Georgie Kennett
Professional Make-Up Project
Professional Vocational Plan
Negotiated Project Agreement for Professional Make-up Project
Relating my work to my possible career aspirations in this Professional Make-Up Project I have focused on a the title Man VS Nature with research areas consisting of industrialisation and economy, deforestation, animal distinction, development of technology, the future of robots, fur trade and animal testing. The aim is to create fashion editorial images incorporating prosthetics that suggest the subject of man vs nature/ environment vs economy. I believe fashion editorial would be suited to my preferences (Lo3) as it surrounds more of a creative fantasy approach that interests me greatly. I intend to incorporate both fashion and prosthetics with the involvement of mould making, prosthetic finishing techniques and sculpting techniques to allow a confident decision about possible specialisms (Lo1 +Lo3). I intend to collaborate with students from photography and fashion to produce high quality portfolio images that will increase the amount of documented fashion editorial experience I have. My research will inform the context of my work allowing me to produce accurate design representations of looks I expect to create and inform my collaborations in order to achieve a successful outcome (Lo2). I will consider current make up trends and inspiration such as Vogue’s fantasy fashion editorial shoots, Bill Terpin for prosthetic use within fashion shots, photographers including Alisa Gagarina and Justin Cooper for creating successful fashion images, make-up artists such as Alex Box, Pat McGrath and designers such as Alexander McQueen. I will widen my knowledge base of products whilst reasoning the choices I make this will all be documented as a digital body of work consisting of technical processes and relevant research informing the outcome. The project should highlight any strengths and weaknesses I possess before progressing to Level 6, flaws in my work and other can then be targeted and improved so that I can gain the maximum fulfilment in the final year and ultimately achieve grades to be proud of.
Vocational Action Plan
I remain uncertain as of yet which area I desire to specialise in as I have not disliked anything learnt during the course, I assume identifying the strongest area for me will come from constant practise and experience. I would mostly like to gain a more in depth understanding of mould making techniques that I perhaps have not used before to positively improve my work and expand my confidence in the work shop. I also have a strong interest in fashion and enjoy creating fashion editorial make-up looks. Developing my network in fashion editorial is something I have wanted to do for a while and is still something that I would like to focus on. I am most likely not defining my degree title with a specialist named award for the previous reasons since I currently stand as an all-rounder make-up artist rather than completely focused in on one specialism. I am looking forward to improving my work and process this year to determine where exactly I belong in the industry.
Professional Development Statement
Having a strong passion for art has informed my career choice tremendously, for years I projected ideas onto canvases now I project ideas onto bodies. Still fascinated by how make-up can transform a person into unrecognisable other I have never been more certain this is the path I would like to pursue as my career. Coming to University was undeniably the best decision I made to allow me to grow as a make-up artist, I was struggling to see how I might launch myself into the industry with such little experience and all round knowledge. I believe that in such a competitive profession there will never be a point where I can stop learning however, I do feel the course has broadened my knowledge vastly and kick-started the basis for my future.
In some ways coming from a make-up background did not necessarily give me any advantage; learning make-up processes at university is much different to learning processes in college since almost everything is taught in more successful methods. Progressing from Level Three Betec Diploma in Theatrical Make-Up I assumed that prosthetics would be my preferred area of interest however university has allowed me to realise how I work best. The most enjoyable part of working for me is the application and transformation process and this reflects in my work. I struggle with mould making a considerable amount and it often takes me a long time to get it right. My general hair and make-up skills including historical work have always been stronger than my mould making and prosthetic application yet I have seen a huge improvement in my work now compared to at the start of university.
Although I have progressed as a professional make-up artist in practice confidence has always been an issue and unfortunately is something that holds me back. This year I intend to focus on collaborations and involvement in more work experience to improve any confidence issues. I am nevertheless continuously hard working and can often be exasperatingly meticulous; one example of this was during the History and Reality project in Level 4 where I received 48% for a formative practical assessment. I scrutinised every single part of my work so that I could improve that grade because I was so disappointed with it and knew I could achieve more. I later received an overall grade of 85% and was absolutely overwhelmed; this showed me that with continual hard work and effort I could achieve grades I assumed were unachievable.