We recently connected with Jessie Clark and have shared our conversation below.
Jessie, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
When I was in high school, I always had the plan to continue to college and get a degree. I never knew exactly what I wanted to do, but I felt that it was expected of me to follow the footsteps of everybody else. At the time, I had horrible skin and used makeup as a confidence boost, but soon started to fall in love with the artistry aspect of it. I was watching hours of YouTube tutorials and using the money I earned from my first job to buy any makeup that I could afford. I remember one day asking my sisters friend what she wanted to do for a career and she told me she wanted to be a wedding makeup artist. For some reason it never really registered to me that it was a path I could take. I started to look into schooling that taught makeup artistry and decided to go to Esthetic school. My family was hesitant when I told them it’s what I wanted to do, but they trusted my decision and supported me through it.
Jessie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My love for makeup didn’t really come from the typical “my mom wore it so I copied her” story since my mom wore very minimal makeup. I didn’t wear any myself until high school, when I started to develop horrible acne and used it mainly to cover my breakouts. Eventually I got into the more creative aspect of makeup and began to practice fun looks whenever I could. I graduated high school and came to the conclusion that college wasn’t for me so I went to school for esthetics and a few months later was a licensed esthetician. I then began assisting a local salon with weddings and did that for some time until I got my dream job at MAC Cosmetics as a freelance artist. I worked shifts only when they needed extra help but eventually got offered a part time position. That job was absolutely amazing and I learned so much of what I know now from my incredibly talented coworkers. After being there for 3 years, I decided to make the move to Tennessee and left MAC. I came to Nashville with no job, just an apartment and a dream. For about 5 months I was working random jobs to just pay the bills and trying to take makeup clients whenever I could. Eventually I was hired at a salon as a freelance artist. I had some amazing opportunities through that job that I will always be thankful for, and it helped me make connections that have gotten me to where I am today. I worked there for 3 years but recently chose to go off on my own as a freelance artist doing clients for a variety of events. My main clientele comes in from doing weddings, and I absolutely love it. I also do makeup for all other occasions, like proms, photo shoots, and music videos.
I think something that sets me apart from other artists is my ability to collaborate with my client and provide them the look they feel the most beautiful and confident in. I’m so proud of how far I’ve come as an artist and the fact that I allow myself to continuously learn and take constructive criticism. It’s always tough realizing you’re making mistakes especially in the creative field, but I do believe it allows you to grow and improve your craft. I am also proud of the fact that I built my clientele from knowing nobody here to now having multiple repeat clients. I’ve now been in Nashville for 4 years, and I’m so grateful for my life out here and all the opportunities I’ve been given.
How did you build your audience on social media?
So I’ve been using Instagram as a platform for my work since I started doing makeup. I’ve definitely grown my page a lot and I find it a great tool to get clients, and for people to see what your work looks like. More recently I noticed Instagram to be lacking in how many people I can reach, so I decided to download tik tok and play around with content on there. I mostly post videos of me putting on my makeup and have had a couple randomly blow up. My account has grown to 10.6K followers in the past year and I find it so crazy I’ve built that much of a following. People have reached out to me for appointments after finding my videos and seeing I do makeup in Nashville, which is so cool and still blows my mind. My advice to those trying to build their following on social media is to be consistent and post anything and everything you can. Make sure to use hashtags and tag the area you work in so you can reach the right audience. I also found it helpful to join local wedding groups and introduce yourself and what services you provide. Many people will be on there searching for vendors, I’ve gotten a few of my weddings that way.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I think some people don’t understand that we artists don’t make a steady income. We have busy seasons, and slow periods where we sometimes aren’t making any money at all. Building my makeup kit has been insanely expensive, as it is for others in the creative industry. I am continuously restocking tools and products, and making sure I have everything I need to provide a great service. The prices we charge are based on those factors and also the knowledge and experience we have. I’ve found that many people don’t realize how much truly goes into working for yourself. The best way to support your artists in my opinion is to share them on social media, leave reviews, and to tip if you’re satisfied with the service.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/makeupbyjessiec?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/makeupbyjessiec
- Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jessiexclark?_t=8WaN2hakJ1n&_r=1
Image Credits
Nathaniel Clayton