The coronavirus lockdown has turned the world upside down. We interviewed student MUA Elise to find out how she is managing to keep her creativity flowing at this time. She is a MAC retail artist and studying theatrical, media and SFX Makeup HND.
Hey! Why don’t you start off by telling us a little bit about yourself; what do you do within the industry?
I am currently working as a retail artist at MAC part time, whilst I’m studying for my makeup degree. I freelance occasionally around my job and studying if and when I have free time.
You mentioned you are currently studying; How have you found your study experience? Would you recommend it?
I really enjoy studying. Learning SFX in such detail has really pushed me out of my comfort zone as I was only used to fashion makeup. But I love it and I love learning new techniques and knowledge from other artists. As it is of degree level, there is a lot of coursework involved. So it’s good to understand that there is more to these courses than just the practical makeup side of the course. You really learn the research that goes into looks and looking up which products would be better to try and achieve your desired look. If you want to try and go into tv and film, doing a course like this is great for improving the skills you will need.
Studying such a creative course under the current circumstances must be difficult: How have you managed to adapt? Are there any positives to this different learning experience?
We are now doing our lessons from home and video chatting during class time over the teams app. This is better than just conversing back and forth over email, but I still don’t feel like I am getting the support that I am used to getting whilst being at uni. My teachers have also adapted our projects so they are easier to do at home with less help. For example, our next project we were meant to be creating prosthetics to make a sci-fi creature. Unfortunately without having as much teacher guidance and models available, it has now been changed to sculpting a sci-fi creature on a full head cast. Although we need to know how to sculpt, I feel that due to the virus, we are loosing out on learning how to turn a person into a sci-fi creature. Which to me is more fun and has more aspects to learn.
As a class, we are also worried that this will effect our final grades.
Being creative under difficult circumstances isn’t easy: How have you managed to stay creative and inspired? Are there different professionals, influencers, programmes etc that have helped keep your inspiration flowing?
I have managed to stay creative due to still having coursework I need to complete. As well as my job giving us talks and makeup looks that we need to create. This is really fun to do and it really pushing me out of my comfort zone. The first look was to create a drag look, which I had never done before.
I also follow prosthetic artists on Instagram such as Stuart Bray and Bill Corso, as well as watching makeup demos on the Stan Winston school of character arts to try and better my skills.
I’d just say that this is the perfect time to be creative and practice. Whilst in isolation you as a creative have all the time in the world to sit down, gain inspiration and experiment. Try new things, push yourself. Practice really does make perfect.
Just for a bit of fun, Name three songs that keep you motivated right now:
I don’t really have any particular songs in mind, but I love watching friends! I feel like it’s really cheered me up whenever I’ve felt down during this time.
I also love Post Malone, so probably most of his songs haha!
Couldn’t agree more that watching Friends is the go to for a giggle! Here is Elise’s Instagram and website you can click through to…
Instagram: @elisealexandriamakeup
Website: www.elisealexandriamakeup.com
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