Katelan Foisy
Jeff Mead
Veronika von Volkova
/Interview: Katelan Foisy Gets Naked
On the internet and in Ron Jeremy's hands
Interview by Chelsea G. Summers
Katelan Foisy is a pin-up, a painter, a writer, a mystic, a gypsy and a muse. On paper, she’s the kind of girl I’d love to loathe: she went through a deep Anaïs Nin period and she’s big into believing that beautiful things happen for a reason.
And yet.
There’s something more than dermis-deep about the beauty of Katelan Foisy. She has skin like brie and lips like current jam, and you do want to eat her alive, but it’s not just that. She’s got this stupid infectious cackle and you find yourself rocketing along with the sheer velocity of it, but it’s not just that either. She’s wicked smart and crazy talented and greedily hedonistic, but it’s not just those sterling qualities either. She’s got that magic factor that makes people want to do right by her, to protect her (and I’m looking at you, fearsome Warren Ellis), and to feed her wine. Lots and lots of wine.
I got drunk with Katelan Foisy and incidentally did an interview. We talked emotions, jism, channeling Bettie Page, and kissing The Hedgehog.
What does naked mean to you?
The best way that I can explain it is through the book, Blood and Pudding, where I exposed these parts of my life that were hidden for such a long time, even though there was the intent to create a book when my cousin and I started it. In showing these people these intimate journals and these intimate letters that I was writing to people I would just die for at that point in my life, I felt I was exposing a part of my soul, exposing these thoughts that I’d been having, no matter how harsh, how deep they may be.
The book seems to talk about being emotionally naked, but how does your writing go along with your other naked ventures, like leaving love letters on the Amtrak train, or the naked modeling?
The nude modeling is very easy for me. Most of the time when I’m in my house, I’m not wearing anything. I’m conducting business in the nude. I’m a naked girl.
I think part of it is going to art school and having to draw the nude body almost every single day, and not even thinking about it except as shapes and masses and shadows, and how I can get this shape and this muscle the way that I’m seeing it in my head. So that part of being naked I can see as art; I don’t see it as something super sexual. Yeah, we’re naked, this is how we’re born.
Oh, come on. You’re not born in six-inch high heels and latex.
You’re not?
No, not yet. I mean, the modeling you’re doing is not art school modeling, not for the most part. It’s modeling for a certain rhetorical end and that end is jism.
It’s the aesthetics of it. I love the way the nude body looks with the shoes. I love the way that it creates the angles and the way that you can curve your back, the way you can twist your body into these amazing shapes and have this whole persona about you, and just be very confident in that. I’m more confident nude most of the time than I am in clothing.
In clothing I’m wondering if it’s wrinkled, I’m wondering if it’s riding up. When I’m naked, I know it’s just right there. I’m like, well, if the lighting’s not right this could be disastrous, and if it is, I’m going to look awesome.
One of the things that’s interesting to me about your photographs is that you look so different in all of them. You’re like Cindy Sherman; you’re able to project a different look, expression or person. How do you do that?
All of my photographs are driven by something that’s going on in my life at the time. I took a series that was all underwater at a time when I felt I was just completely drowning. I was dating this guy, and he had this great song that came out, and I was playing that on the computer. I got into the tub and was like, I feel like I’m drowning—why not just go for it?
Water up the nose, just disgusting, but out of it came this really beautiful photograph, but if anyone could see the after shot, they were gross.
I channel whatever I’m feeling at the time. I think that’s what makes them all look different—different parts of me are coming out in different photographs.
What about when you’re working with a photographer?
That has a lot to do with the vibe of the photographer. We’ll pick these locations, and the locations are what inspires me to do that. Or the pin-up stuff, I’m channeling a cross between Bettie Page and Marilyn Monroe. Like, come on, girls.
Have you ever had any really horrendous photo sessions?
Yes. I had one photographer who wanted to blindfold me, and when we took the blindfold off, he was completely naked. And I laughed because what else do you do besides shriek? He got so mad that he kicked me out of the house. And didn’t pay me.
Most of the time, it’s really good experiences.
And yet.
There’s something more than dermis-deep about the beauty of Katelan Foisy. She has skin like brie and lips like current jam, and you do want to eat her alive, but it’s not just that. She’s got this stupid infectious cackle and you find yourself rocketing along with the sheer velocity of it, but it’s not just that either. She’s wicked smart and crazy talented and greedily hedonistic, but it’s not just those sterling qualities either. She’s got that magic factor that makes people want to do right by her, to protect her (and I’m looking at you, fearsome Warren Ellis), and to feed her wine. Lots and lots of wine.
Being a sex worker and a nude model and a go-go dancer, I just feel that so much of me is just exposed and out there that I need certain things that are not...
What does naked mean to you?
The best way that I can explain it is through the book, Blood and Pudding, where I exposed these parts of my life that were hidden for such a long time, even though there was the intent to create a book when my cousin and I started it. In showing these people these intimate journals and these intimate letters that I was writing to people I would just die for at that point in my life, I felt I was exposing a part of my soul, exposing these thoughts that I’d been having, no matter how harsh, how deep they may be.
The book seems to talk about being emotionally naked, but how does your writing go along with your other naked ventures, like leaving love letters on the Amtrak train, or the naked modeling?
The nude modeling is very easy for me. Most of the time when I’m in my house, I’m not wearing anything. I’m conducting business in the nude. I’m a naked girl.
I think part of it is going to art school and having to draw the nude body almost every single day, and not even thinking about it except as shapes and masses and shadows, and how I can get this shape and this muscle the way that I’m seeing it in my head. So that part of being naked I can see as art; I don’t see it as something super sexual. Yeah, we’re naked, this is how we’re born.
Oh, come on. You’re not born in six-inch high heels and latex.
You’re not?
No, not yet. I mean, the modeling you’re doing is not art school modeling, not for the most part. It’s modeling for a certain rhetorical end and that end is jism.
It’s the aesthetics of it. I love the way the nude body looks with the shoes. I love the way that it creates the angles and the way that you can curve your back, the way you can twist your body into these amazing shapes and have this whole persona about you, and just be very confident in that. I’m more confident nude most of the time than I am in clothing.
In clothing I’m wondering if it’s wrinkled, I’m wondering if it’s riding up. When I’m naked, I know it’s just right there. I’m like, well, if the lighting’s not right this could be disastrous, and if it is, I’m going to look awesome.
One of the things that’s interesting to me about your photographs is that you look so different in all of them. You’re like Cindy Sherman; you’re able to project a different look, expression or person. How do you do that?
All of my photographs are driven by something that’s going on in my life at the time. I took a series that was all underwater at a time when I felt I was just completely drowning. I was dating this guy, and he had this great song that came out, and I was playing that on the computer. I got into the tub and was like, I feel like I’m drowning—why not just go for it?
Water up the nose, just disgusting, but out of it came this really beautiful photograph, but if anyone could see the after shot, they were gross.
I channel whatever I’m feeling at the time. I think that’s what makes them all look different—different parts of me are coming out in different photographs.
What about when you’re working with a photographer?
That has a lot to do with the vibe of the photographer. We’ll pick these locations, and the locations are what inspires me to do that. Or the pin-up stuff, I’m channeling a cross between Bettie Page and Marilyn Monroe. Like, come on, girls.
Have you ever had any really horrendous photo sessions?
Yes. I had one photographer who wanted to blindfold me, and when we took the blindfold off, he was completely naked. And I laughed because what else do you do besides shriek? He got so mad that he kicked me out of the house. And didn’t pay me.
Most of the time, it’s really good experiences.
Self-Portrait
When you think about how your photographs end up, does it ever flip you out? Do you ever get squicked?
Sometimes. I don’t really think about it all that much, but once in a while the thought will go through my head, or I’ll get a lovely email from someone who tells me how much he enjoys my photos in graphic detail. Sometimes I’ll go to events, and I won’t realize that someone has seen my photographs, and they’ll sort of hint around certain photographs and I’ll be like, “This is so weird! This guy is totally describing my life!” And then I’m like, oh, wait. He’s seen that photograph and probably jerked off to it many times.
The worst was when I’d just started modeling—I was still in college—and my former roommate had printed out a picture of me from the Internet and there was a lovely white stain all over my face.
You’ve told this story before, but how did Ron Jeremy help you make piece with your ass?
I was at the Hot Movies 100 Grand Gala representing Porn Saints [an art collective celebrating porn stars through artistic representation], and there were all these beautiful, beautiful porn stars there. They had such beautiful bodies. They work out for hours during the day. I didn’t want to compete. I just wanted to fit in. Or not be laughed at. Whichever came first.
I was getting interviewed by AVN, and they were like, “Oh, by the way, you’re going to meet Ron Jeremy.” And so Ron came out. Ron was like, “Do you have a boyfriend here?” And I was like, well, not here. So he said to give the media what they want.
He turns me around and kisses me real quick.
You got kissed by The Hedgehog.
I did. I did! By that time, there were all these people crowding around. Girls were just taking off their clothes, and he was signing away. It was really surreal. I grabbed Ron’s hand and put it on my ass. He’s like, “You’ve got a great ass. Best ass in the business.” And he’s just rubbing it.
Ron has this game where he sees how many women’s boobs he can sign in a night, and later on in the night, he says, “Since I stuck my hand down your shirt and whipped out your breast, you might as well just stick your hand down my pants.” I was like, “Well, I don’t know.”
He says, “Well, I’ll do it for you.” He sticks my hand down his pants and says, “Now we’re even.”
I don’t know, I think you got a little more than a handful.
Yeah, my breasts are smaller than his cock. But I suppose when you’re feeling up body parts, he got an ass and a breast. And I got some cock.
It was great because that whole time I didn’t think about my body image at all. I was talking to both male and female porn stars and we were just getting along. It was amazing. Everyone was beautiful at that moment.
You don’t like to talk about your sex life. In fact, your book is just about sex-free. Why?
I feel like so much of my life is public that certain things need to be private. That’s part of being a nude model. With the people I’m dating, I feel like that should just be between us. Being a sex worker and a nude model and a go-go dancer, I just feel that so much of me is just exposed and out there that I need certain things that are not—and that would be my sex life.
What’s the connection between your spirituality, your witchy-poo thing and the naked work?
Most of the spiritual work my friends who are witches do is naked. It’s just you connecting with whatever you’re connecting with, whether it’s the earth or a deity or spirits. With the nude modeling, I feel as if I’m in another realm. It’s like I’m creating other worlds when I’m modeling.
I can go into a shoot, it doesn’t matter if it’s in a studio, and I feel confident. I feel like I’m connected to something bigger than me and that we’re creating something bigger, which is where the spirituality comes in because I feel there’s something bigger than us.
You can keep up with the continuing adventures of Katelan Foisy on her website, where you can also buy her book, schedule a tarot card reading, and marvel at her body of art. She’s doing a host of readings in the next couple of months.
Sometimes. I don’t really think about it all that much, but once in a while the thought will go through my head, or I’ll get a lovely email from someone who tells me how much he enjoys my photos in graphic detail. Sometimes I’ll go to events, and I won’t realize that someone has seen my photographs, and they’ll sort of hint around certain photographs and I’ll be like, “This is so weird! This guy is totally describing my life!” And then I’m like, oh, wait. He’s seen that photograph and probably jerked off to it many times.
The worst was when I’d just started modeling—I was still in college—and my former roommate had printed out a picture of me from the Internet and there was a lovely white stain all over my face.
You’ve told this story before, but how did Ron Jeremy help you make piece with your ass?
I was at the Hot Movies 100 Grand Gala representing Porn Saints [an art collective celebrating porn stars through artistic representation], and there were all these beautiful, beautiful porn stars there. They had such beautiful bodies. They work out for hours during the day. I didn’t want to compete. I just wanted to fit in. Or not be laughed at. Whichever came first.
I was getting interviewed by AVN, and they were like, “Oh, by the way, you’re going to meet Ron Jeremy.” And so Ron came out. Ron was like, “Do you have a boyfriend here?” And I was like, well, not here. So he said to give the media what they want.
He turns me around and kisses me real quick.
You got kissed by The Hedgehog.
I did. I did! By that time, there were all these people crowding around. Girls were just taking off their clothes, and he was signing away. It was really surreal. I grabbed Ron’s hand and put it on my ass. He’s like, “You’ve got a great ass. Best ass in the business.” And he’s just rubbing it.
Ron has this game where he sees how many women’s boobs he can sign in a night, and later on in the night, he says, “Since I stuck my hand down your shirt and whipped out your breast, you might as well just stick your hand down my pants.” I was like, “Well, I don’t know.”
He says, “Well, I’ll do it for you.” He sticks my hand down his pants and says, “Now we’re even.”
I don’t know, I think you got a little more than a handful.
Yeah, my breasts are smaller than his cock. But I suppose when you’re feeling up body parts, he got an ass and a breast. And I got some cock.
It was great because that whole time I didn’t think about my body image at all. I was talking to both male and female porn stars and we were just getting along. It was amazing. Everyone was beautiful at that moment.
You don’t like to talk about your sex life. In fact, your book is just about sex-free. Why?
I feel like so much of my life is public that certain things need to be private. That’s part of being a nude model. With the people I’m dating, I feel like that should just be between us. Being a sex worker and a nude model and a go-go dancer, I just feel that so much of me is just exposed and out there that I need certain things that are not—and that would be my sex life.
What’s the connection between your spirituality, your witchy-poo thing and the naked work?
Most of the spiritual work my friends who are witches do is naked. It’s just you connecting with whatever you’re connecting with, whether it’s the earth or a deity or spirits. With the nude modeling, I feel as if I’m in another realm. It’s like I’m creating other worlds when I’m modeling.
I can go into a shoot, it doesn’t matter if it’s in a studio, and I feel confident. I feel like I’m connected to something bigger than me and that we’re creating something bigger, which is where the spirituality comes in because I feel there’s something bigger than us.
You can keep up with the continuing adventures of Katelan Foisy on her website, where you can also buy her book, schedule a tarot card reading, and marvel at her body of art. She’s doing a host of readings in the next couple of months.
- 08/03/2010
