The Art of Being Seen: How These Local Nude Models Found Empowerment and Community
Detroit Queer Sketch Series models transform vulnerability into visibility through nude figure drawing
The first time Elliott Vargas posed nude for artists, it wasn't at the Detroit Queer Sketch Series. The 27-year-old had already tried their hand at modeling at Detroit's venerable Scarab Club, coaxed by something deeper than exhibitionism.
"It's extremely validating in a way for your self-confidence," Vargas explained. "I do it because it honestly boosts my confidence a bit and makes me enjoy my body image more."
When Vargas, a professional healthcare coordinator and professional dancer, heard about a sketch series designed exclusively for queer people, something clicked. "When I heard about this one, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, even better,'" Vargas said.
In a world that often feels hostile to queer bodies, DQSS offers something radical: a space where being completely exposed as exactly who you are becomes an act of courage, artistry and community celebration.
DQSS, founded over three years ago by James "Staycation" and co-organizer Chris Gorski, meets twice monthly at Gorski's Detroit GT studio in Ferndale. The format is simple: Models pose for a series of short sketches — typically lasting between two and 10 minutes — followed by one longer 30-minute pose. At the end of each session, all artwork gets displayed gallery-style, and the model gets to choose their three favorite pieces while chatting with the artists about their work.
The artists themselves represent an incredibly diverse mix of experience levels and backgrounds. The combination of newcomers and formally trained artists has created something truly unique and accessible, given the typical costs involved with adult art classes.
Gallery images feature, in order: Derek Davis, Elliott Vargas, James Staycation and Chris Gorski, Joni Genovesi, Zach Brooke. Courtesy photos
Finding confidence through vulnerability
What made Vargas's experience at DQSS particularly meaningful was timing. They chose to model for the first time after having top surgery, turning what could have been a vulnerable moment into something deeply affirming.
"It was extremely validating and almost empowering because I had never modeled like that before," they said. "It felt right to do it in that setting because it was for queer people and this is something that I'm very sensitive about, so that was really affirming."
Derek Davis echoes Vargas’ sentiment. The former Mr. Trans Michigan had never done nude modeling before his session in 2023, but like Vargas, he waited until after his top surgery when his scars had healed. Davis, an activist, public speaker and the creator of the annual SOHO Leather Weekend in Ferndale, currently serves on the entertainment committee for Lansing Pride. He saw his participation as more than personal empowerment.
"I guess it's kind of like, hey, this is what an example of a trans person's body looks like. Obviously, not everybody's body is the same. But this is what my body looks like," Davis said. "I don't mind being the example of someone's first trans person that they may have either met or drawn."
Meanwhile, content manager Zach Brooke came to modeling from a different angle. During the pandemic, like so many of us, he'd gotten serious about fitness — first biking when gyms were closed, then diving deep into weightlifting once they reopened. He was also training for something most of us only dream about: climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
"I was just very much in a headspace where I was doing new things, exploring new things, physical things, and you know, living in the moment," Brooke said.
Despite having no modeling experience, Brooke took the session seriously. "I've never done any modeling. James told me in advance that they’d need [various] poses, and he didn't really give me any suggestions, so I spent a lot of time prepping. That's just kind of how I do it. And I think I was rewarded."
"I have no desire or aspirations to have a modeling career," Brooke added. "This was kind of like a bucket list thing for me."
Getting comfortable while naked (in a room full of friendly strangers)
Vargas, who works remotely doing insurance verification for physical therapy clinics and is a dancer, found the queer-centered environment made all the difference. "Just knowing that this space was exclusively for queer people and the community just always makes me feel better. It makes me feel a little bit more comfortable and that I'm in a safe place," they said.
Davis discovered that being naked somehow changed the whole dynamic. "Even though everyone's staring at you, they're not staring at you to be hurtful," he said. "You're inviting the gaze in."
For first-time model Brooke, the initial nervousness quickly gave way to something more comfortable. "There's always a little discomfort at the beginning, but once you take the leap and get over it and you hear people respond favorably, you feed off the audience and you do feel very comfortable," Brooke said.
The experience proved rewarding for Brooke in unexpected ways when his husband, who has formal fine art training, decided to attend and draw him, so he knew there’d be at least one familiar face in the crowd. "It was something that we could do together. It was really nice," he said. (By the way, Brooke did successfully summit Kilimanjaro after his modeling session, making good on all that training.)
The physical space itself helps create a comfortable kind of magic. Gorski's studio is what Staycation describes as "very queer and very eclectic and very authentic" — filled with Detroit-themed art, vintage cars and the kind of creative chaos that immediately puts people at ease. The atmosphere during sessions is deliberately chill — deep house music, dim lighting and an overall meditative vibe that helps everyone settle in.
"It's really interesting because you have so much time to think just posing there," Vargas said. "For me, at least personally, it's like, wow, I am a piece of art and these people are drawing me."
The unique ritual of model selection at the end of each session adds another layer of meaning. Unlike traditional classes where models rarely see the finished work, here they become curators of their own artistic interpretation.
"You're looking at someone else's vision of you," Davis said. "Someone actually taking the time to sit down and put a pencil to a paper or their iPad and really draw you the way that they see you, I find very intriguing."
Sometimes those different visions reveal something profound. Joni Genovesi, a trans woman who modeled for her first time ever in February, found exactly that kind of revelation in the artwork created during her session.
"Being a trans woman, I have some pretty high discomfort with my physical presence. I wanted to do this to hopefully help shed some of my own insecurities," Genovesi told Pride Source in May. "The minute my robe came off, everything just felt right. Seeing the artist's drawings at the end brought me to tears. I saw my masculine features beautifully complimented with my feminine self. It was incredibly empowering, and I took so much more out of it than I could have possibly expected."
Both Davis and Brooke ended up taking artwork home. Davis was gifted a piece by a friend who'd attended the session, while Brooke received one of the quicker sketches. "I didn't feel anyone made me look bad and that was wonderful," Brooke said. "I felt like the depictions were realistic and quite flattering and that was empowering to see."
Staycation has observed that regardless of background or body type, the experience tends to be transformative. Even people who might seem like obvious choices for modeling often have their own insecurities and nerves, but something shifts once they begin posing. "All of a sudden you get up there and you do your poses and then you get to see the artwork at the end," he said. "You get to see what you've inspired."
Bringing personality to the pose
The series actively encourages models to bring elements of their personality into their poses. Staycation and Gorski want models to express themselves through props, costumes or themes that reflect who they are.
Brooke leaned hard into his mountaineering theme, posing with hiking boots, hat, backpack and trekking poles. "Quite a full wardrobe for a nude model," he said. Davis went full cheeky during a 420-themed session, posing with a slice of pizza that one artist immortalized with "Snack Daddy" “Snack Daddy” in blue lettering scrawled across it.
For Davis, knowing most of the artists personally added another layer to the experience. "It wasn't like strangers seeing me naked; it was friends and acquaintances seeing me naked," he said. "That seems better and worse at the same time."
But there's something deeper happening here too. Davis sees his participation as educational, offering people a chance to see a trans body in a non-medical, non-sexualized context. "A lot of people had never seen a body like mine,” he explained. “And I think that's pretty cool to expose people to things that they've never seen in an educational way."
The series has become a magnet for people at pivotal moments in their lives. Staycation mentioned one model who posed after significant weight loss, wanting to celebrate his transformation. Even Staycation and Gorski stepped in front of the easels for their two-year anniversary, splitting poses throughout the evening.
"One of the things that we often hear from models is how liberating it is," Staycation said. “And I got that after my session.”
There's also a practical element that shouldn't be overlooked. As Brooke pointed out, his husband "paid a lot of money to be in a space where you could draw a nude model live" during art school. DQSS makes nude figure drawing accessible for a small fee. “It's affordable," Brooke said. "You don't have to be enrolled in art school to have access to draw nude models. It's a nice activity that I don't think many people have the ability to do."
Would they pose nude again? Vargas is definitely up for it. Davis called it "such a warm and welcoming experience, and as a trans person you really hope for that." Brooke, ever the pragmatist, put it best: "I mean, if people call me up and beg for me to and beg to pay me to get naked for them, I'll listen. But I'm not out there actively searching for modeling gigs."
The Detroit Queer Sketch Series meets twice monthly. For information about modeling or attending as an artist, visit dqss.org or follow @detroit_queer_sketch_series on Instagram.
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