I haven't posted a blog in a month....because I've been too busy leaving the province, eating potato wedgies with gravy, and.....getting engaged! I can hardly believe it myself. I have to tell you, I was so tired of calling Chris my 'boyfriend'. When I hear the word 'boyfriend', I think of inappropriate kissing in the hallways at high school, squeaky prepubescent male voices, and Adidas deodorant.
So you can only imagine how overjoyed I am to introduce Chris as my 'fiance'. Of course, the fact that I can call him my fiance isn't the only reason I'm excited to be engaged. I knew the minute I met Chris that we'd be together for a very long time, if not one day engaged.
Apparently he'd been planning the engagement for quite some time. Chris had taken the time to ask my Father for my hand, and had visited my Mother to ask her for permission, as well as to show her the ring. I was very impressed by how secretive he was. If the shoe was on the other foot, I don't know if I'd be able to keep a secret as long!
As for a wedding in the near future, I'm not sure how feasible that's going to be. We're looking a two years at least- however, that's not going to stop me from planning!
I am very inspired by Grace Kelly in 'Rear Window' and 'To Catch a Thief'.....so there will definitely be nods to the two movies, in both my wedding dress, and engagement photo outfits.
In other news, this little Freelance Makeup baby of mine grows slowly.
I was pleasantly surprised by an email from a photographer I worked with for the second wedding I worked on. She gave me the link to her photos, and said I could use as many as I liked, just as long as I gave her credit. Sounds fair to me! By the way- if you want to check those photos out, you can see them at :http://lauramco.smugmug.com/.
Having those photos, and looking at them, makes me feel like I'm getting somewhere. I look at those photos, and I feel like it's proof that I am, however small the step forward.
It was very gracious of her to allow me to use them, as I'm sure most photographers would charge for the use of photos.
I also had some communication with the photographer I worked with for the first wedding. Some of you might know him, John-Mark Wiltshire. He is a brilliant photographer, and his style is unlike anything I've seen. He has a very expressive, vivacious way of capturing people. Check him out:
http://jonmarkphoto.com/
When you meet Jon, he looks like he may have just turned 30, if that. He is dressed very respectfully, and his weapon of choice (camera) hangs around his neck, ready to shoot. He is very down-to-Earth, and very friendly. On the day of the wedding, without me even having to ask, he was quick to show me how to capture decent photographs on my digital camera. He seemed very concerned with my getting good shots, which I thought made him an incredibly decent human being. When I returned from vacation, I shot him off an email, with at least twenty questions for him to be my captive audience for..... and within a day or two, he had returned my email, asking nothing in return.
I asked him questions mainly related to the creation of a website. Jon has a great website. It's easy to understand and not without personality. He gave me the links to the websites I could visit if I was interested in creating my own. Which again, was incredibly nice of him.
My next item of business will be putting together a photo shoot. I need to get some pictures together to show people what I'm capable of! I am lucky to have very good-looking friends, and I will definitely be taking advantage of their looks to make my makeup look even better!
I don't think it's wise to go into something like this without having evidence of what you can do.
Last night, I did something I've been afraid to do for a while. I took a look at some local Makeup Artists websites. This has been very daunting for me, because for a while I just wanted to ignore my competition. I thought that If I pretended they weren't there, than I might be more successful. I didn't want to accept that there are other makeup artists in Victoria besides me, because it might be too overwhelming. And for a minute, it was......because there are a lot of really freakin good makeup artists in this city! So, almost the only unique thing I have to offer is my personality. Some people may get along with 'Jane the Makeup Artist' more than they get along with me, and vice verse. I think that's where you build your business. Thank God for human dynamics! In regards to my website, I'm thinking you've got to constantly measure yourself by the best. I'm asking myself, 'Why are they so successful?'. My purpose in looking at their websites, was to see what sorts of things I should be showing on my own website. Teacher's are everywhere. Whether they are teaching you directly, or indirectly.
Coming up in September, I'll be doing makeup for an old friend of mine from university. She is getting married, YAY!!! We were within a year or two of each other in the Theatre Program at UFV. However, I think she did the smart thing, and stayed in school to finish her Bachelor's. Jaclyn showed a lot of faith in me, and an old boyfriend, because cast us in a play she wrote, and directed. It was based on a poem Shakespeare wrote called, 'Venus and Adonis'. So I can truly say I've been in the shoes of a Goddess, if I want to. Jaclyn is a fabulous woman. She's always full of laughs, and the kind of person you could talk to for hours, while feeling like only minutes have passed. I'm really looking forward to seeing her, and all her raven-haired, 'could be Bette-Midler's daughter', beauty! I'll be traveling to the mainland. Abbotsford to be exact. Forty-five minutes from where I used to live, in Harrison Hot Springs, and twenty minutes from where I went to university, in Chilliwack. Blast from the past? Yes, I think so!
I also received my diploma from Blanche MacDonald Centre in the mail the other day (I had misplaced it years ago, in an effort to 'put it somewhere safe'). As a testimony to something I've finished, I'm going to put it in a beautiful frame and hang it in my "studio". Or should I call it my "pseudio". Right now it's just a table and chairs that holds all my makeup. It is by no means flashy. But it's right on the top floor of the building, and get's lots of sun, so it has fabulous natural light.
Well, that's it, that's all. For now.
love,
Adrienne
