Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Students made up to showcase their skills
Make-up artists bring characters to life
Budding Coatbridge makeup artists demonstrated their skills in a visually-stunning live event at New College Lanarkshire.
Over 34 talented HND make- up artistry students from the college’s Coatbridge campus took part in a showcase held at the Park Street auditorium, and wowed friends, family and industry representatives.
The students created a set to display the themes of their characters, which ranged from mermaids, Marie Antoinette, a leprechaun, a scene from Frozen, the Wizard of Oz, and Oliver Twist.
And models were transformed over the course of the day with hours spent perfecting latex special effects, intricate wigs, high fashion editorial looks, and body paint.
Elizabeth Sweeney, 31, from Coatbridge, chose special effects make- up to transform her friend Hayley MacNaught, from Airdrie, into a skate-boarding monkey called Harry.
Having worked previously as a salon-based hairdresser for 12 years, Elizabeth has utilised both her hair and make-up artistry skills to go freelance.
She said: “I wanted to put my own spin on it, so I’ve clashed Planet of the Apes with Back to the Future.
“I covered Hayley’s arms and face with crepe hair and she wore a prosthetic nose and mouth – it’s quite a transformation.
“As part of our course, we had to do 100 hours of production study, which involved volunteering in theatres and shows, so I would really like to go into theatre work when I finish my studies.
“I also get a lot of freelance bookings for hair and make-up now.
“People used to only get their makeup done for weddings, but nowadays a lot of clients get their make-up done for nights out or birthdays.”
Invited guests attended a catwalkstyle event before the doors opened to the public and models took their places in their respective sets.
Visitors browsed the sets and flicked through portfolios charting the various stages of the students’ preparation and images of the students and their models were captured by photographer Karen Muircroft.
The college’s lecturers assessed the students’ work, which formed the basis of their graded unit.
Lecturer Ashley Moreland added: “Students took aspects from every unit that they’ve completed during their time at the college to create this live event.
“Some took inspiration from books or films, and some created their own characters from ideas.
“The characters were quite mysterious, pretty and dream-like; or were dark filled with blood and guts.
“There was a total variation throughout this year’s live event.
“It’s always really exciting for us to see how students can take an idea, combine it with everything that they’ve learned over their time with us and translate that into a character.”
And Ashley added: “It’s brilliant to see how their imagination just springs to life.”