If I had a dollar for every time I heard, "that's impossible," then I'd probably have a tiny mountain of money by now. If I would have listened, then I would have missed the incredible opportunity to work my way around the world as a Professional Model and Airbrush Make-Up Artist for the last seventeen years. This exciting industry has provided me with the amazing opportunity to model and live in Barcelona for 4 months, and work all over the states with clients such as Tiffany's Jewelry & Co., Harley-Davidson, Miramonte Resort in Palm Springs, Jockey International, and for numerous designers, magazines and companies. Just last year alone, I was fortunate enough to work in 7 different countries thanks to my beautiful and entrepreneurial model friend Christie Gabriel, who booked us both on numerous shoots abroad. The most rewarding part is the chance to meet such a vast array of people on a daily basis from different industries, including inventors, artists and designers, research scientists, photographers, company owners and product developers. It's almost like living in the "near future," since I’ve gotten to learn about new products and services before they even hit the market.
As someone who is a natural-born Artist, many of these global work opportunities inspired me to create paintings or wearable art based on my experiences. Side trips to neighborhood flea markets or little boutiques continuously presented me with unusual pieces, which I'd breathe new life into by incorporating them in to my Shady Lady wearable art line. For example, some of my most recently created jewelry was inspired by work trips to Cape Town, South Africa last April or when I visited the 13th century French Medieval village of Eze on the Cote Du' Azur in December of last year.
Shortly after I began making jewelry and wearable art from recycled materials, Tracee Dundas (the Organizer of Fashion Week New Orleans) took notice on Facebook of my new Shady Lady line of recycled jewelry. She emailed me, asking if I'd be interested in stretching out my artistic muscles and putting together a collection to show at Fashion Week New Orleans. Beyond excited by this opportunity, I accepted and began creating a collection for my runway show featuring approximately 10 models. The pieces included necklaces, earrings, bracelets, purses and belts made from recycled materials. The first show was a success, albeit an intense experience, which forced me to prioritize on finishing this extensive collection under stringent deadlines. My goal was to inspire people to look around and see the