We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Theresa Reish. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Theresa below.

Theresa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I am lucky enough to be a 3rd generation Los Angeleno so pursuing a creative career wasn’t completely abnormal. For my family though, I am the first generation to be in a privileged enough position to actually do it. My parents could not deny my need to make art as kid and let me try out everything. My first love was drawing. I loved fine art. I had a coffee table book full of masterpieces and I would copy them with my markers and crayons on printer paper my dad brought home from his job. Then came dance as a afterschool program through STAR. Dance scratched that itch that combines the zoomies and feeling every feeling. Being a tween in 2003 absolutely influenced my dance experience and how quickly I became obsessed. I had dance teachers that were auditioning for Britney, Christina, Beyoncé, any pop princess! And you bet these teachers came back and taught us those audition pieces. I eventually started training and competing (a la dance moms but like way more chill and kind) at MnR Dance Factory under the guidance of Roni Blak, Kyra Richards and Alex Acosta. Through my experiences at the studio, my high school theatre department and an internship at Chroma Makeup with Lisa Casino, I fell head over heels in love with makeup artistry. It tapped into everything I loved; human connection, glitter, visual arts, and fun. I made a deal with my parents that if I graduated from college they would help me through makeup school. And sure enough they did. I attended Clark University and graduated with a degree in Studio Arts. Soon enough I jumped into set work and while my education prepared me to color match exquisitely and hold a brush in a way that wouldn’t cramp up my hand, nothing prepared me for the stress of set life.
I am thankful that my brain loved to learn about art and how to make it in formal educational settings. It’s weird to admit that. I really did thrive in arts education. I do have to credit every teacher, coach and professor that came into my life. I’ve never had an art teacher that I didn’t feel supported by. Every other subject in school is a different story.
I have been encouraged to maintain a certain level of curiosity when it came to art. Multiple different professors have instilled this need to always have a sketchbook in progress. Making art doesn’t need to be for anyone else. While I choose to do it for a living, there is still a whole practice of mine that is silly and playful and made with no monetary gain. I also love to be bad. I love to absolutely tank at something new. Don’t get me wrong discovering a secret skill and being good at something on the first try is amazing, but being the worst one in the room is freeing. It feels like a good exhale that I can fail without life or death consequences. Sometimes I pop into life drawing classes to see if I still got it. Other times I’ll take a int/adv dance class. I love to be in moments that present me with the opportunity to learn. Healthy and safe learning environments create just as much space for experimentation and failure and they do for success. And trust me when I say I fail. Sometimes it sucks and I let myself be sad for a day or a few hours but then I turn to my sketchbook and journal to collage, or doodle, or glue pages together. And I remind myself that half of my creative battle is to try.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hey there! I am Theresa. I don’t like to define myself with job titles but here is a little bit about me. I am a non-binary multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Los Angeles. While I am only part Mexican, Chicano culture is what I grew up in and what influences a lot of my artistic drive. Makeup artistry is my longest creative profession. I have dabbled in most sects of the makeup world but have landed in the marketing world. I love working on commercials or campaigns. While I haven’t worked on too many, another world I love being a Makeup Artist in is Music Videos. It’s the land of my people. The styling and vibe on music video sets are looser and more avant garde than on commercials. Commercials are chill but more serious. Either way I am laughing and having fun in every environment. If you are curious about my makeup work feel free to creep on my instagram account. @TheresaReishdotcom
Another endeavor I currently have is as a Social Media Manager for LA Unbound. It’s a non competitive performance group for adult dancers of every age, skill, and gender! I’ve been having a lot of fun… maybe too much fun… coming up with video ideas and executing them.
A few common strings that run through all my gigs, is my sense of humor. I am goofy to my core. I used to be so embarrassed by my own jokes and laugh . Now I fully embrace it and when you’re surrounded by people who also want to laugh it’s exhilarating. I love watching people relax into what they are doing and laughter is usually the key. I am so sensitive to the fact that on most work days I am a perfect stranger who has to “edit” your face for camera. Makeup on set it about playing this game of what can I edit before post production and how can I do it in a way so the talent doesn’t feel demoralized. It’s really vulnerable to trust someone with your face. I think a good makeup artist does more than sickening work, but actually makes everyone in their chair feel seen and safe. That same feeling comes into play when you are asking people who don’t have on camera experience to be on the internet for a dance group.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

When it comes to explaining how I feel about creative work to people who’ve taken more traditional paths, I just have to say it’s my path of least resistance. Every career has its own unique struggles. And the real secret is to discover which struggles make sense for you. That seems super simple and deeply optimistic because it is. Some struggles are a choice and some are bestowed upon us by societal infrastructures. For example, working 12 hour days on set = a choice. Having coworkers sexualize your gender verbally or physically = not a choice
I have been in both situations and both situations exist in EVERY field. Being a professional creative just has more pros for me.
Another thought is that I wish we (as a society) were more open to experimentation. There is room for everyone. Knowing what you want to do for the rest of your life is wild. Why not do 6 things? Why not have a job that just pays the bills and have an outside life that fulfills you? Why not job hop until you find an environment that feels right? It’s okay to try things and dislike it or like it!
Everyone has different priorities and they change and shift as life goes along. Who knows if I will be a professional artist forever? But I will be an artist for as long as live.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Pay your friends. This big bubble of society can be very intimidating. And also feel so small when you pull social media into it. Like my makeup artist community and dance community is worldwide. But sometimes scaling down to the people you see in real life can make a huge difference. Hire your friends. Living in Los Angeles means that everyone has a creative friend or two. In my world, most creative people dabble in many arts. Sometimes it’s even more fun to get a one off gig that has nothing to do with your profession. I’ve been hired by family and friends to help them redesign rooms in their house or just go pick paint colors. Your set design friend is exactly the friend you should hire to hang up art.
The movies paint this kind of community as a small town experience but it can be just as alive in big cities. You just need to hire and pay your friends.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://TheresaReish.com
• Instagram: @TheresaReishdotcom @launbound
• Other: If you’d like to hire me, please email me [email protected]

Image Credits

Sam Mejia
Powell Browne
Theresa Reish