Monthly Archives: January 2018

January unterwegs bonus round: chunky knits!

Berliners on the U Bahn by Suzanne Forbes Jan 16 2018Sometimes people in Europe just look really European.

These two just slayed me. What you can’t see is that her amazing vintage 80s coat was a rich deep marigold yellow and her chunky knit scarf was a darker mustard. She was coolly wearing the hell out of her whole look.

Phone frowner on U Bahn by Suzanne Forbes Jan 20 2018Phone frowner.

People often look so displeased when they are looking at their phones. Since I don’t have a phone, I’m free to look around and observe this!

U Bahn music by Suzanne Forbes Jan 26 2018Butt bump!

Guy with spotted horse seen from bus Suzanne Forbes Jan 26 2018The interesting thing about this kinda heavily-worn older guy and the techno-looking younger guy is that I don’t know that they knew each other.

The older guy was playing and they just started dancing together. This isn’t the prettiest drawing, it’s kinda clunky, but I found it half-finished in a sketchbook this weekend and decided to finish it cause I like the women in the background.

And I really like the fact that I drew a guy doing an actual double take!

I also found this drawing made very quickly from the upper deck of the M29 bus and finished it roughly.

It’s a good example of how elements can be added to a documentary drawing responsibly. You couldn’t see the typical European notice column with its posters in the same shot as the guy, but it wasn’t far away, and adding it helps to sell the setting of the sketch really quickly.

You can see previous unterwegs here:

January 2018 round 1

December 2017

November 2017

September 2017

July bonus round

July

June

May bonus round

May round one

April

March 2

March

January

December

November

 

Armored corset body for flying with PTSD.

Armored corset body for flying with PTSD by Suzanne Forbes Jan 20 2018I made these marker drawings on a plane on Saturday.

I have C-PTSD and the last couple of years have been intense. The last time I flew and was strapped in next to a strange man, I had a terrible panic attack and very nearly clawed my way out over him to escape. I only stayed onboard because my beloved brother-in-law and sister-in-law  were counting on me to make their wedding cake! And I take cake very seriously. I could have forgiven myself for not making their wedding, but not for failing to make their wedding cake.

Over the weekend I went to Brussels to help a woman friend redecorate her flat after a breakup.

It was the first time I have traveled in Europe since we moved here three years ago; last December I had to miss a friend’s wedding in Luxembourg because I simply couldn’t handle flying. I was so scared of this flight I asked my husband to come to the airport and help me get on the plane! Which he did VERY graciously and kindly.

Armored corset body for flying with PTSD by Suzanne Forbes Jan 20 2018 in useI’m not afraid of the actual flying part at all; if I’m seated with women in my row I am as relaxed as a slightly claustrophobic person can be in a crowded, small metal tube.

I had checked in early to get an exit row seat, so I would have lots of room on one side at least. But when a strange man sat down next to me and his arms and thighs touched mine, I felt like I was gonna die. (Weirdly, this doesn’t happen much on public transit, where I can get away easily.)

Again, someone I loved was counting on me, so bailing out was non-negotiable. This time, when I started flipping out, I had my sketchbook handy so I quickly made these drawings of an armored corset body* for flying with PTSD. I imagine the spines to be made of vulcanized rubber, permissible for travel. The shoulder, arm and thigh pads are also rubber, so you don’t feel the flesh of the person next to you, and the mesh “NO” skirt snaps off for using the loo. I chose Mother Nature’s warning colors!

The stewards looked over my shoulder at my drawing and moved the man next to me to another row, murmuring, “more space”. My spell worked!!

The flight was relatively empty, and so it could have just been fat bias – as a US 14/UK 18 I fully and completely occupy even larger European plane seats. My friend Suzanne said stewards are sensitive to people who are a panic risk. I think they saw something in my eyes or my drawings and felt it was best for me to have the row to myself.

Gradually I calmed down and the feeling that my vagina was full of spiders receded.

Do other people get that? Like a creepy echoey crawling awareness of the vulnerability of your genitals, when you’re triggered? I feel like if they do, this armored corset body could be a popular garment. Until the day comes when, inch by inch, we make a better world.

*a corset body is the specific name for a true corset that includes a built-in crotch covering of the same sturdy materials. It’s a term used pretty much only in the serious corset community. What Americans call “teddies” or “bodysuits” are called just plain “bodies” in the UK/Europe, and “corset body” seems to be derivative of that.

A good C-PTSD resource.

RAINN’s resources for trauma survivors.