This Artist Wants You to Take Off Your Clothes and Love Your Body
- 6 years ago
Tori Swanson draws people naked for a living. As an artist, her primary focus is nude portraits. Being sketched completely naked can be a vulnerable experience, but Tori’s goal is to make the experience a liberating one. “I want people to look at themselves differently. I want people to not be afraid to explore who they are, and I want people to be open to trying new things and being less judgemental with themselves.”
As Tori's love of art shifted to fashion and she went to New York to study fashion. “From the outside perspective, people would have thought I was living my best life, a dream. But while I was there, I felt like I was dying. I was so mentally ill with my eating disorder that all I wanted to do was go home.”
Tori grew up with struggling with anxiety and depression. Although her parents sent her to counsellors and tried their best to help, her issues weren’t fully addressed. “It just snowballed. Untreated anxiety, from what I have experienced, turns into depression, and untreated depression can manifest in many different ways. For me, it was anorexia and bulimia.”
She returned to Vancouver for holidays where friends and family expressed their concern. Tori's mom encouraged her to start painting again, and it became a therapeutic outlet, a way to work through her feelings.
At a drop-in life drawing art class, Tori had an a-ha moment that would completely change her way of thinking: “I saw this voluptuous woman drop her clothes and rock it in front of a class of 50 men and women students. I found myself lost in every single curve and the expression that took place. I was witnessing bravery and vulnerability at the same time. A complete stranger inspired me to change and adapt a similar perspective with my own mind, body, and spirit.”
Tori says at the end of the day, the goal of her work is to change the way people feel about their bodies, to feel good in their skin.
ABOUT TRUE CALLING:
Our philosophy is simple: love what you do.
Whatever you’re passionate about and decide to pursue in life, get after it. Embrace that gut instinct that knows when you are being true to yourself and do something, however big or small, to make a difference to the world in your own unique way.
True Calling is a media company that produces short, inspiring documentaries about people who love what they do. Cinematic and inspiring, their feel-good videos are built for the web, with a reach of 44M+ worldwide. True Calling compels viewers with both branded and non-branded episodes on human ambition, with built-in distribution across a variety of digital platforms, including Amazon and Discovery.
Website: http://www.truecallingmedia.com/
As Tori's love of art shifted to fashion and she went to New York to study fashion. “From the outside perspective, people would have thought I was living my best life, a dream. But while I was there, I felt like I was dying. I was so mentally ill with my eating disorder that all I wanted to do was go home.”
Tori grew up with struggling with anxiety and depression. Although her parents sent her to counsellors and tried their best to help, her issues weren’t fully addressed. “It just snowballed. Untreated anxiety, from what I have experienced, turns into depression, and untreated depression can manifest in many different ways. For me, it was anorexia and bulimia.”
She returned to Vancouver for holidays where friends and family expressed their concern. Tori's mom encouraged her to start painting again, and it became a therapeutic outlet, a way to work through her feelings.
At a drop-in life drawing art class, Tori had an a-ha moment that would completely change her way of thinking: “I saw this voluptuous woman drop her clothes and rock it in front of a class of 50 men and women students. I found myself lost in every single curve and the expression that took place. I was witnessing bravery and vulnerability at the same time. A complete stranger inspired me to change and adapt a similar perspective with my own mind, body, and spirit.”
Tori says at the end of the day, the goal of her work is to change the way people feel about their bodies, to feel good in their skin.
ABOUT TRUE CALLING:
Our philosophy is simple: love what you do.
Whatever you’re passionate about and decide to pursue in life, get after it. Embrace that gut instinct that knows when you are being true to yourself and do something, however big or small, to make a difference to the world in your own unique way.
True Calling is a media company that produces short, inspiring documentaries about people who love what they do. Cinematic and inspiring, their feel-good videos are built for the web, with a reach of 44M+ worldwide. True Calling compels viewers with both branded and non-branded episodes on human ambition, with built-in distribution across a variety of digital platforms, including Amazon and Discovery.
Website: http://www.truecallingmedia.com/