I'm Mik. Model, mother, moron. Future meta-magician. Former logic clinician.
My better half and I own Brainfood Bookstore in Longmont, Colorado. It is the only exclusively indie- and local-lit bookstore in the nation. We meet a lot of crazy folks.
Testimonial from a former roommate:
"Living with you was like living with a quiet little opinionated deer person who floated around like a ghost and said smart/nutso things and ate seaweed. "
I love Colorado. I love mountains. I love hiking. I read and write. I raise my children to the best of my ability. I have lupus and have defeated early-stage cancer twice, so I pretty much fully support the use of medical marijuana.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
BTS: Apocalypse
Photographer: Chris Garcia
oh yeah i took this picture
check it out, yo.
(Source: makeitprettyhere)
a brief history of coiffure etymology (or, How To Ask for a 'Hitler Youth' Haircut)
As anyone who reads the fashion section of the New York Times is aware, despite the fact that the haircut that has been known as the undercut since, like, the thirties (no, my fellow bitches with a half-shaved head aren’t unique or original) is now being called the Hitler Youth. Totally understandable because if you say you want your hair cut like a Hitler Youth, everyone will get that you’re referencing the popular ‘30’s haircut (hopefully), but… really?
In other news, I may be trading out my current traditional undercut for a Hitler Youth soon. Although I’m sure no one currently suspects me of fascism and anti-Semitism, after my haircut morphs into the neoNazi appearance of chemo patients, let’s hope I remain as lucky….
One of my favorite BTS photos from the shoot Sunday. Mostly because of the photographer’s T-shirt.
It went AMAZING, thank you for asking. I wasn’t going to leave you all hanging about that, I just wanted to wait until I had time/ energy to write a post about it, but wow… here goes.
One of our models (the one with the broken arm) looked EXACTLY like Gemma Ward (not even joking). That was hella tight. Attaching the mannequin arm to her for the mannequin shots didn’t work out, but she posed with the arm and it still looked TIGHT. Some of my favorite shots were not to our editor-in-chief’s tastes (for stylistic reasons; a wide-angled lens and low shots), but there wasn’t a single shot I didn’t like so no matter what goes in the magazine, I think I’ll be happy with it.
Everything looked like a combination of ‘just how I wanted it’ and ‘better than I ever could have imagined possible’. It was very high-fashion and I am honestly a little astounded with how professional it looked… it could have been in the pages of Vogue or W, rather than the local and under-funded Pretty.
On that note… I am so excited about where this magazine is headed :) Our editor-in-chief visited the shoot between the first and second set-ups, and she reports that we should be distributing in several major cities in the Midwest by this time next year :) Also I think both the models and their mothers were very impressed with our level of professionalism and entrepreneurship. Plus our make-up artist gets to see her work in print, and gets the images for her portfolio… But it’s indescribable how much the photographer and I appreciated the experience. I mean, I DIRECTED A FUCKING FASHION SHOOT. THIS WAS MY DREAM. DREAM: COMPLETE.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Pretty Magazine enriches my life.
[note: Some of the behind-the-scenes photos will follow on my fashion blog (I don’t want to clog up this blog). I will link to the BTS video and the online version of the magazine when they come out.]
Transgressive Embroidery photoshoot for Pretty Magazine today!
I will probably be liveblogging the whole event on my fashion blog, so check that out.
I’m hella excited! ^.^
Be jealous. Be very, very jealous.
This is my new baby and it is going to star in my photoshoot on Sunday.
Which I am so excited for.
In high school, my dream was to work for fashion magazine. Everyone said it couldn’t happen because I live in Kansas and I’m not even rich enough to have ever seen anything designer in person and how could I ever know fashion.
Welp. Now I’m working for a magazine that is pulling itself out of the Midwest stereotypes by its bootstaps (fashion/ Kansas pun!), and it’s becoming more and more clear that the only reason a ‘real’ fashion magazine never came out of Kansas before is because everyone said a fashion magazine couldn’t come out of Kansas.
Sorry this is turning into a rant, but I am SO proud to be part of this. I’m proud of Pretty and I’m proud of myself— I’m designing apparel and directing shoots. I’ve got the job I always wanted (while still preparing for law school, lol), and I’m part of a truly amazing movement.
Fashion is what you make of it.
Also, you know what’s difficult?
Picking out models from a stack of cards when you have a moderate level of facial blindness.
At Pretty magazine, we had a meeting for the photographers and coordinators of each shoot for the upcoming month, and we had to finalize our shoot dates, concepts, wardrobe, stylists, etc. A local modeling agency sent over a stack of cards for some of their models, which include three body shots, a head shot, their name, and their measurements. I was supposed to pick out my top 4 preferred models for a two-model shoot. The photographer couldn’t be there, so he told me to get models with ‘classical features.’ Which I’m pretty good at identifying, considering I do have a degree of facial blindness (which is really common in autism-spectrum disorders). The problem was, after I’d picked out all the girls with classical features (which I actually determine by ratios of different measurements in the face, rather than by sight), I couldn’t keep them all straight. I needed to pick out four girls with a very specific range of measurements, to ensure they’d fit the clothing for the shoot, and my GOD it was hard to keep them all straight. Finally did it, though, and based on the peek of their portfolios on their modeling cards, I think we’ll be happy with any two of the four for our models.
It’s just sort of an interesting thing to deal with. Sometimes people say I have an unusual-looking face, and I don’t really know what they mean, because unless I stop to measure ratios, all faces look exactly the same to me. I mean, yes, I am capable of noticing obvious distortions or deformities, identifying a person’s skin color, etc, but I’m not able to recall or even recognize the faces of friends I’ve known for a long time or even family members. I don’t mean to get into an explanation of facial blindess, but basically I remember people by other characteristics. I am not capable of picturing my daughter’s face, or even my own. I can’t recall my mother’s face. I don’t remember what my last boyfriend looked like, beyond that he usually had some facial hair and a lipring. Unassisted by other characteristics, I cannot recognize any of my friends’ faces.
I kind of like it. Especially when evaluating what models I would like to use. Given that two models have the same measurements in both their body size and facial ratios, I am forced to choose between them based on talent, without he ability to be blinded by their relative degrees of attractiveness.
Went to Target today. Realized I live in the Midwest, where Missoni is actually still in stock. Obtained a bunch of stuff.
Guess who will have the best-dressed toddler in preschool?
In case you missed it,
this is still my personal blog. My art/fashion/inspiration/self-indulgence blog has moved here.
Some of the incredible things you can do with an air brush.
I’m assuming that you’re referring to the fact that I’m not that pretty? In case you haven’t noticed, most models aren’t very pretty. In fact most are rather unusual looking— by some standards, ugly (as I’m sure you’re trying to say that I am). You don’t have to be pretty to be a model. It’s preferable if you’re not. To be pretty, you must be conventional. To be a model, you must be memorable. The two are mutually exclusive.
Granted, I’m not on runways in New York or doing shoots in Milan or attending fashion week. I’m doing small gigs in my hometown but, along with my part time job teaching at my university, they keep my bills paid and my face recognizable. Eric Fisher recognized me today, for chrissakes, and he consistently beats out beauty schools in New York and Ontario for Best Cosmetology Academy in North America.
I don’t have the time or, frankly, the talent to devote to a career as a ‘real’ supermodel, but as a mother and student, I get to do an amount and level of work that’s perfect for my lifestyle, so yes, I consider myself a successful model.
And no, I’m not that pretty. But I’m extremely confident, I’m talented, I’m experienced, I’m punctual, I’m hard-working and motivated, and I go out of my way to make contacts and get jobs. Furthermore, I’m really excellent at pretending to be gorgeous. People tell me I’m beautiful or extraordinary-looking or brilliant all the time, and the fact is (as you have probably recognized) that I’m not. Most successful models aren’t. But every successful model is excellent at pretending that they are.
Nobody wants to hire someone who’s pretty; everyone wants to hire someone who can make other people believe that they’re beautiful, even when half their head is shaved and the other half’s in dreads. That’s what makes a good model.
CHANEL is DANGEROUS TO YOU††
