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

Sam, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I would be lying if I told you I didn’t frequently consider just dropping the makeup artist dream and going to school for some type of computer job. I’m sure it would probably be less competitive, less stressful, more steady and reliable, but also way less fulfilling. I wish I could dive into the details of the last experience I shared with these thoughts but unfortunately I cannot, because the thing is, nothing special, different, or significant has to be going on for my thoughts to hop on that doubtful train. Most often, I can be living a relatively ordinary day when I get plagued with these negative thought patterns that I have to work through, “I am not getting booked now as much as I was a couple months ago, maybe that means I’m not as good as I thought. If it doesn’t pick back up, I should just quit.” Truthfully, the internalized war can get exhausting, but I continue to remind myself of the feelings of peace and satisfaction that I find within the art I create. It is an overall feeling that cannot be replicated or replaced, but also a feeling that I cannot willingly lose, as there surely would be an inevitable emotional dulling to follow. I just know that even through the doubtful moments, I am happy doing what I love, and I can’t ever throw that away for anything less free, expressive, rewarding, and me.

Sam, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Sam, and my makeup artistry business is Sorceress Artistry. I found my passion for makeup artistry a little over 7 years ago when I started acting for a local haunted house, I loved seeing the creativity and passion that the makeup artists had working on actors every night and that was when I decided I wanted to do something with it. Since then, I have spent the last 7 years focused on learning and growing, I am almost entirely self taught aside from the tips and pointers I’ve gained from peers and social media along the way. Early last year (2022), I started to finally get serious about becoming a business, more specifically networking and putting myself out there, which truly helped me blossom. Today, I can confidently say I have developed a rather vast skill range within makeup, including airbrush which I now offer with all looks. I am proud to say that I offer looks as simple as natural beauty enhancement, intricate full glam looks including the usage of graphic liner or gem stones, full fantasy or horror special effects looks, and all the likes in between. I really want to help the clients and models that I work with to feel and look the best they can in the way that they have envisioned, no matter what that vision may be.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For myself personally, there is a couple of aspects that are extremely rewarding within my creative work. The first one, and the one that I think most applies to creatives generally, is finally seeing the final product of a vision that you worked so diligently on, and feeling like you successfully captured that vision. That particular sense of accomplishment is something I have not been able to find out of my creative work. The other very rewarding aspect is more specific to makeup artistry, when you finish a look on a client that you are so proud of, you anxiously send them off to the mirror to see their final look, and they give you the happiest “this is exactly what I wanted!”, “oh my gosh I feel so beautiful!”, etc. BOY, the feeling I get in my chest when I hear those words is unexplainable and truly unmatched, it is both rewarding and motivating, instilling a drive to help others achieve their dream looks.

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

I think truly a lot of the creative experience and journey is hard to understand for someone that has not partaken on their own, however I think one of the biggest challenges would be inconsistency and instability. It can be terrifying pursuing a creative career, as security cannot be guaranteed. If you hit a severe artists block, it is rather hard to find inspiration so give you that spark. This can be scary because if we can’t bring ourselves to create and produce, even for just a brief moment in time, your whole foundation that you built for your career can start to grow cracks in it.
If you hit a slow season, bookings start to lose their steady flow, and opportunities narrow down to a mere trickle, it starts to affect your livelihood, sense of security, and ability to survive.
You remain dependent on your craft to continually be in a high enough demand just so you can make ends meet, and dependent on yourself to continue to create so you don’t have to find out how long it takes for your foundation to fall apart.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sorceressartistry
• Other: Email: [email protected]

Image Credits
Mya Wadsworth Photography, Front Row Moments, Bronte Images, Lab 13 Photography, Eye of Ky Photography, EGD Photography, O.M Photography