On Sunday 28th April, I was privileged to lead the first of ETL’s 2024 workshop series. The workshop; Beautiful Trickery: A Stage and Drag Make-Up 101 ran from 10.30 to 17.30, and was a great success. Ably assisted by Lillian Kaufmann, I introduced four relative beginners to my personal make-up methods and my tips for how to easily make beneficial and exciting changes to their make-up routines.
Although I am not a professional make-up artist, my 16 years of experience using make-up allowed me to share what I have learned with those attending. Together, we used some time to discuss a brief history of make-up, both in terms of everyday use and when it comes to its use in performance. We also talked about our own personal histories with using make-up, and what our ambitions were in terms of improving our skills. By the end of the day, the attendees had participated in creative explorations of colour and shape, engaged in some meditation practices, and designed their own signature looks.
All the looks were wildly different, highlighting the personal ambitions and creative abilities of the attendees. I am delighted with the results, which can be seen in the wonderful photos taken by Peter Hubbard. I’m also very happy that the attendees found the workshop so fulfilling, and that several of them asked if the workshop would be run again in the future. One of our workshop participants, Alina, recalls:
“Thanks again for the workshop, including the communication afterwards with the pictures and everything. It really was a great experience – I learned a lot from you, felt super welcomed and am definitely inspired to use those techniques in the future.”
I think that the most important result of the workshop was that the attendees were able to improve their confidence with using make-up, and I’d be very pleased to work with them again.
Sam Kioni Roberts (Minerva Kinkade) & ETL
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