It was my absolute pleasure to pose for one of my favorite artists yesterday, Mr. Jay Fife. Jay hails from Ohio and brings fans of pop culture a unique portrayal of characters. His work is primarily but not exclusively that style branded as “pin up art.”

Jay is also working on his first independent comic, Mary Monster. Though I’m not 9 feet tall, I have certain other assets in common with this orange-skinned demon girl. I got to pose as Mary and a variety of other generic styles that Jay will able to work with in time.

We pulled out inspirations from the famous days of glamorous Hollywood like Betty Grable, Bettie Page, Marilyn Monroe, and the like with plenty coming from the artistry of Alberto Vargas and Gil Elvgren. Today’s pop culture community gets to experience that same love of silky wavy hair, heavy eyeliner, and lingerie on models who can’t quite seem to avoid wardrobe malfunctions just as the cameras click. There’s a Vargas Girls Cabaret in Seattle, Molly Crabapple’s international Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, and oodles of membership-driven websites like Donovan’s Darlings. Of course, some of my personal favorites are models that I know through other connections like the Girls’ Entertainment Network and The Superhero Costuming Forum including Meagan Van Burkleo, Meredith Placko and Becky “Aktrez” Young.

If I had the time, I would love to research and write an extensive article about the return to burlesque. If I ever change my name (again), I’ll just throw Mae in there somewhere. Elizabeth Amber Love Mae Delaney — sure, that rolls off the tongue.

When you visit Jay’s site, you’ll find other links to his favorites like alt models Acid Poptart, Sith Vixen and Amazon Mandy. Yes, I dream of having an official burlesque photoshoot but I won’t do it unless I have a hair and makeup artist. For now, my shots are just for reference for artists like Jay. (I need to get my mitts on that artist Tess Fowler too!)

And though I’ve said it a million times on the blogs, if you love cheesy B-movies (or DD movies, as it were), you need to read The Vault of Buncheness to get educated on the best of the worst Jungle Girls and Virgin Witches out there on the movie market.

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Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.