100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - DEVIL BETTIE BLYTHE

BYTHE (HAS OFTEN WISHED SHE COULD HAVE HAD A TAIL... AND HORNS...) 

so, after quite a long string of "good girls" and "bad-ass girls" (aka goddesses), i think it's time to have the ultimate of bad girls... the lovely Ms. Bettie Page. i think she makes the most sweetly seductive, sublime and sinister of devils... you GO GIRL!

Bettie was born in nashville, tennessee in 1923, and was miss january 1955 pinup girl for playboy, making her one of the earliest pinup girls. she was a classic fetish and pinup model with her jet black hair and blue eyes, and is still today one of the fetish culture's idols. 

according to Hugh Hefner, Playboy founder and figure-head, "I think that she was a remarkable lady, an iconic figure in pop culture who influenced sexuality, taste in fashion, and someone who had a tremendous impact on our society."

100 DRAWINGS IN 100 DAYS - the bunny strikes again

BLYTHE (WONDERS HOW A BIG FAT ROCK ON HER HAND WOULD LOOK, AS SHE PRACTICES SAYING "MRS. BLYTHE HEFNER...")

after i graduated college with my MFA in printmaking, i was invited to join and participate in the AGD (american graphic design) show called the "20 x 2", which was a monthly event held in a swank little lecture-type place, and there were 20 artists with 2 minutes each to discuss the chosen topic. the topic my group was given was "passion". well, can i just tell you that it's not easy coming up with a 2 minute presentation about passion, especially one that won't confuse the audience. the objective was to captivate their attention and leave an impression.

so, i invested in a playboy bunny outfit, did quite a lot of research, and found that i could take people on a 2 minute journey through history which went from the passions of christ and the crucifixion to easter sunday, then the easter bunny, and finally arriving at the playboy bunny, quite obviously one of many objects of passion. my presentation was fast, furious and to the point and all the while, i was striding through the crowd in my skimpy outfit and the highest of heels, handing out plastic pull-apart easter eggs with a bag of "passion" tea and a chocolate inside each egg.

now, the real connection i found between "passion" and the Playboy Bunny was a no-brainer - the bunny, present at easter and at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Clubs. as it turned out, to become a playboy bunny was quite an extraordinary feat. there was a certain protocol to being a Bunnygirl, beginning with the audition, the "Bunny Stance" and even the "Bunny Dip" (a technique for bending down to serve a drink while keeping the low-cut bunny uniform in place), down to the Bunny having knowledge of 143 brands of liquor, and how to garnish 20 different cocktails. Bunnies were not allowed to fraternize with the patrons unless they were a C1 patron, the most important of all patrons.

in a way, you could say that the Playboy Bunnygirls were some of the most memorable of the influential women in history, because let's face it, what little boy hasn't grown up without sneaking at least one peek at a playboy magazine? and what would the world be like today if it weren't for the Bunnygirls and Mr. Hugh Hefner?