With
Spring here and Easter fast approaching make-up students around the country on various courses and in different
institutions are busy preparing for their final term with exams ,projects, and
portfolios .Many of these students will be hoping at the end of their studies
to enter their chosen profession perhaps in film ,television, theatre ,or fashion . As exciting as these
areas are they are tough industries to get into and even harder to sustain
continual employment, as it invariably means working on a freelance basis so
the old adage “ you are only as good as your last job "still holds true.
As
someone who was lucky enough to have enjoyed a very successful career over a 20 year period as a
make-up artist http://www.make-upinternational.com/behindthescenes.aspx
when there were very few training facilities,
and consequently far fewer make-up artists I want to take a hard look at some of
the issues that affect make-up students today.
Product
versus Creativity .- Do we have the
balance right?
With
fast changing technologies and so many new products coming to market it
is of
course right that all students get a broad understanding of what is
available
and also a chance to learn how to use these new products. But make-up is
more
than just reading instructions on a pack and following them religiously
It is also more than just following pre-prescribed points to get
from A – C .
The
real art of make-up , the creative element is getting lost . I see students unable
to decide what brush to use unless it is marked for eyes or lips etc. or unable to grasp the very
basics of colour mixing .Worse still they are too afraid to try or to
experiment perhaps because they have not had an opportunity to do so.
The
first questions always seems to be
how to use this rather than what can I do with this. Make-up as any practising make-up artist will tell you is
often about problem solving ,experimenting, and using ones artistic and
creative eye or head.
Having
been a visiting lecturer and external examiner over many years I see this as an
area that still needs more attention .
Tutors
are confronted with curriculums that are full of items that have to be ticked
off .Often this means learning certain skills or working with certain products
that are no longer relevant to today’s make-up industry. In other cases
students are sometimes propelled forward to learn advanced techniques using
highly technical products when they have not yet mastered more modest tasks
such as colour matching or understanding how to use highlighting and shading . Many
colleges teaching media make-up studies have totally inappropriate budgets for
make-up kits and so many are reduced to using poor quality products and
students are seduced into thinking that as long as they have a lot of colours
or brushes it is good value . The truth is that with a few really good brushes
and a developed ability to experiment improvise and be creative much can be
achieved. Market forces are always at work and quantity over quality seems to
be coming to the fore time and again
We want to be giving young make-up
artists the confidence to face challenging situations in their field and know
that they can think on their own , be resourceful and are not afraid to experiment and perhaps even develop new
ideas or techniques without just
resorting to a new product .
Beryl
Lerman