Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Muse.
Hi Brittany, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a very impoverished childhood where we always had to make do with what we had. I was a very expressive child who felt silenced and limited in my expression due to certain parenting dynamics and of course living in a stress and lack. Makeup and art in general became an escape for me. I felt a sense of freedom that I truly longed for. My mom would always do her makeup daily and would dress up —she NEVER looked like what she was going though, and I learned to do the same. So over the course of my life I went from being unseen and limited in expression to finaly feel like I was showing up in the world. All while us what litter resources I had I was able to make next to nothing look like MONEY. From my makeup, to my hair, to my wardrobe. I would get a lot of hand-me-down clothing from my sisters and flip them to make them look like me! It started to feel less like “lack” and more like a super power. So as I grew I began doing makeup for a living and that took off in a major way—from doing high profile clients like Barack Obama to working with Kanye west, TLC , and so may in between I began to break out of the idea of “lack” through these opportunities. I started creating a name for myself and encouring my clients to step into their star power through creative concept photoshoots where I was the MUA, sometimes hair stylist, creative director, and wardrobe stylist/designer. These would be shoots where my clients could express themselves from head to toe and have a nice keepsake to look back on. And now, I’m breaking into the fashion in a way that utilizes existing pieces and upcycling them into something unique that makes a statement.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been a very wild ride to get here. Makeup took me most of the way and I was able to have multiple studios of my own for many many years. About two years ago I closed my business Artofficial Makeup And Photo of like 10 plus years. I made a lot of connections along the way and felt used and abused by the very same community I helped and poured into. After closing it I realized I had put alot of my identity into what I did and who I knew. I felt that I lost myself completely. Like something had died. After years of searching for myself I thought I had found it in what I do and had built for myself. But closing down brought me to a journey of self discovery. I’m learning who I am without the titles and what I truly care about. I always felt like I had to keep my business/studio alive or “who would I be”. I had myself and my 2 daughters living in my studio with me just to keep it afloat for a couple of years. It truly was everything to me. But for the wrong reasons. It was who I thought I was and again, losing it felt like losing me.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Now, instead of managing a team of artists and keeping this certain image together, I’m just an artist. I freelance in several different mediums being; Makeup, visual arts, repurposing furniture, and fashion kind of being the main focus now. Makeup is more of my bread and butter but I still love it. Fashion however, is my ministry. Along the way of losing it all I found my true identity in Christ as a now, Christ follower after years of being lost praying in the occult. I am now more rooted in self than ever. And with this new found sense of self and purpose I put my faith at the center of what I do. My purpose now is to use my gifts to bring people close to their true selves spiritually and in their external expression. So fashion for me is a way to minister that “you belong, you are loved and seen, and we need you on this planet.”
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is faith, family, community, and authentic creativity. Faith is where it all starts for me. Without my faith in Christ I would be attaching myself to things that kept me in cycles of identity confusion and bondage. My family because I put my family second to my career a lot of the time and that never actually fulfilled me. I am someone who always felt alone and different and longed to see someone like me out there so expression is a my signal to my people to find me and connect. We can’t do this thing without one another.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.Musetheartist.com
- Instagram: Musetheartist & shopmuseart
