Magic happens, when talented people come together!

Tomorrow I will celebrate my friend James Hurley's grand opening of his floral and events boutique. He and I were cosmically meant to be friends, there are only two people in my life that seize to impress and amaze me with their abilities to create magic when it comes to their crafts, and they are James Hurley and Rod Lawson. 

A couple of years ago I commissioned another talented friend David Robin Munn ( amazing colorist and photographer) to capture some amazing bridal looks for our portfolio and to be used for Jame's advertisements, and my awesome friend Esther Lee to help style the shoot. The magic that came from that shoot still blows my mind today. We had the prettiest models and the best location ( Then Mansion, now Mandarin Hotel). What is so precious about that day is that we all were in our element and we wanted the best shot for each other. No money exchanged, except for the EBay bridal gowns ( had one on loan from a friend), and a few dollars for some of the models.

When you love what you do and dream of doing it all the time, you are able to draw like minded people to you...And then that's when magic happens!

The Advertising choice!

David Robin Munn

James Hurley

Beyond Fortunate...

I have had the pleasure of grooming many celebrities over the years, I could blow your mind with the names and stories of the people of the silver screen that I have been able to service. But, there is only one lady that has made me want to literally want to be her best friend and that is Viola Davis. She is the cover for Essence magazine for October, when I saw the cover it took me back when I did her make up for the press day in Atlanta for the movie The Help. I did her make up for a two day press event. She spoke to me as if we known each other for years, she was so open with her life growing up, and we compared stories of adoption ( at the time I was in the process, didn't work out...another blog all together).

Viola Davis was brought up in Central falls, Rhode Island. She describes herself as having lived in 

object poverty and dysfunction during her childhood. But as the universe would have it, she took that pain and reality to the screen and stage. I had the pleasure in seeing her in the play "Fences" a long with  Denzel Washington, which she won a Tony award and became the second African-American woman to win the award after Phylicia Rashad. I have come to the conclusions that no matter how many characters  a celebrity plays or the appearance of their life in photos, they are just human beings having an earthy experience that I hope makes them happy!

Throw Back Thursday...

I have never been scared of good ole fashioned hard work, may it be for my place of employment or for myself. When I got into make up, I knew that I needed to showcase my work, at the time we didn't have cameras with pixels that would be good enough to use as professional pictures. As the universe would have it, Rod Lawson my hair dresser best friend was just as creative and ambitious as I, and we found a photographer that needed to pass courses at the Portfolio Center. The three of us was unstoppable for a whole year... we shot looks until the photographer graduated and Rod and I had a full 18 page portfolio. I look back at some of the images and see the detail of the set design and the literal pain Rod endured cutting and peeling lemons and limes for a headdress he made for a picnic scene, or planting fake greenery in a pool underwater in order to get the right mermaid shot ( I hand glued jewels to eyelids and face), and when I hand painted gold paint head to toe on my model. Now-a-days when I suggest newer hair and make up talent to find a photographer and shoot their friends for images, they think it is too much work...Well, it is and it is worth it! 

These pic's are 14 years old....