A great regret from the Bay Area era of my documentary work was that I never got to draw film-maker Shine Louise Houston.

She is the powerhouse creative force behind revolutionary queer studios CrashPad Series and PinkLabelTV, and an amazing QPOC artist.

Yesterday I got to meet and draw Shine, and what a thrill!

Shine Louise Houston‘s camera work and film workshops are incredibly popular and sell out like lightning, but I was able to get in as a documentary artist and record her teaching the class.

Shine started out with some gems about filming adult media that I never would have thought of!

I was absolutely fascinated to hear her talk about the secrets of a happy set and how to troubleshoot when things go sideways. Shine on IMDB here! You would not believe how much creative work she has done as a producer and director of sexy erotic cinema.

“There is power in creating images, and for a woman of color and a queer to take that power… I don’t find it exploitative; I think it’s necessary.” – Shine Louise Houston

Here’s Shine with Jiz Lee, demonstrating the concept of the 180-degree Line.

Although all I know about film-making is what I’ve seen on queer porn sets, I know this concept from my career as a comic-book penciller! I drew Jiz Lee often in the Oughts in the Bay, because we both donated lots of time to benefits for local sex-positive institutions like The Center for Sex and Culture. I keep up with them daily on twitter and Instagram, because Jiz is always on top of news and opportunities for sex-positive activism and education.

Seriously, if you want to be learning and growing about how to support trans and nonbinary folx and QPOC erotic cinema, Jiz Lee is your first stop.

They were the first out nonbinary person I knew IRL, and their clear voice is always educating me on how to be of use and of help. Step one: PAY FOR YOUR PORN!!!

Suzanne Forbes photographed by Jiz Lee at Shine Camera Work class Oct 26 2019

Jiz Lee took this cool over-the-shoulder shot of me drawing!

It was a total treat that one of the demo models for Shine’s class was Bishop Black!

Always a pleasure to see that gentleman creative, who is one of the hardest working artists in Berlin’s incredibly rich queer life.

People I know have been shooting with Shine Louise Houston forever!

Sadly my health got worse and worse in my last years in the Bay, and I never managed to be somewhere Shine was working. It was an honor to at last document her historic and powerful artistic presence. I loved hearing her talk about intuitive and spiritual approaches to cinema; even if you’re not a film-maker the class is so interesting and I highly recommend it!

These drawings are licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

That means they’re 100% FREE for all to share and enjoy! In addition, I release the copyright on each drawing to the performer shown and they may use the drawings for their own profit and pleeeasssure in any way they choose.

As a fat, queer, disabled artist, crowdfunded support is the only way I can make this work and release it for free. 

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