On week two of being under the weather, I was lying in bed in a hazy, Nyquil induced state. Overhead, a literal raincloud was hanging over me. Like I said, I was a little hazy. But it gave me an idea.

I could barely get out of bed let alone work on anything creative, but on week three and in almost there recovery, I decided to turn that raincloud into a DIY raincloud headpiece. And then I shot my first real self portrait of 2023.

Besamé beaded lashes, “Marlene” wig , vintage jumpsuit, Blair Imani x Fempower Beauty “Self” lip set

How I made my DIY raincloud headpiece

I used things I already had around the house and in my craft bin for my DIY raincloud headpiece: floral wire, cardboard from a USPS box, extra batting, spare chandelier pieces, a rarely worn headband. It’s not the most sophisticated creation. Hot glue and wire hold it together. It’s dusted in eyeshadow to give it dimension. But it did the trick. You can see the whole process in a quick lil video here.

About my self portrait

I shot this on my Canon R6 with my profoto strobes, and taped a blue gel to the hair light (in front of a long snoot of cinefoil & without the modeling light to reduce the exposure to heat). I also did some without the gel (like above) but I love the blue cast for such a blue mood.

It’s no secret I’ve been in a bit of a rut. I dedicated a whole tiktok series to it before I got knocked off my feet with the plague. Though this was just one little project in two months of being a total bump on a frog (a little Perfect Strangers call-back for anyone in the 80s sitcom know), it felt good to make something just for the sake of making something.

Even if I don’t have a paying job lined up, it’s worth putting in the work for my personal projects. Sometimes I need that reminder. It’s easier to remember when I have money coming in. I think of those paid projects as funding for both my life and my passion projects. But when the new year, self-employed scaries pop up…I have to give myself a little kick in the pants.

Heck, some of my favorite projects were completely unpaid and cost me lots of money. For example: my entire Haunted Mansion series. But it’s easier to justify the expense of a passion project when I have jobs to help fund them. And every year, it gets a little more precarious.

I know the paid projects will come. I’ll make sure of it! But in the meantime, this serves as a good reminder. Sometimes everything you need to make art is lying around the house, destined for the garbage and waiting to be turned into something new. And that’s pretty cool.