Need

Photo by: Michael Barton Art

What do I need,you may ask?  I NEED more paying gigs.  I am doing my best to get "out there" but I need to work.  Lets be honest, the recession hit EVERYBODY hard... no question. And me,well I was one of the 99rs.... yup,one of the ones that lost a job ( Kitchen and Bathroom/ Interior design, if you are interested) because the small company I worked for, couldn't afford me full time....then they couldn't afford me part time,then they couldn't afford me at all,before going out of business totally.  So I applied for other design jobs ( few and far between) I applied for retail jobs, admin jobs,fast food jobs.  I sent out applications every single day. In that 99 weeks of unemployment I got exactly 5 interviews.  Sad huh? But certainly not unusual.  I did manage to get a very part time job with a friend that is a chiropractor. ( 4-10 hours a week) And I still work every once in a while for him, when he needs me.  I used up all my unemployment insurance, and racked up more bills than I like to think about....and now that I am working MORE steadily,I am doing my darndest to get them paid down ( hard slog, that...missing out on lots of stuff I would LOVE to do,places I would LOVE to go...but that is life)

So now, I am working regularly as an art model, traveling all over the Chicagoland area,and totally enjoying it.  But lets face it... I need more.more art gigs,more photography gigs...a girl has gotta pay the bills,you know ?

I know that I do not fit the shape, the age, the look of what everyone needs / wants. I TOTALLY get that.  But for anyone looking for a mature ( emotionally as well) tattooed( they don't HAVE to show, depending on wardrobe) easy going, hard working, consistent model that can  hold a pose, do my own hair and makeup when needed  and won't give you the diva attitude, ( always willing to listen and work with you) I am the one you want ... contact me! Don't wait!  ( shameless self promotion? Absolutely...somebody has to! LOL)

Artists

By Tracey Padron EFT Studios

Since most of my money from modeling that comes in ( and my most consistent gigs) comes from Art modeling, just thought I would talk a little about that.

I have met many amazing artists, and recommend you go check out their work., I will try to supply links.

   The above piece was done by Tracey Padron at the Division Street Drawing Guild ( they meet every Thursday in Elgin)  I always love her use of shadows and high lights  , as well as her classical leanings.She is such a vivid, energetic,passionate person.  Her intensity while working always astounds me.

By JacQueline Zemke  

  JacQueline, seems always to be trying something new, and she tends to gravitate toward a wonderful use of color . I get to see her at the Dole Mansion Drawing group in Crystal Lake as well as The Division Street Drawing Guild. She is colorful in real life, not just in her work...it shines from her.

By Piotr Antonow 

And speaking of color, I met Piotr at one of the painting drawing workshops given by the amazing Evanston  Art Center,   All of his portraits are so very vivid. He has a sly sense of humor, and is really fun to work with.

By Chuck Kulma

Chuck is another I met at the Division Street drawing Guild in Elgin.  He does wonderful ,flowing watercolors. Chuck is great guy , mellow, funny  and I always find his work graceful.  


  There are SO very  many more artists that I have met in the 2 or so years I have been doing this ( but I don't have pictures/ examples of all of their works... which makes me sad, I need to be better about getting shots of things- if anybody ( hint, hint) wants to send me shots of finished pieces, I would love to do another version of this post...or make this type of post more regularly to share your art ) All of the people I have had the honor to work with are great people, and always make my work hours go so quickly. Humor,and kindness abound. Sculptors, painters, those working in pencil, pens, pastels. The teachers of workshops and classes, the students and artists.  I truly enjoy my time modeling for them.  It always fascinates me how many versions there are of the same pose , and the same person.It goes beyond just different angles and into truly different styles and approaches to the art itself.  It is truly beautiful to watch.

Publication and Making it

                          Photo by: Michael Jones Sootie's Doll Photography

Many models have a goal... to "make it" but what does that mean?  Undoubtedly for many, Publication.  In a book, in a magazine, ads, bill boards. I am no exception, though my version of "making it" might be slightly different than some models.

I will never be a runway model ( with the slight possibility of being a"gimmick" in some show....you know the ones that use older people in mohawks, or people that are real sized.  Every year, some designer mixes these types  into the mix of the more typical runway fare. But then, the "gimmicks" are really never seen again)
I am too short, not thin enough , not young enough, and I am fine with that.

But my goal is still publication.
And I have been, over 13 times, in the last year- year and a half.  All of them small, web based magazines ( which means you can get them as a solely digital copy or order a printed copy, which is printed up and  bound per order...one at a time.  Usually though portals such as MagCloud)
I am also in an online catalog for a   clothing rental and sales business targeted to models  called The Clothed Image      and I will soon be online for a company called ECONICA ( so far just on Etsy, but she will be launching a stand alone website soon)  BUT..

But does that mean I have "made it" ? Not in my own eyes.  Not one of the publications paid, or the catalog work. ( aside from barter...which is awesome too, I have zero complaints) So what does "making it" mean to me?

Paid work,weather it be being paid by the photographer, or by the business that pictures are being taken for.  Publication in a magazine that one could get at a newsstand.  Work for more catalogs . So what am I saying? More steady paid work.  So goals for this year:
1. Publication in print ( I have done sort of...more on that later-though I will work on a magazine as soon as my tattoo is done)
2. Representation of more clothing and accessory lines .
3. Continuing to be in web based magazines, and web based sites for exposure.
4. Continuing entering contests, not necessarily to win ( though that would be nice) but for the exposure.

 I DO have agency representation ( which for some people, never happens...not with a real life, brick and mortar agency) But as wonderful and nice as they are , over at Kingdom Model Talent Agency I do not leave my working solely in their hands.  I submit sets to magazines, web sites, I check the sites for gigs, almost every day. Lots and lots of e-mails....and network, network, network.

Sometimes things fall into place, sometimes they do not.
I submitted images from the set above to a very arty magazine, I just got word that they like the look, but they are not of the quality that they are looking for.  Such is life....do I resubmit them somewhere else?  Possibly. Or I post them on my FaceBook fan page, and then that is as far as they go.... these are decisions to be made.
I responded to a casting call on ModelMayhem from a wonderful photographer I had worked with a year, maybe a year and a half ago, Gracie Hagen.  She is bubbly and funny and very talented with an unusual eye( and has a great smooshy faced /exotic shorthair cat)  
She is doing a series called Illusions of the Body that has been written up in the Daily Mail  and  Huffington Post  as well as a host of other blogs and websites.  ( note, if you visit the links....they may not be suitable for work viewing, they are nude portraits)
Her concept is this. Create double images with the same model, lighting, post process, background.  One image is in a more conventional "pretty" or model like pose. One that shows off and is meant to be gorgeous.  The next image is sloughed, pulled in, hunched over.... very definitely not pretty.  What I took from it ( and I will not put words in her mouth, this is simply my take on it.  ) It speaks to how we present ourselves, and others perceptions.  If I stand or walk or look "thus"  I am pretty, If I stand or walk or look "this" then I am awkward, and not attractive.  But I am the same regardless.
She has used models, non models, male , female and ALL different body types.  She needed a redhead... and there we go.  I will be published , along with the 49 or so other people in her 8x10 book "Illusions of the Body" around May 1.
SO...Into one publication yesterday, and refused by another....that is this business.  Some you make,some you don't .