Today, after dealing with a high level of stress due to choices about the future, applying to grad schools, keeping up with school, working, and being social I had no patience for conceptual art. I went to my studio to work on a sculpture that I am currently struggling with and felt numb. I often get so worried about the reasoning behind my work that I forget about what I'm making and why I'm making it in the first place. But today was an inspiring day; I went to a show at the 840 Gallery at DAAP, visited the painting studios at DAAP and had positive conversations about art with my peers. In the end, I came up with a fantastic idea for a photo shoot that will occur next Tuesday evening. AND! Once I returned to my studio, I grabbed a piece of wood from the discard pile, made some plaster and made art JUST BECAUSE I FELT LIKE IT. There was no message, concept or connection to an audience that I was aiming for.... just making art for art's sake. For my sake. I cannot express how lifeless I would feel if I could not make something on a regular basis. The piece is not done and there is no title but I know that the next step will be to add color.
In Progress
In Progress (close up)
My friends and I call this process plaster painting. I mixed thick plaster and painted it on plywood with my hand. As it hardened, I was able to sculpt the plaster more to a better shape. My sculptures, except my foundry work, typically lacks color. I hope to see where my inspiration takes me and if I can successfully color this impressionistic piece. All of this was completed on a spur of the moment "grab-random-materials-and-make-something-awesome" feeling and in less than an hour. This is why I love art. Anything is possible.
Special thanks and shout outs to Max, Sarah, Andi, Mamie, Farron and Abby!
I have struggled greatly over the past semester to nail down my thesis. I believe that this has been so challenging because I want to make art about a large plethora of topics, not just one. However, I just may hove found the one topic that I can grow and build upon for the remainder of the year while remaining true to my passions and interests. I present to you, my thesis proposal.
Through extensive studies of the human
figure and facial structure, I have developed a strong interest in using the
face and body as a canvas and tool for interpretation and suggestion. As a sculptor,
I use mediums such as plaster, clay and metal to add to the repertoire of the
human figure in the art world.Since my interest in makeup escalated and my plans to pursue a career as
a makeup artist, my attention has turned to the character that can be brought
forth from the human figure with the use of visual allusions created by makeup.
I want to bring my audience into a
narrative that they can relate to in some way but still be removed at the same
time. As human beings, we emote
and force the understanding of our own personality traits and features onto
fictional beings in the simplest desire of creating something new but still
familiar.As a sculptor, I want to
take fabricated characters from the imaginations of others and myself, bring
them into existence and put them before an audience, forcing them to come face
to face with a being that is foreign yet known.
I have researched ancient mythology,
current fantasy novels and contemporary artists that focus on narratives in
their art.Throughout history,
people have imagined creatures that combine features of a human being with
animals or other fictitious beings to create an entirely new creature.The number and variety of these beings
fascinate me; Examples include the sphinx, the centaur, angels, and the satyr,
to name a few.Fictional
characters with mixed human qualities have existed since ancient times, often
in myths or have served as deities.The Egyptians worshiped multiple gods that were depicted as humans
morphed with animals.As a
culture, we even personify objects to have human characteristics.Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
is
the greatest example of lifeless objects being given a face with a personality
and the freedom to move about as humans do.
To prepare for the projects that will be
born from this concept, I have been experimenting with various mediums and
tools.Each character will be life
size; therefore, I must consider the weight of the materials I use.I plan to use materials in
unconventional ways, such as hollow plaster.This is a process I have already used for my sculpture Lay In My Body.I am currently invested in using wax
and plaster dipped paper cranes.These cranes will be adhered to one another to form the body of a
creature conjured from my own imagination based on a character that represents
war in the Wicked Lovely book series
written by Melissa Marr.This
creature will have an altered human body with a concave torso, a beak and will
consist of nine hundred and ninety-nine paper cranes.In the hollow of her torso, will rest the skeleton of a baby
bird.For now, I am titling this
piece as Aves, which is the
scientific word for bird.Aves will rest on a bed made to look
like the bed of a person but will be made up of materials that could be found
in a birds nest.I believe that
creating an environment for Aves to
exist in will help build the narrative and invite my audience in.An artist that I found inspiration from
for my current sculpture project is American sculptor Petah Coyne.Coyne uses taxidermy birds and wax
among other materials in her sculptures.I coincidentally discovered her work after I began designing Aves.
I believe that people have invented these
imaginary beings to be symbolic in nature.For example, Marr’s character that represents war is a woman
with a face that is combined with a raven’s, the bird that symbolizes ill omens
or death.I want Aves and the other characters that I
create to be symbolic in nature.My goal is for the audience to see the narrative and interpret the
metaphors
and morals within, much like Greek mythology where each myth contains at least
one principle that was significant to their culture.
To be true to my original focus of the
human figure, I will ensure that each character’s human traits are very present
in their make up.This is my
attempt at merging theater with fine art, by setting the stage and building a
character with the main goal of telling a story.I understand that my focus has shifted from the fragility of
human life, as I stated in my fall research statement.However, I still maintain that the basic
subject will remain the human figure as I had originally intended for my senior
thesis.
I have been long over due for an artist of the month, my apologies.
This month, I present to you an artist who became a coincidental source of inspiration for my current project Aves is Petah Coyne. Coyne is an American sculptor who is known for her organic, large-scale sculptures. I have begun dipping my paper cranes in candle wax and one of my peers asked me if I had seen any of Coyne's work. I told him that I was not familiar with her and he said that my project reminded him of her work. So I did some research and the similarities are quite uncanny.
Untitled #810
Mixed Media
Coyne, 1995
Above is an example of here earlier work, fabricated birds dipped in special wax attached with ribbons, chicken wire and meshed together with other objects and materials.
Untitled #1336
Mixed Media
Coyne, '09-'10
Above is an idea of Coyne's newer sculptures. I enjoy the whimsy of her work and the elegant, dark beauty of the creations. The following is a portion of a review of her work by Sebastian Smee at the MASS MoCA,
"Unlike many contemporary artists who focus on social or media-related issues, Petah Coyne imbues her work with a magical quality to evoke intensely personal associations. Her sculptures convey an inherent tension between vulnerability and aggression, innocence and seduction, beauty and decadence, and, ultimately, life and death. Coyne's work seems Victorian in its combination of an overloaded refinement with a distinctly decadent and morbid undercurrent. Her innovative use of materials includes dead fish, mud, sticks, black sand, old car parts, wax, satin ribbons, artificial flowers and birds, birdcages, and most recently, taxidermy animals, Madonna statues, and horsehair."
I am very happy and thankful to have found such a unique contemporary artist. As I look at her work, I find myself pushing my thesis farther towards the characters of the imagination rather than the human figure on its own. I feel like Coyne's sculptures belong in Grimms' fairytales. For more of Petah Coyne's fantastic sculptures, here is a link to her website.
I am still searching for my thesis. I am lost in the valley that exists between theatre makeup and fine art sculpture. I cannot decide whether to focus on sculptures of the human body, examining how the human figure is represented and portrayed through context and mediums in art history or explore the creative and transformative properties of makeup in the context of fine art. My sculpture professor suggested that I combine makeup with my sculptures but I find myself at a complete loss to find the means of how to do so.
As I thought about my future in the theater world, I came to think about why makeup is used in the first place. Makeup is used to create and enhance the characters on stage and build upon the allusion of their existence to the audience. Ultimately, makeup is for a character. There are artists who create characters that are accepted as a valid form of art. Local artist Abby Langdon, also known as abbydid, creates plush characters and creatures. She recently was part of a show in the Reed Gallery at DAAP.
My favorite piece of hers was Stompy McThumperton.
Me with Stompy.
(I was quite excited.)
You can see more of Langdon's work at www.abbydid.com
Thus came the inspiration for my most recent piece. I wanted to create a character from my imagination that retained human figure traits. Over a month ago, I found the skeleton of a baby bird on campus. I kept in because I wanted to use it in an art piece because I have a strong fascination with skeletons. Now I have the perfect art piece to include the skeleton. I have been folding paper cranes for several days now, working towards my goal of 999. I will use these cranes to construct a birdlike creature to act as the mother of this dead baby bird. The baby bird will rest in a hollow of the mother bird's pelvis. Since this project is still in the developing stages and I cannot move on to construction until all the cranes are folded, I am unsure if I will be using actual makeup. For now, I will refer to this project as Aves, which is the scientific name for birds.
In progress - Sketches and paper cranes
Baby Bird skeleton
I see this piece as a further exploration of the ties between theater and fine art, two of my greatest loves. I will be posting in progress photos as soon as I finish the remaining 500+ cranes and am able to move on in sculpting this character.
At the beginning of the semester, I signed up to take lab hours at UC's College Conservatory of Music's Makeup and Wig Design program. The class requires that I work a minimum of three hours every Friday and crew a show at CCM at some point during the semester. About a month ago, one of the girls in the Makeup and Wig Design program asked if I was available to crew the musical Singing in the Rain. I was beyond thrilled as this was a musical I grew up watching and knew it by heart.
I have just finished the 10 day experience of crewing a show at CCM. I had one of the most enjoyable experiences I could have ever hoped for! Everyone I met and worked with was so kind and helpful, from the cast to the other students backstage. I was responsible for wig and hairstyling of eight cast members of the ensemble, four girls and four guys. I did not do makeup because I have not been trained at CCM and the ensemble cast typically does their own makeup.
The process for girls required pin curling and wrapping their hair, setting the wig cap, pinning on the element (microphone), placing the wig and setting it with wig pins. In addition, I had to add a headband and set their fake eyelashes. Below is one of the girls that I worked on.
Female ensemble member, Hannah Singing in the Rain
2013
The process for the boys required far less and wasn't as time consuming but was still a challenge. I had to spray down their hair, add the gel Groom & Clean (which makes the hairspray can slip out of your hands), clip in the element, comb their hair to follow their natural part, styled for the correct time period while covering the element and then hairspray the heck out of it. Below is one of the boys I worked on.
Male ensemble member, Chris Singing in the Rain
2013
I had to do this every night for over a week. I had never pin curled, wrapped or styled hair before and I was very slow the first few nights. The girls in the makeup program suggested I don't converse with the cast as much to help speed things up. I felt bad because I wanted to be polite and get to know everyone but, sure enough, once I cut out some conversation I was on time by the third night.
During the show, I was responsible for multiple wig changes, one makeup removal and assisting with a couple of costume changes. The adrenaline rush was ridiculous every night as I participated in and observed quick changes. The shortest one I assisted in was about 20 seconds in which the lead had to change his entire outfit and a wig. The costume students deserve major respect for what they go through each show-costume changes are ridiculously intense. When I had down time, I was able to watch the performance from the sides of backstage and I never tired of watching. I made several new friends in a variety of majors while backstage and in the makeup shop; none of them could tell that I wasn't in CCM and that I was a senior in DAAP! The atmosphere was just so artistic and inspiring, filled with positive energy. I even found an idea for a new piece for advanced sculpture related to my thesis! I cannot wait to apply to the Makeup and Wig Design program at CCM!
Here are some more pictures of my wonderful time at CCM:
Nate (as the sugar daddy in the first two scenes) and I before
the last performance.
Tyler (my favorite to style because he always got so
excited about the swoop) and I down in the makeup shop.
Here is a link to a site that will lead to multiple views of the show:
As I struggle through with a decisive and set thesis for senior thesis beyond just the generic human figure, I continue to make work about it. I am currently in a show for advanced sculpture at DAAP for our midterm titled "Liminal Expressions." My piece was a plaster sculpture of various body parts arranged at different heights on steel stands.
Lay In My Body Plaster and steel 2013
To make this piece, I wrapped various parts of my body in plastic packing tape sticky side up and then covered another layer of the sticky side down. After I cut myself out, I patched up the tape mold with more tape. I then mixed plaster at a thicker consistency and poured it into my tape molds, spread it out, let it dry and cut open the tape mold. Some pieces I was able to get very thin, which is rare for plaster because it is very fragile.
An example of how thin some of the pieces are.
Lay In My Body is made up of eight different pieces that make up the torso, shoulder and neck, legs and arms; there is no head or feet and hands. This is the most abstract piece I have ever made. I need to work on how I photograph and light the piece. It was rather difficult because the piece is white and galleries are usually white, the piece gets lost in the space against the walls. Someone suggested that I paint the stands black and photograph the piece against a black background to make the body parts stand out more. If I could display this piece in my ultimate setting, it would be alone in a medium sized room that was painted a deep blue (floor and ceiling too) and each part of the piece would have its own light from directly above.
Here are a couple more views of my piece from when it was in the 840 Gallery at DAAP.
This past week, I have found myself stuck in a creative rut, if you will. I am currently working on multiple sculpture pieces at the same time, this is new for me. I rarely work on more than two pieces at the same time. It is quite the challenge. But two nights ago, I remembered a video of a performance piece I watched last year in Figure Sculpture. This is the video:
Instantly I was set with inspiration! With my future career focused on makeup, this piece had far more significance to me now than it did a year ago. I grabbed some clay, called up a friend, set up a photography studio in my apartment and here are the results. My reaction piece.
Before
Model: Nancy Pickard
Clay Reacts
Part I
Clay Reacts
Part II
Clay Reacts
Part III
Clay Reacts
Part IV
Clay Reacts
Part V
Clay Reacts
Part VI
Rather than mimic Sagazan's sculptural element like in his performance, I treated the clay as a makeup product. I used only one layer of clay that I darkened with water or additional clay. I am pleased with the contrast in color between her eyes and hair with the clay and skin. I was fascinated how childlike Nancy looked after I covered up her eyebrows. The element of makeup, even though I used clay, and the transformative properties it holds never cease to amaze me.
I have been doing some research on the next step of my education since I am a senior and will graduate in April of 2014. I was looking into various types of education in makeup and I happened upon the Makeup Design for Film & Television program at Vancouver Film School. Have you ever heard of the Sci-fi television show "Face Off"? That is what I immediately thought of when I discovered this school. The makeup their students do is phenomenal!
One of their exercises was to create realistic makeup for a practice emergency crisis. Here is a video of that experience.
And here is a video of the aging process using makeup:
This school looks incredible - as if it's too good to be true!
In my senior year at DAAP, I am enrolled in Senior Thesis, a class that will be my capstone of my college experience and guide me as an artist entering the contemporary art world. Below is my fall research statement. My main focus and concept is still in the works as I continue to search how I can meld makeup into my art beyond my photography.
I am interested in the fragility of
human life; how short or long a person’s life, how many live mundane lives when
yet they only have one life and they are wasting it away.Some people die very young where as
others live to be over one hundred.Some people waste their lives with drugs, alcohol, and meaningless jobs
or within a prison cell. The human
life is fragile and delicate thing in the existence of the world.I wish to explore the complex nature of
a lifespan within my work; Make the audience feel for their mortal soul.My audience is everyone because
everyone has an expiration date. I
wish to bring mortality into recognition for them so that they might live a
more full life.I will accomplish
this by sculpting the human figure out a various materials that express human
mortality and the vulnerability of the human body.
I
plan to use sculptural materials that are uncommon in sculpture but help build
on the concept of the vulnerability of human life.I would like to experiment with ice and nature but I do not necessarily
want my thesis work to be a time sensitive piece.Other materials I intend to build with include thin plaster,
wax and fabric.My goal is to
experiment with working away from realism and trying to be more expressive and
abstract with the human figure.I
want my intentions to be clear to my audience and I believe that the right
materials can achieve this.For
example, I plan to carve human figures of all stages of life from candles, some
of them packed neatly in little boxes while others are on display and even some
have already been used.The
concept is that each candle has a determined amount of time to burn before it
becomes melted and can be used no more.The wick is symbolic for a person’s lifespan and the variety of people
carved into the candles will represent how everyone has a set amount of time on
this earth.
The
majority of my past work includes the human figure and the skeletal
structure.I have worked mostly in
sculpting bronze, clay and steel but I have also completed art in drawing,
photography and printmaking.In
all of those mediums I have made art about the human figure.Therefore, I have a very detailed and
definite understanding of portraying the human figure, which is a great
strength for my thesis work.I
have learned that my best work is done when I can use my bare hands to mold the
medium, such as with clay and wax.
My
goal for the fall semester is to make as many sculpture pieces as
possible.I want to push the
limits for myself and make sculptures of various sizes and mediums.This way I can find what I’m most
comfortable with or possibly discover something new that works best for me and
allow my thesis artwork to be the best that it can possibly be.I want my audience to connect with the
figures I sculpt and see their lives represented for them.
I took Foundry in the Spring Quarter of 2012 and I have the privilege to take it a second time at DAAP. This course teaches how to create bronze and aluminum sculptures. We learn how to vent our wax pieces, create the molds, assist in the pour, grind the metal pieces and use patinas. I will be posting a "How To" guide for the ways of the Foundry because I often get so many questions about the process when I tell people I'm in the class. But before I post the full guide, I wanted to share my first piece that will soon become bronze! I have several narrative concepts for my art in this class. The first is the story of the iconic super hero and the child who looks up to him.
Here is the wax sculpture, which is the first step in Foundry.
For over a year, I have been fascinated by society's obsession with superheroes. The super hero character seems ultimately flawless in skills, intelligence and resources. Unlike every single person on this planet. There is no real super hero in the way that Superman, Batman and the like are depicted. Like boys grow up reading and watching superhero comics, wear the underwear with the superheroes emblems and play with the action figures. These heroes are depicted as flawless to children. As an adult, I read a comic that took place many years after the typical Batman and Superman scenarios and both protagonists were older, with grey hairs and imperfect morals. It was shocking to see these infamous heroes with traits of mortality and humanity about them. This piece is my tribute to this idea of imperfect heroes. When this piece is finished, the "superhero" will be wearing a blindfold as well as a cape. I am unsure about what colored patinas I will use but I am very excited to begin this process and will be sharing with you very soon.
For the first field trip in one of my classes, known as Visual Art Concepts 2, we attended the Cincinnati Art Museum to experience beauty. The beauty could be found in anything, from the paintings on the walls to the exit sign by the door. I happened upon my favorite painter, Vincent van Gogh and that became my experience of beauty. It was so because of the way the painting was displayed.
Undergrowth with Two Figures Vincent Van Gogh 1890
The painting above was displayed in an alcove made up of floor to ceiling black fringe with one lone spot light fixed on the painting. As I stood there, gazing at one of the last pieces Van Gogh painted right before he died, I was transported to that forest with the two figures. I do not believe I would have had that same experience if the piece had been shown in a different setting; especially a setting such as shown below, just on a wall surrounded by other paintings.
The way art work is presented is crucial to the audience's experience of an artists work. I highly recommend that you go to Cincinnati Art Museum and experience this Van Gogh painting just as I did.
Here is the link to the Cincinnati Art Museum website:
For a few months now, I have been interning with the Taylor Jameson Hair Design in Northside. Each year, the salon participates in the annual Northside Fourth of July Parade and this year, I was asked to assist with makeup. The theme for the salon was Zombies and I was so excited to do some more character makeup!
I met with the salon's team the night before the parade and Michael Sparto gave a demonstration of the zombie look that they wanted for the next day. On the day of the parade, I was instructed to do base coats on peoples face and exposed skin of either a green or blue hue. Once things got moving and my task was complete, Michael gave me two people as my own projects.
With these two "zombies" I was allowed to decide the contouring, shading and wounds. Nancy was my first and biggest project.
Model: Nancy
She had a blue zombie tint that I used a reddish brown, or a dried blood color, if you will, to contrast with for shading and extra zombification. Also, painting her lips with a pale cream helped complete the walking dead look. I say that Nancy's project was bigger because I gave her a bite mark.
Nancy's left arm, bite
For this, I used liquid latex and it was also my first time using this product. I kept dabbing the liquid latex in a bite mark shape with a toothpick, letting it dry and then adding more layers. Once it had dried, I applied some blue and purple eye shadow to give the illusion of bruising, threw on some fake blood and she was ready to go scare people. :)
My second project was Kevin, who worked at the salon and had been styling hair until it was parade time. I had less time to work on him, but was able to use my knowledge and experience from Nancy to create a zombified look for Kevin.
Model: Kevin
Kevin was a very natural zombie, as you can see. Because we were on such a time crunch, we took photographs before I finished his hands and neck with blue. I had a wonderful time creating zombies and being one! And just for a little fun, here is a picture of me as my zombiefied self. (I did my own makeup as well.)
This month's artist is the makeup artist, Sutan Amrull. I just recently learned about Amrull when I searched "America's Next Top Model makeup" on Google. I'd been trying to think of a new artist to post about and I thought I would focus on a makeup artist this week. I often watch America's Next Top Model because I enjoy watching the creative photo shoots that the models participate in, specifically the makeup is what intrigues me.
Self portrait
Sutan Amrull
So it turns out that Sutan Amrull is the makeup artist that has been America's Next Top Model's makeup expert and correspondent for over nine seasons. Amrull was a drag queen at one point in his career and has done makeup for celebrities such as Adam Lambert, Pamela Anderson and Tyra Banks.
Adam Lambert
Makeup by Sutan Amrull
I am very pleased to find out from his website bio that he has a strong background in fine arts and that this is a key factor that helps separate his style apart from other makeup artists. This gives me a lot of hope about my own career since I, too, will have a strong knowledge of fine arts that I believe will help me (and already has) greatly in my future career.
Makeup by Sutan Amrull
I decided to post about a makeup artist that was not involved in stage makeup because I learned this past weekend that applying makeup to other people that is not for the stage is an entirely different experience. I assisted a salon in North Side with some makeup for a dress swap event for some mothers of a local school. This experience was beneficial because I left with a better understanding of how makeup application changes based on a person's skin. Also, since this was not for a character onstage, I had to apply the makeup based on their personal likes and dislikes. All the women wanted a natural look which is a look that I do not do often. So, in summary, a very challenging and much needed experience.
Tyra Banks
Makeup by Sutan Amrull
My makeup differs from Amrull by that I have yet to learn how to apply makeup for a photo shoot, only stage makeup which requires a much heavier hand because the audience is not close up. Below is an example of the heavier hand that stage makeup requires as opposed to makeup for a magazine photo shoot.
Ursula
Makeup by Missy White
I wonder what celebrities will be in my portfolio in the future?
This month's artist is the world renowned photographer, Mary Ellen Mark. Mark began her career as a unit photographer, taking
pictures of film stills on movie sets.In her profession, Mark has documented over 100 movies and has published
eighteen books of photography.In
1962, Mark received her BFA in Painting and Art History from the University of
Pennsylvania and then earned her MFA in Photojournalism at Annenburg School for
Communication.Since then, Mark
has earned several honorary degrees form various Fine Art Schools and has shown
in countless solo exhibitions and belongs to scores of collections.
Mary Ellen Mark
Within
her body of work and beyond the movie sets, Mark focuses on social issues: the
homeless, prostitutes, loneliness, drug addiction and mental illness.Mark has traveled around the world to
capture human existence in its every form.For example, Mark recently traveled to India to document
Mother Theresa portrayals, brothels in Bombay and Indian circuses.She is always dedicated to her subjects
and often returns to them later in life to continue her archive.
Mary Ellen Mark
Mark’s
techniques are so irritatingly simple that they become complex.Each of her shots pulls her audience in
with intrigue and wonder through her choice of subject and angle.When asked in an interview about what
she looks for when taking a photograph, Mark stated this, “That's
a hard question. I'm looking for something that makes sense to me, something
that I can share with others. I think photography is closest to writing, not
painting. It's closest to writing because you are using this machine to convey
an idea. The image shouldn't need a caption; it should already convey an idea.”This is what makes Mark so brilliant;
none of her photos need captions because she always conveys her idea without
fail.
Mary Ellen Mark
I find myself enamored with each print Mark creates. The imagery and tonality of each frame is breath taking. I feel a connection to her subjects and the raw visuals they create. I am currently in a film photography class and after learning and digesting all of the factors that go into making a perfect print I have a great respect for Mary Ellen Mark as an artist.
Mary Ellen Mark
The photos included in the post are my favorites of Mary Ellen Mark's that I draw inspiration from when I take photos of my own. With my own work in film photography, I focus on the person's face as my main focus as the subject of work. I am still learning a great deal about lighting, angles, composition, and the developing process. I hope that one day, my work will be in the same league as Mark's.
Here is an example of a couple prints from an in progress film photography project that I am currently working on.
Recently, I had the honor of interviewing my inspiring friend Michael Sparto. Michael is a hair stylist, makeup artist and co-owner of Northside's own Taylor Jameson Hair Design. In my interview with Michael, he earned even more respect from me than ever before. He doesn't simply cut hair or dust on some blush, Michael invests himself wholeheartedly in each client's best interests and makes his best effort to help people feel good about themselves using his artist eye and capable hands. The Taylor Jameson Hair Design staff maintains very high standards with their work. They serve a large demographic of all ages of both male and female.
About halfway through the interview, I found Michael's focus of his work to be quite amazing when asked what his greatest challenge as an artist was. Throughout the interview he mentioned the psychology of the client or person you are working with several times and now was no exception. He response was,
"Distinguishing between art and perfecting something. Makeup is delicate, skin is delicate, and you need a delicate hand. The psychology of the person you are working with is important. You can be working on a model that has a particular view of themselves and they might forget that they are acting as a canvas for the photo shoot. How the person views themselves versus what looks good on paper to the client is key."
I was very impressed at how serious Michael is about the individual's mindset. Personally, it made a lot of sense to me that this is one of the key reasons that he is such a successful artist and business owner. Michael's art is rather unique in the sense that is a part of an individual and must fit to their personality and be cohesive with them as a whole. As I continued to interview Michael, it was evident to me that there is still much to learn about people, being part of the makeup industry and makeup techniques in general.
Below is the link to the Taylor Jameson Hair Design Facebook page
This past week, I went on a field trip to Cincinnait's own Art Beyond Boundaries. This organization owns a gallery that shows and sells work created by artists with varying disabilities. The gallery can be found on 1410 Main Street in downtown Cincinnati and is wheelchair accessible. The gallery space is small but open and inviting with walls filled with paintings, photography and sculptures.
We met and spoke with Mr. B, the man who runs the gallery with the help of his interns (there are about four or five) and two interns that were working at the time. I was intrigued to hear Mr. B discuss the artists whose work he sells. Each artist has a disability, he explained, and that there are many things that qualify as a disability--diabetes can even count as one. What I found most interesting was that when an artist came to him with their work, he did not want to know about their disability, he said that this was not his priority--his priority was showing the art in the gallery and selling it. I found myself feeling very appreciative of this organization and what it does for artists that can sometimes be overlooked in a community.
Below is the link to Art Beyond Boundaries website.
If you'll recall, I did the makeup for Indian Hill high school's production of The Pirates of Penzance. The two main characters I focused on were the Pirate King and the Major General. Both actors were kind enough to come do a photo shoot of the transformation from themselves to their characters after the production was over. I used on roll of film per transformation, so 36 photos. I scanned the contact sheets and used photoshop to create a spread of the best stills from the shoot. Here are the results.
This past weekend, I was given the opportunity to once again assist with an Indian Hill School musical. This time, it was the middle school's production of Disney's The Little Mermaid and I had the chance to apply Ursula's makeup. I was asked by Robin, the mom of the 8th grader playing Ursula if I was available to do the show. Robin had worked with me on Pirates of Penzance and they were looking for one person to be dedicated to doing Ursula's makeup and she thought she'd see if I was willing to help. Of course, the answer was a huge yes!
Immediately I began contemplating how I was going to pull this off. I asked what hue the director wanted Ursula to be, such as purple, blue, green, etc. Robin told me they wanted Ursula to look just like the one on Broadway; The Ursula in this video:
(To watch the makeup application, fast forward to 3:16.)
Once again, I thought to myself, "Challenge accepted." After watching the Broadway youtube video multiple times and a sketch that was essentially a map of Ursula's makeup, I felt a bit more ready than I did for Pirates. My stomach wasn't in knots, but I was definitely anxious - but a happy kind! Having no professional training and still making choices based on common sense and my personal knowledge of makeup, I began the application with my own personal makeup palettes and some makeup I bought at Target. Basically, nothing fancy. I started the base with some white foundation the makeup chair got from a Halloween store, but it wasn't blending easily and clearly wasn't going to work so I had Nella (Ursula) wash that off and we started over with normal liquid foundation. This approach made me nervous but I had hope. After the foundation, I applied a layer of pale shimmery eyeshadow. It was meant to be, this combination gave Nella the perfect translucent glow of Ursula's skin. After that, the rest was smooth sailing.
An In Depth Steps of Makeup Application for Ursula:
1.) Apply a layer of foundation with a makeup pad to the face and neck
2.) Using a large makeup brush, apply a white shimmery eyeshadow to the face and neck
3.) Apply teal eyeshadow accents to the temples, cheek bones, chin, nose, neck and inside corners of both eyes using a small brush.
4.) Apply black eyeshadow at the inside corner of the eyes and the outside edges of the eyes, fading as the meet in the middle, leaving the center of the eyelid plain.
5.) Add blue eyeshadow to the center area of the eyelid blending into the black, then create a vertical line down the center of the eyelid with green eyeshadow and then add yellow on top of that.
6.) Using a small eyeliner brush and liquid eyeliner, paint eyebrows above the actual eyebrows on the lower part of the forehead.
7.) Apply with a small brush purple and pink eyeshadow above the black eyeshadow, covering up the real eyebrows, blend evenly.
8.) Apply thin liquid eye liner to top lid.
9.) Use white eyeliner pencil and apply to the lower eyelid and brush white eyeshadow on top of that.
10.) Now add thin liquid eyeliner to bottom eyelid
11.) Option to apply a beauty mark with the same supplies used to create the eyebrows.
12.) Put on red lipstick and then use the black liquid eyeliner and brush used for the eyebrows to outline the lips and create a better shape of the mouth.
13.) Apply liquid sparkly, silver eyeliner to top of eyelids right above the eyelashes.
14.) Brush on a silver sparkle eyeshadow to the temples and cheeks.
15.) After costume and wig is adorned, apply foundation to the chest, back and arm area that is exposed.
16.) Brush on the shimmery eyeshadow to the areas you just applied foundation to with a large brush.
17.) Add teal eyeshadow accents to the collar bone, back, both elbow creases and elbow joints.
The before, the in-between and the after
Selected photos from the makeup process for Ursula
You may notice that I drew Ursula's eyebrows above Nella's. A very exciting outcome of this choice was that when Nella made expressions with her own eyebrows, Ursula's eyebrows moved as well. This was another fantastic experience with makeup and an Indian Hill school theater group. This makeup and photos are from the second dress rehearsal. By the last show, Nella and I had a perfect system of application down. I would also like to state that Ursula required more application time than the Pirate King and Major General combined, I think. I am sad that it is over but I look forward to the next show with Indian Hill.
