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White Center's Cleo Petra, founder/owner of The Burning Hearts Burlesque, collaborates with Burien's Robert Butler of RJB Photo, a catalogue and fashion photographer, on a new magazine, "Pin-up Quarterly, Seattle's Girly Magazine". Its high-quality glossy, colorful pages feature women sporting provocative costumes while playing out various roles involving flashy cars, drinks, and cigarette holders.

The line-up of ladies runs from coquettish and petit to brazen and buxom. If the question is, "Are they nude?" the short answer is "No, but almost." Like WWII pin-up icons Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable, what is not revealed seems to catch the eye. Butler seems adroit at capturing a "good girl" in a "bad situation" without showing us every anatomical detail of his subject, to paraphrase a pin-up website.

The Burning Hearts Burlesque, and this magazine, have models and performers "with many diferent shapes and sizes," said Cleo Petra proudly. You may run into her tending bar at the new Company Restaurant in White Center. The Burlesque show contains brief frontal nudity at the conclusion of some acts, as is the tradition.

"Our magazines have themes," Petra said. "Our first issue was 'Cocktails and Cuties' with a cocktail recipe or two on every page. Our second issue is 'Superheroes and Villains'. Miss Rusty Fairlane is an amazing costumer and helps everybody in the show. She's my right hand here. I encourage (the performers) to bring their creativity to the show, but she will then tell them if something doesn't look quite right, that they may need to straighten a ribbon or bow or something here or there."

Petra and Butler recently utilized the cavernous SODO rockabilly bar Club Motor for its raw atmosphere to shoot pin-up models for the second issue, due April 1. Club owners Joe "Motor" and his 37 year-old son Brian feature Petra's live burlesque show monthly there. Joe has lived in West Seattle for about 20 years.

At the Club Motor shoot, "Rusty Fairlane the costumer" transformed to "Rusty Fairlane the costumed" and donned a lion tamer outfit with whip on the ready to pose for Butler.

"Cleo's a goddess," said the red-headed Fairlane. "We all admire Cleo."

Sibyl Darling takes the stage name "Riot B." She lives near South Seattle Community College and just met Cleo at The Company restaurant.

"We know all the same people," Darling said. "I am a belly dancer in Troupe Adderstone." She said she does not dance burlesque, but that West Seattle audiences may have seen her troupe perform at the annual tribal belly dance festival in Hiawatha Park. She dressed as the sword-weilding Red Sonja for the quarterly at Club Moto.

Allison Lizotte, an Alaska Junction resident, has lived in West Seattle her whole life, and hosts and sings for The Burning Hearts Burlesque. She likes a variety of music, including ABBA.

"I went to Sweden last year," she recounted. "As soon as you get off the plane there is a big sign of ABBA there that welcomes you," she chuckled.

"Persia" also lives in the Junction, appeared in the last issue, and poses for the new issue, too. The petit professional model was on the cover of the Stranger's 2009 Strangercrombee edition. She said she doesn't dance burlesque but "kittens" back stage, meaning she helps with props and other behind-the-scenes duties.

The modest goddess tips her hat to Butler. "Rob and I have known each other for years," Petra said. "He's so consistant and really a rockstar of photography in this town."

The magazine costs $16, and can be purchased through http://www.magcloud.com/browse/Issue/149885.

Spendy, yes, but it does feel heftier than an ordinary magazine.

"Maybe the four (quarterly) issues can turn into a coffee table book," Petra said. "I do this magazine for the art, for the love of it. I dont know how to be the capitalist I want to be. I am interested in always learning and seeing what the reaction is, and people seem to really love it."

"This is definitely not a money-making venture," echoed Butler. "It's more of a creative outlet for Cleo and me. She has such a knack for finding people to work with, so many different looks, ethnicities. When I post images online I judge them by the responses I get, and nine times out of ten when I post a full-figured woman I get a lot of good responses. People really do like it when full-figured models are photographed beautifully. I pick out their strong points, good features. Every individual has got a good feature."

Burning Hearts Burlesque has two upcoming shows at Club Moto. The first is their Valentine's Day dinner and show featuring The Disco Cowboys.

For tickets go to: www.brownbagtickets.com.

Also, their monthly burlesque show, this one "Bad Motor Booty", Feb. 17, also at Club Motor, 1950 1st Ave. S. (206) 623-3230.