Crystal Wright Live: Packaging Your Portfolio Workshop DC 2011

As you may already be aware I attended the Crystal Wright Live: Packaging Your Portfolio Workshop that was held in the DC area about a month ago.  I have already done a video for it which you can see below but I wanted to expand a bit on what I took away from the workshop.

Now y'all know I am pretty free with what I say both here and on my videos.  Take it or leave it, I want to be honest no matter what, that said I was a bit jaded with the concept of Crystal Wright.  Let me explain why...

I was first introduced to Crystal Wright back in 2009 (see posts here and here), and was totally into what I could learn from her.  At the time Sam the girl was about a year old so money was funny (isnt it always?) and I was really just getting my feet wet as an aspiring MUA.  I didnt have this air about me that I knew all I needed to know about being successful about the business of beauty, truth be told I didnt even really KNOW about the business of beauty.  All I knew was that I wanted to be a makeup artist.  Given that, I totally missed the opportunity to be on a path to success much earlier.  When I left L.A. that was pretty much the last real thought I had about Crystal Wright...

Fast forward to a year ago.  I have purchased DVDs, taken a number of classes, been all about my education as an artist, which definitely is key but I still had no idea how to run my business.  I had never done an invoice, had a shell of a contract that I sometimes forgot to send out, all kinds of images in my portfolio, none of which should have ever seen the light of day, so on and so forth.  Yet and still I continued to shell out money on product, magazines, books, classes but every time the Career Guide popped up on my radar I made some excuse, mainly one about the cost of it, ridiculous right?  So at one point I began to follow Crystal on Twitter and learned of the internship opportunity. I said ok what the hey I will give it a go.  I ended up getting accepted into the program.  I signed up for the full year not really knowing what I was taking on.  Along the way I have been exposed to what it really takes to run a business, complete with the ups and downs because Crystal is very clear (pardon the pun) about anything she is encountering while running her business.  Let me backtrack a bit, while I was open to the internship I kinda went into it with a chip on my shoulder.  A few people, who I love dearly-no shade, got in my ear about how she is no longer relevant, cant really do anything for artists now since her success was in the past with her agency, yada yada and I really let that control my thought process.  It wasnt until I began to pay attention to what SHE was saying and ignoring what others were saying ABOUT her, but rather hearing it directly from her that I had my lightbulb moment.  Crystal never portrays herself as someone without fault, in fact she will be the first to admit when she hasnt given 100% at something and for that reason I began to trust her and subsequently trust in myself and what my brand of artistry is and can be.

Participating in PYP gave me focus, a mirror to look at myself clearly flaws and all and the blueprint to follow for the goals I wish to achieve as a makeup artist.  Since participating I have already accomplished a few of those goals but most importantly I recognize even more the work that goes into the business of beauty once you put your brushes down.

I can only offer this for aspiring artists, this industry is now saturated with people who want to be the next big artist and the thing is we are all talented in our own way.  Every gig wont be for everybody but you can set yourself apart.   The thing is, will you know how to make a lasting impression?  We all can do a smokey eye...