Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley “Saturn” Cooper.
Ashley, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I also go by the name Saturn. I am a makeup artist, painter, poet, creative director, and an all-around artist from Dorchester/Roxbury area. I take a lot of pride in my artistic versatility and my wide skillset.
My journey with art started at a very young age. I was always artistic and involved in a lot of different extra curricular activities from dance, to theater, to spoken word. I started taking my drawing seriously around the age of 10 when my father got me a book on how to draw realistic faces and the techniques of shading. This is when I started building up myself as a visual artist through a charcoal medium. After this, I became heavily involved with performance, poetry, and dance and I began dancing on my school’s dance team in Dover, MA (45-1hour away). Due to the lack of funding for transportation, I wasn’t able to attend every practice and was forced to learn the choreography quickly, and with perfection before our performances. I also did dance programs through Originiation and Boston Ballet.
Eventually, as I grew older and became more involved in my own community of Boston, I joined several groups where I was able to delve into community organizing and activism, while also being able to develop my skills as an artist and performer. From here, I started gaining confidence in my art. I extended my artistic medium to watercolor and charcoal, become a member of a spoken word group, was a member of a street-theater team. Eventually, I went to college on scholarship to pursue my passions for society, community and youth development/activism while simultaneously dancing, painting, continuing with my poetry, and beginning my journey as a makeup artist. I have found myself being a Jack of all trades, but poetry, paint, and my career in makeup and beauty have been my main areas of focus these days. Combining all of my passions and beliefs, I have made it a personal goal to advocate for non-traditional body artist and the unification of the non-traditional and traditional artist communities.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing is ever a smooth road. It may start off that way, but everything has its rough patches. During my career in the makeup and beauty industry, I have realized so much. Here in Boston, it can be hard to find your shine, as it is a community that consists of a lot of artists, but isn’t exactly a niche area for what it is that we do. Finding my value and place here has been a task. It is already very hard as a makeup artist, in general, to find your place as it takes so much willpower and persistence in order to survive this industry. I am blessed to have some of the experiences and opportunities that I have had nonetheless! Advice that I would give to young women who are starting their journey in the beauty industry is NETWORK, PRACTICE, and KEEP YOUR FAITH ALIVE. For artists in general, advocate for yourself and know your value.
What should we know about Saturn Makeup and Artistry? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
So, I have a few different areas of pride when it comes to my personal and professional brand. As a visual artist, I began my journey drawing with charcoal pencil, but as I’ve developed and extended my skill, I now use the mediums of charcoal and watercolor.
My artistry as a makeup artist extends very far. I really do all makeup styles including bridal, glam, natural, editorial, conceptual, a bit of SFX, and body painting. I would say that I specialize more in soft glam, editorial, and conceptual makeup styles. What sets me apart from other makeup artists is probably my versatility. As a visual artist, movement artist, MUA, and even as a poet, I collide all of those worlds to really try to create a unique vision that comes alive. I utilize skill and techniques from my other areas of artistry to create. For example, I may use my knowledge of shading and facial structure and apply it to my techniques of contouring and highlighting a clients face. Or I may use movement and feeling from music and paint a picture. I am secretly very strategic and holistic with how I create.
With consideration to my creation style and my own study of the arts, I have developed a movement called #BODIED. #BODIED is a idea and attitude that I created to vouch for artists who are considered to be non-traditional and or body artists, including MUA/HMUA’s, body painters, tattoo artists, fashion designers, yoga instructors, etc. I aim to create platforms for these artists to come together, collaborate, and express their artistic styles through live HUMAN art installations and performance. I have had only a couple of these events, but they meant everything to me because it is not often that we are seen as artists or included in traditional art shows because we don’t use the same canvases. We deserve. This is where my creativity and direction really flourishes.
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
Women are well positioned for anything. We are magic. I feel like a lot of women are seen as not being able to have or maintain certain opportunities because we are perceived as fragile, like we are more equipped for certain jobs, or that we wouldn’t be interested in certain things. What people often fail to realize, is that we are the reason things get done. Keep that mindset, and see how much for efficient things are in this world. As a woman of color, let’s not get me started on women of color.
I think we are well positioned for so many opportunities, especially in business, I just think we need more support from everyone around us.
Contact Info:
- Website: Facebook.com/saturnmakeup
- Phone: 857-309-3314
- Email: saturnartistry1@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/saturnmakeup
- Facebook: facebook.com/saturnmakeup
Image Credit:
Tobi Makinde, Jasmine Stephens
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