Girl on Fire

I don't love to fly so I sit here writing this in the airport that I have been in three times over the past nine weeks. I am thinking that this time last year it was a different story, I was sitting in a waiting room of a hospital while my father had brain surgery. It has been a busy five years tending to his many health issues as I juggle a career and family. From the outside you could say delegate and have others help, but when there are "no others" I have no other option but to do my duty as a daughter and be there.


Back in January I had to make a decision to wrap up his affairs and move him into an assisted living home with round the clock care. I also needed help, I wanted to get a hold of my life. My goal by December 2015 was to start my voyage to Nashville Tennessee and with Dad stable now I can do this. I want to eventually move there but I have anchors that keep me docked in Cleveland for now.

It took seven years to really get my career up and running for commercial work in Ohio, this is why I need to lay the ground work for an eventual move down south. I met with an established and well known photographer in Nashville back in September a few days later he booked me for an album cover which  brings me to my traveling today. I am so lucky to have this opportunity. I sit in this Cleveland airport anxious and excited to be reaching another goal. You may think you have tomorrow or that you are too old to make a new start but I am here to say quit making excuses and challenge yourself. Be that "Girl on Fire!"

Nashville kind of day!

Record cover styling

My new en devour 

Nashville

         When you hear "Nashville, Tennessee" two words, country music, come to mind.  Yes in the last year the television show Nashville has taken off as well, so maybe that was your first thought?  Growing up outside of Cleveland, Ohio and spending my entire life in North East Ohio, Nashville is the city I dream of living in someday.  My Mom was born in Elizabethton, Tennessee and some of her family still live there.  As kids, we traveled extensively to the South.  I was country before it was cool.  My Uncle Wayne had a small ranch home which sat in front of his barn.  He owned a horse and many other farm animals.  We really got to see the countryside.  My Grandparents moved the family to Ohio in 1957 as it was a state with huge job growth.

                 I now live in the suburbs of Cleveland in the snow belt of Ohio.  The city sits near the lake and we can get clobbered with bad weather.  As an adult, I don’t partake in winter activities and HATE winters since we get five months of it here.  In the last few years, Cleveland is on the comeback but the economy has taken a HUGE hit.  As a makeup artist I could make three times more what I do now in Chicago or NYC, but I don’t want to live there.  WHY?  I want to live in Nashville.  There is more work for me there, it is the hub of country music, and has an energy that can’t be described.  An added bonus is the kind people of Tennessee; it has a family friendly atmosphere, and NO snow!  In the last few years, I have been networking in Nashville to set the stage for my future move.

                

I am a firm believer in sending  positive thoughts out into the universe with the hope they will come true.  My family knows I want to move and my friends keep asking when I am moving.  So why haven’t I?  Timing!  I am not twenty anymore and my life isn’t just about me.  Last year, my partner and I did travel there so I could sell him on the city.  A few years back, I took my kids and they loved it.  This year I will visit again with leisure in mind, but I might schedule a small photo shoot while in town.

                I think the television show Nashville has pushed me to have a greater desire to be part of the country industry. Would I miss Cleveland? Maybe, but I would be following my dream. This dream has been there for many years. In addition, our friends could always come and escape the gloom of Cleveland  winters and visit us.  One thing I have learned in my past is we can set goals and make all the plans we want, but then God laughs and we realize he is still in charge.  For now I will continue to work in the Buckeye state taking my coat and boots along to all of my shoots waiting for the right time to move on.

So cold in March, with singer Erica Lane

Summertime! I am  in a hoodie at the beach...No lie!
Eric Mull photo

Music Videos

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland.  To many, when they think Cleveland, they think the Home of Rock and Roll.  This is why I was taken aback by a phone call placed to me at the beginning of this year.  In February I received a call from the recording artist Erica Lane from Nashville, Tennessee.  Erica found my website and wanted to hire me for her music video.  At first I thought, Country music in Cleveland?  Then, after Goggling Erica, I was able to hear her amazing voice, which brought a chill to my skin. Her music is more contemporary.  Erica is neither a rocker nor a country artist, and I couldn't wait to be part of this shoot!

Despite doing television, print, and promotional video work, this was to be my first music video.  During the next week and a half after her call, I worked with Erica on a vision for this video by sending emails with hairstyles and makeup looks.  On her end, she sent me the track of the song and her wardrobe photos.  I was very excited to be on this project for two reasons. My goal is to live in Nashville and work in makeup industry for the talent there, so any insight on the business and the city would be great.  Also the song might be on a soundtrack to a movie screenplay. YES, a movie!

The song is about Sgt. David Hack, a two-time Purple Heart soldier.  Sgt. Hack lives in Ohio and his story is courageous and uplifting.  David is a friend of Erica and her husband Kyle, the producer of the video.  The shoot took take place over the course of two days.  Many actors/actresses and musicians were be involved.  While getting Erica ready for the shoot, we had a chance to chat.  I was able to get a sense of who she is through those conversations.  I also heard her passion for the music she writes and performs.  Erica is originally from Texas.  There is something so soft spoken about people born and raised in the South.  They have such warm souls.

The shoot was flawless in my eyes, and we seemed to get the exact footage that the producer wanted.  Erica was pleased with her styling.  She thanked me many times for being there.  I really felt like I knew Erica and her crew for years.  Everyone made things so comfortable for me, especially Sgt. Hack and his staff at US Wings in Hudson, Ohio.  At the beginning of the year, I set goals in my blog which I wanted to accomplish.  A music video wasn’t even on the radar, but somehow it coasted up and I got on board. 
Attached is a link to Erica's video please see for yourself her talent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMCBiVAgVjQ

Sgt. Hack

Never too young for video Makeup.

Sgt. Hack's real life family.

Erica and Karen

                                 

MAKEUP!!!