Greetings, folx! 

Now that we’re in a new year — and because I’ve had some new people join me on my email lists and social media — I’ve decided it’s an excellent time to reintroduce myself to you all! I’m delighted that more people are interested in my work with The Erotic Arts Project.

So, here’s a little about me! My name is River Drosera, and I am a white, queer, femme who lives and works on Nisenan territory, or Sacramento, CA. I use they/them pronouns, but she/her is okay, too! 

I grew up in rural New York before going to art school, then found my way into the Somatic Sex Education realm. I was often the person people would naturally come to talk about their sex lives, and I’ve always felt it was essential to openly share with my friends our experiences of being erotic beings in the world — especially because our education around sex and bodies was (and is!) so limited. I’m happy to report that I’ve been working professionally in the sex education and body awareness field for 8 years now! 

When I first started The Erotic Arts Project, it began just as social media presence: a place where people could take in creative erotic art, and hopefully feel inspired to make their own art about their unique experience of having and being in a body. 

Over the years, The Erotic Arts Project has morphed into so much more. It’s moved beyond just social media and into practice, coaching, and an art show! The Expressive Erotic Play course is the central piece to the project: I wanted to create something to equip folx in developing their self-pleasure and creative practices.

The Erotic Arts Project centers queer erotic and creative embodiment, through trauma-informed somatic sex education and creative practices that support a thriving relationship to the body. Expressive Erotic Play and other future offerings will open to people of all genders and orientations, unless specified, but centering queer voices and experiences will always be integral to The Erotic Arts Project.

I have some exciting new offerings coming, and new ways for you to engage with this work. Future courses, workshops, and webinars presented through the Erotic Arts Project will provide you will the tools and resources to center creativity and erotic pleasure in your own life, so that you feel vibrant, sensual, magical, curious, and playful. 

At its heart, The Erotic Arts Project seeks to undo and replace some of our overculture’s messaging. So many of us have been told by our families, our communities, and our cultures that our erotic and creative lives are not important or valuable. This message can land in our bodies as shame, and can make us feel judgmental about our bodies, sexuality, and creative work. This stifles feelings of aliveness, and can replace them with a sense of dullness, resentment, and yearning for “something more.” 

The Erotic Arts Project honors your eroticism and your connection to your body, creativity, joy — and deems these elements as deeply important, valuable, and worthy. The Erotic Arts Project also holds that ALL bodies are good bodies, and that pleasure and creativity are our birthrights. 

Our creative expressions are a part of our whole somatic experience. When we create, we feel it in the depths of our bodies and in our bones. Can you think of a time where you felt completely “in the flow” with a creative project? What did that feel like in your body? Sometimes creativity feels like it radiates from our heart space, and can even make you feel “turned on” — it has long been told throughout history that sexuality and creativity are deeply intertwined. 

It is my intention and deepest hope for the coming year and beyond that we all feel joy and pleasure in our bodies, and that our creative worlds flourish. 

So, in keeping with that, here are some questions for you to investigate as we take our first steps into 2021. Perhaps you want to make your favorite drink and sit down with your journal to answer them. There are no wrong answers!

🌀  What would it feel like to give your erotic and creative worlds the time and space to joyfully flourish? 

🌀  Where is your creative practice now? What would you want it to look like in a month, three months, a year?

Oh, and before I let you go: if you’re curious about exploring The Expressive Erotic Play course, check it out here on Teachable. You’ll see the option to sign up for a free consultation call to see if it’s a wonderful fit for you! 

In pleasure and creativity, 

River