jennifer Pate is up late drawing. She’s craving…something. A cinnamon bun! She can’t get it out of her head, but the pantry is bare. So she lets the pen have its way. Slowly, she materializes at the center of the ooey-gooey treat, pulling away pieces of soft, glazed flesh. It’s bliss.

This drawing set off what has become a prolific body of work: watercolor vignettes that imagine food, drinks, and plants as semi-human figures in positions ranging from playful to provocative. Take the “Affogato Girl,” limbs splayed over a glass, body a scoop of ice cream under a slow drizzle of espresso. Or the long-legged clementine removing her peel. The dried flowerings

“This journey really began with my own exploration into food, and I think it was a really nice place for me to be honest about temptation,” says Jennifer. “Temptation exists whether we give into it or not. And I love the idea of temptation that I feel but I'm not going to quench. I can quench it in this visceral, illustrative way.”

What started as a meditation on temptation has evolved into an ever-growing series that binds Jennifer’s penchant for figure drawing and her interest in movement, body image, health, and sexuality.

Her cocktail images, for example, are largely inspired by burlesque, an art form she gravitates toward, and where she’s found a community of women in Austin who share her passion for finding empowerment in the movement of their own bodies. “I think of burlesque [as] similar to having a cocktail—it has all of this tease and allure that comes with the color, the glass, and the garnish that goes on top.” There is pleasure in the sensory aspects, the imagining, even the not-having.

As Jennifer’s process has evolved, her connection to the work—especially the sexuality in it—has grown even more personal. “It feels like I’m opening up a secretive journey every time I share a piece,” she smiles. The work has also helped her navigate feelings of being “overwhelmed by labels” after coming out as bisexual. “[I was] really

DID YOU KNOW?

Jennifer currently has plans of collaborating with local studio, Brown Burlesque, to host figure drawing classes for all levels. She is interested in using Shibari—the Japanese art of rope-binding—as a technique for teaching students to visualize different sections of the body and learn proportions, as well as open up a dialogue.

“I thought ‘maybe we can find a way [of teaching drawing] that honors this idea of taboo subjects like sexuality and embracing feeling sexy.”

It feels like I'm opening up like a secretive journal every time I share a piece. And then people are like, “Oh my God, I love it. Keep sharing.” It tends to be really confirming when I can share it with people, and they can tell me about their experience upon seeing that and how it makes their sexuality feel validated in some way, which is very beautiful.” stripping that away and saying, ‘This is a body in motion…’ That’s what I try to capture with my pieces.”

The magic of Jennifer’s drawings is that they’re not just personal or just provocative. They ignite the viewer’s imagination. What comes first; what comes after? They are vignettes, moments in time that the viewer gets to play with. They’re both a page out of the personal journal of the artist and a place for the viewer to inscribe their own story or to simply take pleasure in the looking.

From June to mid-August, the Food Bank has a huge need for volunteers ages 15+ to ser ve in our kitchen You’ ll help prepare food, package meals, and clean and sanitize equipment for creating thousands of summer meals and snacks ever y day for children and families in need

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