Four  setups took place. One in which Spencer asked participants to spread out over a tulip field facing away from the camera formed the basis for the official Spencer Tunick Dream Amsterdam poster. Other setups included participants laying down in the field with a raised arm, a setup with people kneeling in two parallel rows with both arms raised and one with people laying on the grass in an X formation with a windmill in the background.
 
 

However when the call went out for some volunteers to do a small installation on 15th April for Spencer Tunick in Amsterdam, I didn’t need to be encouraged to join in. In fact I got up at 5.30hrs twice, once to get the day coach to Amsterdam and then again the next day for the shoot.

Considering that Amsterdam and Newcastle appear to be approximately the same distance from London, the difference in the times to get to these cities is a shame. From my time living in Holland I know that the 11 to 12hr coach journeys are a bit of a bore but as I decided to go so last minute, I didn’t want to pay the asked prices to fly. Fortunately I managed to find a room in the Holiday Inn at a very cheap price in a ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ website deal which was worth it.

My mother believes that I am a little psychic and she has been proved right. I had been saying on The Spencer Tunick Experience Forum that I thought we would be tip toeing through the tulips and that is exactly how it was! The fear of damaging the flowers and the wear and tear on our feet meant that we were indeed on tiptoe. My knees took some punishment too, when we were asked to kneel down with our arms in the air. Oh the pain! I do know that most of Spencer’s installations involve some discomfort to the models, and as someone was saying to me, one a week would be an excellent keep fit class.

People tell me I'm crazy for doing this. I've been asked if I'm kinky. Possibly I am. I can also be lazy and can sometimes... let myself go a bit. Ten days' notice wasn't enough to slim to a size eight, but a couple of nights before I left I spent some time disolving, plucking, shaving and dyeing hair on various parts of my body. My hair was dark brown with a red streak at the front, but remembering models that stood out being asked to go to the back in previous shoots I'd been at, I changed it to a dark auburn and will keep it that way for the second installation in June.

I’ll be back in Amsterdam then, however I have to say out of all the ones I have been to, this small installation was the nicest of all. It will be hard for any future event to top it, as it was a beautiful day and everything was so organised that it was a pleasure to be there. Thanks to Jamain for arranging this for us, see you soon.

Spencer greeted us and thanked us for coming. Although he was not feeling very well he seemed to be in quite a good mood. Maybe it's because it was only an installation with a limited number of participants. I guess it must be easier to direct a small group of about a hunderd than a large crowd of 2000 or more people. He explained the different setups he had in mind and then he told us to take our clothes off. The shooting was about to start. It was still a little chilly in the beginning but as the shooting went on the sun came through, and by the end we feld sorry it was already over. With this sort of weather we could have stayed in that field the entire day. Summerised, I think I can say it was a glorious day, beautifull setting, nice weather, all people seemed to be in a good mood.