Hi Wendy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hello! So, I will preface this by saying that nowadays my focus and notoriety is primarily in performance and production so I have a lot more to say about that than my makeup career, but I can go over both I suppose. I got my start as a makeup artist in college when I volunteered to do sfx makeup for a small film some other people at my school were creating. This is also where my business name, Blood and Glitter Makeup, was forged as I could do anything from sfx to glamour looks and bonus points for combining the two ? From there I went on to do makeup design and creation in local theater where I was nominated for and won awards for my makeup design.
After finishing school, I moved back to Texas, only this time to Austin, to pursue a career as a full-time makeup artist. I began working extensively in theater, film, and print and it did eventually become my full-time job. About the same time, I began performing burlesque as the flexibility in my schedule allowed for both. My intention had always been to build a career as a makeup artist and do that the rest of my life. I was doing pretty well with it and had established a strong brand with plenty of clients across many platforms, but simultaneously my performance career was also growing and I began to take classes in aerial performance (circus, primarily lyra) and I. Was. HOOKED. Aerial brought a whole new facet to my performances and I was in love with it. Audiences noticed as well and I began to garner a lot of recognition for my performances combining aerial and burlesque. Over time this began to overshadow my makeup and wig work and honestly, I was a bit burned out on constant MUA work and really loving the creative freedom of performance and production.
Since then I have become the Performance Manager for Sky Candy, the aerial school I teach and train at, and taken a step back from my makeup business. I have traveled across the country and to Europe performing and won many awards for my work including having been named the “Best Burlesque Performer” by the Austin Chronicle Reader’s Poll for the past 4 years running, been seen on America’s Got Talent, Das Supertalent (the German version of AGT), performed at The Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender in Vegas (and was scheduled to again this year but the whole pandemic thing postponed that), and had numerous viral videos and articles shared about my performance career!
Currently I still do limited makeup and wig work including working for Ballet Austin, Austin Opera, Lone Star Pinup, and very limited private clients. Despite the pandemic I have still managed to maintain my performance career as well! I appear in digital productions around the world and produce digital aerial shows for Sky Candy. I also recently went to Germany (in the midst of a pandemic; it was an experience!) to appear on Das Supertalent and have some other fun productions on the horizon.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Ha! Nothing is ever smooth when you are a freelance artist. It takes a lot of time and work to build a sustainable career in the arts and diversifying your offerings is key! As far as working as a MUA I spent a lot of time just being poor and working crazy hours to make ends meet. Unfortunately, Texas is a right to work state which means unions here are very weak and the pay scale for theatrical and film work is not what it should be. For example, if I were to move to the east coast, I would be making almost double what the rates here are for the same work. So even though I am now in a better financial position I still find it difficult to work as a MUA because I don’t want to contribute to encouraging this industry of under-payment. Fortunately I’m also established and well known enough now that at least I don’t have to constantly hunt for work.
As a performer my whole career has been an uphill battle because society tells us that fat people can’t be athletic and can’t be engaging performers, which is patently untrue. I am constantly battling fat-phobia in my gig booking, in social media, in the performance community, and even in myself. I can’t just strut out on stage in a pretty costume and receive accolades; I have to blow the audience away for many people to see past their own assumptions related to my size and see me as the performer I am. I am also constantly working to dismantle fat-phobia in the circus and burlesque communities and recently gave a really well received presentation at the American Circus Educators EdCon about including and fostering plus size students.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a performer I am known for grace, athleticism, glamour, and drama! It’s funny because 6 years ago I would have never thought of myself as graceful but it is now the number one bit of feedback I get about my performances. I love being able to present grace and strength in the air and show that plus size bodies are just as capable as smaller bodies and we should never let other people’s bigotry or self-criticism hold us back. I am most proud of how I have been able to fight for and inspire other plus size people to go out and try new things, especially circus! I get messages weekly from people who have seen me via social media who say they thought they couldn’t do aerial because they are “too big”or that they thought it just wasn’t for them. I spend a lot of time and real estate on my socials making it clear that this is simply not true; any studio with a weight limit is either fatphobic or using unsafe equipment and that your body is capable of SO MUCH so go forth, have fun, and be a badass! I also tackle these issues in our professional communities so that hopefully there will be fewer and fewer studios with these archaic policies.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Hahaha…..I am SUCH a risk taker and it’s usually my mouth doing the risk taking! I’ve taken a lot of risks in my careers, both situationally and verbally. I feel that taking risks is often needed to further your career and make you stand out from the crowd, and I have rarely regretted taking one. I have never been someone to back down when I am passionate about something or seeking justice and that has certainly put me in the position of “most likely to get burned” on many occasions, but I won’t be happy with myself if I don’t speak up and someone has to, so why not me? I will say that with all the bridges I’ve burned I never missed any of them, I learned to swim instead ?
Contact Info:
- Email: gingersnapsburlesque@gmail.com
- Website: www.gingersnapsburlesque.com
- Instagram: @gingersnapsburlesque
- Facebook: facebook.com/gingersnapsburlesque
- Twitter: @glittergrrrl
Image Credits
Patrick Rusk, Aetheria Lovecraft, Seraphim Art, Bella Priscilla Photography, Fernie Renteria, Katie Cowden
