Friday, September 28, 2007 at 2:02am
Art, wine and nudity
Column: Outing the Goddess Within
After serendipiting across The Butterfly Club website a couple of weeks ago in my search for drunken bilge rats (long story ... alternatively, read the short one), I felt compelled to pack my bags and head to Melbourne (Australia) for a first-hand peek at this quirky little kitsch and fabulous cabaret club.
And thank goddess, I have sense enough to know when it is time to listen to my inner Isis (the Egyptian high priestess with supreme psychic powers), because this time she led me to an absolute ripper of a place.
The Butterfly Club was once a butcher's shop back in the days when South Melbourne was called Emerald Hill and the resident ghost was alive and kicking. Now it is home to thousands of your childhood memorabilia, quirky mementos, wacky displays, unique keepsakes, hundreds of books and antique dolls, a couple of blow-up dolls with dodgy wigs, and now a photo of my parents. (I planted it on the mantelpiece while the owners, David Read and Neville Sice, weren't looking.)
On the night of my visit, a Dr. Sketchy Anti-Art Class was about to start. Talk about divine timing! I'd never heard of Dr. Sketchy or who/what/why he'd be conducting an anti-art class, but just as I was wondering if I'd have to show him "mine" if he showed me "his," I was ushered in to participate in the fun anyway. Weeeeee! (Everything is more fun when you say "Weeeeee!")
Standing on the stage in the small theater was the breathtaking Miss Danie Devine - and she was dressed in naught but black satin underwear, suspender belt, provocative heels, and a lashing of hot red lipstick that would make Gwen Stefani blush.
"This is a life drawing group," whispers the organizer-slash-talented-headmistress, Melanie Knight. "We use burlesque entertainers as our models — Miss Devine is part of the Australian modern pin-up girl revolution, The Rebel Belles. Drawing sexy and flamboyant nudes is the Dr. Sketchy concept."
As it turns out, Dr. Sketchy is what happens when cabaret meets art school, with a healthy dose of "sexy" thrown in. It is the brainchild of New Yorker Molly Crabapple as a remedy for boring art classes.
"Dr. Sketchy's is the perfect antidote for boring, typical art classes — casual and fun, cuties posing for you and a well stocked bar!"
Ahhh, yes, the essential ingredients for a happy life: art, wine and nudity.
I loved the experience so much, I went back again the following night. My inner-Isis was happy with this decision, as was I, when we found the Australian music icon Dave Graney on the bill.
I got to meet Dave in the lounge prior to the show, and found him dressed in an army uniform from World War I over the top of a questionable jumpsuit. I didn't know where to look first — at the cutlery on his epaulettes (obviously a catering officer's jacket), or at his knuckle-busting ring that spelled out DAVE. The jumpsuit won in the end.
"What's with the jumpsuit?" I asked. "I don't recall them wearing red stretch denim and four-inch belts in WWI."
"I found some 1976 Playboy magazines in the bin at the back of the club one night," he explained. "They had an article about what we'd be wearing in the year 2000, and this was one of the ideas. So I took it to a dressmaker, and she made this for me. It's actually very comfortable!"
He read a 1976 Playboy for the articles?! Riiiighghghhght. My inner-Isis was beginning to elbow me. Or it might have been my pregnant belly going for a roll, but either way, I wasn't sure if I can trust a man who reads Playboy for the articles. Only time (and another glass of apple juice to see me through the show) would tell.
Anyhoo, the jumpsuit ended up featuring in Dave's mad, genius poetry-cross-personal-story-cross-avant-garde-musical that evening which had me in stitches one minute and in deep wells of compassion the next. What a ride!
Hooo-eeeee, see what happens when you honor your inner goddess and take wild flights of fancy to Melbourne? (Hey, I might see you there one day — feel free to bring your suspender belt and sketch pad!)
— — —
Anita Ryan-Revel (who now has a secret fantasy of learning the art of burlesque) is the creatrix of Goddess.com.au, a content-rich website aimed at helping you connect with your beautiful, sassy, intuitive, lovable, sacred and authentic self. You can read more of her columns here. © Copyright 2007 by Anita Ryan-Revel.
And thank goddess, I have sense enough to know when it is time to listen to my inner Isis (the Egyptian high priestess with supreme psychic powers), because this time she led me to an absolute ripper of a place.
The Butterfly Club was once a butcher's shop back in the days when South Melbourne was called Emerald Hill and the resident ghost was alive and kicking. Now it is home to thousands of your childhood memorabilia, quirky mementos, wacky displays, unique keepsakes, hundreds of books and antique dolls, a couple of blow-up dolls with dodgy wigs, and now a photo of my parents. (I planted it on the mantelpiece while the owners, David Read and Neville Sice, weren't looking.)
On the night of my visit, a Dr. Sketchy Anti-Art Class was about to start. Talk about divine timing! I'd never heard of Dr. Sketchy or who/what/why he'd be conducting an anti-art class, but just as I was wondering if I'd have to show him "mine" if he showed me "his," I was ushered in to participate in the fun anyway. Weeeeee! (Everything is more fun when you say "Weeeeee!")
Standing on the stage in the small theater was the breathtaking Miss Danie Devine - and she was dressed in naught but black satin underwear, suspender belt, provocative heels, and a lashing of hot red lipstick that would make Gwen Stefani blush.
"This is a life drawing group," whispers the organizer-slash-talented-headmistress, Melanie Knight. "We use burlesque entertainers as our models — Miss Devine is part of the Australian modern pin-up girl revolution, The Rebel Belles. Drawing sexy and flamboyant nudes is the Dr. Sketchy concept."
As it turns out, Dr. Sketchy is what happens when cabaret meets art school, with a healthy dose of "sexy" thrown in. It is the brainchild of New Yorker Molly Crabapple as a remedy for boring art classes.
"Dr. Sketchy's is the perfect antidote for boring, typical art classes — casual and fun, cuties posing for you and a well stocked bar!"
Ahhh, yes, the essential ingredients for a happy life: art, wine and nudity.
I loved the experience so much, I went back again the following night. My inner-Isis was happy with this decision, as was I, when we found the Australian music icon Dave Graney on the bill.
I got to meet Dave in the lounge prior to the show, and found him dressed in an army uniform from World War I over the top of a questionable jumpsuit. I didn't know where to look first — at the cutlery on his epaulettes (obviously a catering officer's jacket), or at his knuckle-busting ring that spelled out DAVE. The jumpsuit won in the end.
"What's with the jumpsuit?" I asked. "I don't recall them wearing red stretch denim and four-inch belts in WWI."
"I found some 1976 Playboy magazines in the bin at the back of the club one night," he explained. "They had an article about what we'd be wearing in the year 2000, and this was one of the ideas. So I took it to a dressmaker, and she made this for me. It's actually very comfortable!"
He read a 1976 Playboy for the articles?! Riiiighghghhght. My inner-Isis was beginning to elbow me. Or it might have been my pregnant belly going for a roll, but either way, I wasn't sure if I can trust a man who reads Playboy for the articles. Only time (and another glass of apple juice to see me through the show) would tell.
Anyhoo, the jumpsuit ended up featuring in Dave's mad, genius poetry-cross-personal-story-cross-avant-garde-musical that evening which had me in stitches one minute and in deep wells of compassion the next. What a ride!
Hooo-eeeee, see what happens when you honor your inner goddess and take wild flights of fancy to Melbourne? (Hey, I might see you there one day — feel free to bring your suspender belt and sketch pad!)
— — —
Anita Ryan-Revel (who now has a secret fantasy of learning the art of burlesque) is the creatrix of Goddess.com.au, a content-rich website aimed at helping you connect with your beautiful, sassy, intuitive, lovable, sacred and authentic self. You can read more of her columns here. © Copyright 2007 by Anita Ryan-Revel.