Collaboration

Since I've undertaken this makeup endeavor I've realized the importance of collaboration with fellow artists. While I could scour fashion magazines for the latest trends, read other makeup blogs for new technique ideas and paint faces all day and all night, I don't think I would learn half as much as I do when working with other artists. I've been fortuante enough to have several people emerge as potential collaborators and I look forward to seeing how we can support each other towards better work and more exposure.

I have known Jenn Tran for over four years, since we were working the cash registers in the basement of the University Book Store. When we met, she had just started her sophomore year at UW and I was a few months out of my masters program. In that time, Jenn has emerged as a stunning visual artist whose photography is breathtakingly gorgeous (http://www.jenn-tran.com/). In the early days of our friendship Jenn was grappling with future planning ideas and was torn between law school and art as potential (and profoundly different) career paths. At this time, Jenn is pursuing a second degree at DigiPen where she is exploring game design. I am incredibly proud of her for following her passions, and have felt challenged to get in touch with mine as a result. She continues to develop her eye for photography and has recently agreed to a continued collaboration with me that involves the intersection between makeup and portraiture. All of the phenomenal shots on this blog or my facebook page were taken by her. It is an absolute honor to partner with her, and I am so excited to see what we come up with.

Jenn Woodason-Svarplaitis and I became fast friends when we met by the mailboxes in our apartment complex in Scottsdale, AZ seven years ago. We started talking about how irritating junk mail is and the conversation has flowed endlessly since then. Jenn has been a visual artist for many years, once founded a co-op gallery in Phoenix and continues to create and sell work of all kinds (http://liquidimagination.weebly.com/updates.html). Jenn and I haven't lived in the same city for a long time, but time and distance hardly seem to matter. Our collaboration seems to occur on a plane that is both spiritual and emotional. During the times that I have felt creatively stuck in my life, I have sought Jenn to help me search out and find meaning. More recently Jenn and I have been talking across the distance from upstate New York to Seattle about art, inspiration, connection and lessons learned. Jenn is an amazing, supportive person who has always believed in me and pushed me towards being my best self. I know Jenn and I will continue to pursue our artistic passions in our parallel physical, spiritually intertwined lives.

The internet and Facebook, in particular are the grand connecting tools of our age. A facebook friend from high school introduced me to her sister, La Shaun Daye who owns a salon in South Seattle (http://www.lashaundaye.com/). The timing was perfect--La Shaun is a hair designer who was looking for a makeup artist to partner with for special occasion beauty services. She graciously invited me to her salon to talk about my ideas for my makeup business and shared her vision with me. Tonight I head back to the salon to demo my work on her, so that she can see my abilities and decide if she wants to refer her clients to me. I am stoked to have this unique opportunity to showcase my work on a fellow professional who has an established business. I hope La Shaun and I will find some fun ways to work together. We both agree that having a one-stop beauty services package for weddings, prom and other occasions is a great idea. La Shaun Daye Hair Studio is a great space--on the second floor of a small office complex off of Rainier Avenue it offers hair design and other beauty services and products in a fun, relaxed convivial atmosphere. Maybe you will see me freelancing in there sometime...

Getting Back Into It

A close-up of my work on Dani

It really comes together once the bride is in full regalia

Since I moved back to Seattle in 2006, I haven't done much with my artistry aside from making up friends for Halloween, a girls' night or the occasional wedding. I certainly haven't worked at a cosmetic counter since I left MAC down in Phoenix. It's a skill that I exercise every day on my own face, but has largely lived in my back pocket and on my resume for the last four years. I felt no need to explore artistry or learn new methods or study images or follow trends closely. It was enough to do my own face well and leave it at that. Then I received an email from Dani, a friend of one of my husband's colleagues--she was looking for a makeup artist for her wedding.

Dani showed up fresh-faced with her mother and future mother-in-law in tow for our demo appointment. We hadn't met prior and we were both hoping we would be the right fit for each other. It was my first time making up a stranger since I was working the counter in Phoenix! It was a great experience, because not only is Dani extraordinarily pretty, with radiant young skin, she's also great at communicating her wants.

One of the most challenging aspects of makeup artistry is articulating a person's vision onto their face. I tell wedding clients straight away, "look, I'm an amazing artist, I know everything I do looks good. That's not an issue. What matters is if YOU like what I'm doing." I say this with humor, partly to break the ice, but also to let the client know we will work from her specifications. The last thing I want is for a bride to feel less than perfect because she didn't feel like she could give me direction.

Dani sent me pictures of looks she likes, pictures of herself so I could see how she likes to wear her makeup and we kept in touch in the months leading up to the big day. When the day came, it felt like a privilege to hang out with the bride and her girls and moms. I think I ended up doing four or five faces besides Dani's. It was a very different experience from past wedding parties who all came in to the MAC counter for their appointments. I realized how much more creative and free I felt meeting the party on location, with my own kit and time frame. There was no walking away to help other customers or rush to finish. It was me, my tools and a church backroom full of women of all ages, pulling together for Dani's wedding.

I credit Dani directly with my recovered passion for artistry. From her wedding demo last November I started rediscovering my love of creating new, beautiful looks and experimentation. This past spring/summer I did bridal makeup for several women. My obsession burns anew and I am grateful and excited to see where this leads....

Inspiring Women

Meryl at 60

Meryl at 30

Have you spent much time thinking about the roles celebrities play in our lives? I know I spend a lot of time looking at gossip rags when I'm at the gym, google image searching, and mining sites like gofugyourself.com for makeup ideas and missteps. A lot of celebs I feel affection for (Gaga, Snooki), am horrified by (Courtney Love, Lindsay Lohan), am tired of seeing (the Kardashian crew) or feel indifferent to (Jennifer Aniston). Feeling inspired by celebrities doesn't come as easily, however.

Their images are everywhere, and we know all about their private lives and dieting and beauty tips. It's kind of exhausting to be bombarded with before pics of celebs when they were "fat" (yeah right!) and "unsophisticated" and after images where they are "fit" (more like skeletal) and "polished". I think it can send very confusing messages about how women are supposed to look, and lead us to believe that how we look is more important than how we feel. In an age where women are supposed to be 24 years old, have line-free, airbrushed faces and curvy, size 00 bodies, where do most women fit in?

I think Meryl Steep is an incredible beauty role model for women of all ages. I chose these two photos of her from a recent issue of Vanity Fair because I think they highlight how gorgeously and gracefully she is aging. Would that I look like her when I'm 60! As far as I know she hasn't done any cosmetic surgeries or botoxed herself. She has always been a minimalist when it comes to makeup, choosing instead to work her unique bone structure. I think she is living proof than women can age glamorously and need not hang on to unrealistic (and frankly frivolous) standards of beauty.

My Muse

Tiffany is one of those rare friends with whom you just know you're in it for life together. She showed up at my previous day gig as the new manager of a project I was working on. As we were introduced we looked into each others' eyes and there was an instant understanding. Tiff feels more like a long-lost cousin than a former colleague and as you might imagine we've spent a lot of time exploring beauty together. I like to tell Tiff she's my muse because from the first time I put makeup on her I found her to be the most open to exploration of anyone. Tiff believes the artist works best without direction, when she can completely tap into her creativity. As a result, she and I have tried many different styles on her deep brown eyes and smooth skin. I love knowing that I have a canvas that is completely mine on which to explore new techniques and color.