In this article, I discuss the legacy of the art historical trope of the female nude in perpetuating colonial narratives that inform young women's understanding not only of the idealized female body, but also what is perceived as 'good' drawing in the contemporary art classroom. Theoretically informed by phEmaterialism (feminist new materialism and post-humanism in education), I review the skin as a post-human assemblage to diffract heteronormative and raced colonial imaginings of the female skin. I discuss the PhEminist Skins project, a collaboration with six young women artists (the YWAs), where critical engagement with creative methods, such as life drawing, mobilized the agency of the skin and created opportunity for creative activism. I further share how the methods developed by the YWAs instigated the creation of The Centre for Creative Explorations, a creative research centre that explores alternative pedagogical approaches to the decolonial endeavour in secondary education.