Jessica Ruano

Blog

  • Solo parenting in the time of Corona

    Solo parenting in the time of Corona

    Originally published in Ottawa Magazine, May 2020. Photos by David Kawai. When I made the decision several years ago to adopt as a solo parent, the circumstances I imagined for myself and my child were very different from our current reality. We’re told to expect the unexpected when we become parents, but few of us anticipate having to raise our children… Read more

  • Being queer

    Being queer

    I refer to myself as a queer woman. What does that mean exactly? In honour of Pride Month, I thought I would share a few thoughts I wrote out a couple of years ago: For me, being queer isn’t so much about the person I’m dating, as it is about a worldview. It is an… Read more

  • Kate Barry explores Olympia model Victorine Meurent

    Kate Barry explores Olympia model Victorine Meurent

    I wrote this article for Xtra.ca in 2009, six years before I began life modelling myself! QUEERING OLYMPIA. One of the most notorious paintings of the 19th century gets a redux with a performance piece by Kate Barry.  Photo: courtesy of Kate Barry What is the story behind the woman in the painting? Modern artists… Read more

  • Anxiety, grief, and lawnmowers

    Anxiety, grief, and lawnmowers

    I wrote this piece in August 2022, six weeks after my girlfriend died by suicide. While suicide itself is not the least bit funny, I feel it’s important to find humour in the grieving process. Here goes… This morning, I mowed my front lawn for the very first time. Now for you suburbanites and country… Read more

  • Many happy returns

    Many happy returns

    Last Friday was my mother’s birthday. After I called her in the morning to wish her a happy one, she followed up with an email inviting me over for dinner and cake that evening. I walked into my roommate’s bedroom, sat down next to her, and sobbed. I hadn’t been to my parents’ house, my… Read more

  • Living the (naked) dream

    Living the (naked) dream

    You know that dream where you show up to class and you’re totally naked and everyone is looking at you? Yeah, that’s pretty much what I do for work. Hi, my name is Jessica, and I’m a professional life model. Mainly it involves posing – often nude – for varying lengths of time in the… Read more