Episode 028 - Kim Pierce

In this episode, I welcome Kim Pierce! Kim is a makeup and hair artist, and the owner of The Piercing Beauty. She shares about her very first makeup kit as a young girl, to the unique opportunities she had while pursuing her college degree in theater, to what gives her joy as she works with her clients today. (Fun fact: the cover image for the episode is of a photo taken by Helen Ransom with Faces You Love Photography, featuring makeup and hair by Kim!)

 

Get in touch with Kim Pierce: http://www.thepiercingbeauty.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/thepiercingbeauty | thepiercingbeauty@gmail.com | https://www.instagram.com/thepiercingbeauty/ 

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Episode 28 - Kim Pierce

Lindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome to Artfully Told, where we share true stories about meaningful encounters with art.

[00:00:07] Krista: I think artists help people have different perspectives on every aspect of life.

[00:00:13] Roman: All I can do is put my part out into the world.

[00:00:16] Elizabeth: It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. It doesn't have to be perfect ever really. I mean, as long as you, you're enjoying doing it and you're trying your best, that can be good enough.

[00:00:24] Elna: Art is something that you can experience with your senses and that you just experience as so beautiful.

[00:00:32] Lindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome back to Artfully Told. I'm your host Lindsey, and I am so excited to have as my guest today the absolutely lovely Kim Pierce, who is the founder and owner of The Piercing Beauty. And she is an amazing makeup artist, as well as, she does hair. And I'm sure that just scratches the surface of your talents, Kim, but thank you so much for being here.

[00:01:04] Kim Pierce: Well, thank you for having me. I'm really excited to be here.

[00:01:08] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. And so I was wondering, would you mind just sharing a little bit about yourself and maybe your story? How did you get into all this?

[00:01:19] Kim Pierce: Well, I think it was kind of a foregone conclusion that I was going to end up in makeup. When I was four, my mom got me this little makeup set, and I have a picture of my face when it was given to me. And you would have thought that she handed me like a pile of diamonds, because I was so excited. I mean that little waxy, nasty smelling kit that had no pigmentation and, you know, it was pretty much just dollar store stuff. I was so excited and into it, and that kind of just set me up for future asking for more makeup. And as I got older, my mom didn't wear makeup. Like never, didn't wear makeup. Didn't really do her hair. It just didn't interest her. And one time, she got sucked in by a Mary Kay lady. And so she bought tons of stuff because she was like, "I'm going to wear this every day. It's going to happen." And about two weeks later, she forfeited her entire collection to me and said, "I don't want any of this. I'm never going to use it. You play with it." And so all of a sudden I had this treasure trove of makeup to play with and learn with. And so I was about 10 then. And then I asked for Kevyn Aucoin makeup books for Christmas. And I spent hours recreating those looks and learning everything I could from these books, because back then YouTube was not a thing.

[00:02:38] And so I just gleaned everything I could from them. And by the time it was time to choose a career. The only thing I could think of was makeup. That was the only thing that even sounded plausible to do. And so instead of going to cosmetology school, my dad said you have got to get a degree. So I was like, okay, what degrees can you get with makeup in them? And so that led me to a theater degree. So I went to Emporia State University and I studied theater. And one of my interests obviously was makeup. And so I took every class that they had possible to take. And then I started doing independent studies and just finding any information that I could find. And they hired a couple of experts to come in and teach me, which was really, really cool. And so that just kind of grew from there. And eventually I got a job at Sephora after I got married and learned from people there. And then finally I decided to start my own business and start freelancing. And that's led me to the last couple of years where I met Helen at Faces You Love Photography. And she hired me to do hair and makeup for her newborn mamas. So these moms come in and they're just exhausted and tired and all they want to do is not look like they're exhausted and tired. And so she brought me in to help with that, and that's where I'm at now. And it's wonderful and amazing.

[00:04:03] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, wonderful. I love your story. That's so fun. Oh my goodness. I do remember those really cheap--and maybe you can still buy them, I'm sure you can--but those really cheap makeup sets where you're kind of a little concerned about what's actually in them, because yeah. It can't be good. Oh man.

[00:04:23] Kim Pierce: I definitely wouldn't buy them for a child nowadays, but you know, it was a different world back then.

[00:04:29] Lindsey Dinneen: It was. It's all good. Excellent. And so, okay, so that is so cool. So you have this theater background as well. Were you also interested in the acting or producing or any part of it besides the makeup or was makeup just like always your focus?

[00:04:48] Kim Pierce: Well, at ESU, Emporia State University, where I went, they had a cohesive program. You learned everything. We learned lighting, design and sound design, costume design and everything all in one. And so I had the opportunity to do everything. I acted and was in a couple of shows, but by the time I got further into my college career, I realized that I really need to be needed to focus on what I was actually going to do after I got out of there. So that pulled me back towards makeup and that's where all the independent studies came in. And, then I started designing a couple shows. I designed the musical at ESU my senior year, which is the largest, like that's our moneymaker, like every year you do that one, and that's what really takes care of the program that the rest of the shows make money and it's great, but that's like the big one. We have to get this right. And so that was a true honor to, to take part in that. And so I did that once at the end of my senior year. And then, once after I graduated, actually I got hired on to do the next musical. So that was pretty cool, but I did a lot of different things within the department. So it definitely set up a strong work ethic because theater is a lot of work and I'm very grateful for that because--whew! I, I knew I'd have to hustle to be a makeup artist. And that is exactly what theater taught me to do. And to just be a people person. Theater is all about, you know, dealing with different types of people and talking to them and bringing out what makes them special, what makes them them. And that has really helped me on my journey to becoming a makeup artist.

[00:06:32] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, I, I can imagine. That's excellent. Yeah. And, oh my goodness, what a cool opportunity to--I mean, obviously--just even your senior year getting to design a musical, but getting to do that a second time later. How cool is that?

[00:06:47] Kim Pierce: I was definitely on cloud nine.

[00:06:49] Lindsey Dinneen: I can only imagine. Yeah, that's amazing. So I'm just curious. Do you still use your theatrical makeup background? I mean, like, have you done theater makeup since in any capacity?

[00:07:03] Kim Pierce: You know, I really haven't. The only way my theater makeup skills come out is really just Halloween. And I used to, when I worked at Sephora, we had Sephora-ween. And so that was, you know, every cast member would dress up, not dress up, just do their makeup as a different theme every time you came to work. And so that was super fun to show off the theatrical makeup skills that I had. And, really get to play and have more fun. But theater makeup is just not where my heart lies. So it's more of a fun place to visit, but not a place to stay. Beauty makeup and that dramatic, fun, like smokey eyes and all of that. That's where I live. I want to make women feel beautiful. So I love theater makeup, and it will always have a wonderful place in my heart, but I definitely prefer the other side of beauty.

[00:07:53] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. And so having a role like yours--I'm sure with every artist and every profession and everything--I'm sure there are days when it feels more repetitive because it's-- I'm just throwing this out there. It seems like, you know, on some level it's essentially the same thing day after day. So what continues to inspire you to do it? I'm just really curious.

[00:08:21] Kim Pierce: Well, you know, you're right. It can get daunting to do, you know, the same natural face over and over. Because we're in Kansas, you know, people aren't coming into their family sessions saying, you know what, I'm going to try that plum lip. They're not, they're not into the, you know, what I would consider the exciting parts of beauty, but on the other side of that, taking a person who, you know, may not wear much makeup and you don't apply much makeup, but what you do is bring out their unique features and the things that they like about themselves, and they see themselves in a different way. And you did that. It may be boring to you, but it's everything to them. And I think that's when it kind of turns around is that, that final look in the mirror when they look at themselves and their eyes brighten, and they're just like, "Oh my gosh." And you think you haven't done anything super special, but to them, it's really meaningful because they've never really seen themselves that way.

[00:09:16] And I think that's what brings back the passion, where it just makes you feel really good about what you've done and you're like, "Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Well, you know, maybe it wasn't as boring as I thought," because it had an end result that was fascinating and fulfilling, and I just love that part of it. But I also get really excited when somebody comes in and is like, you know what, I really want to go for it. Let's do like a smokey eye or a bold lip. And I'm like, "Heck yeah, let's do that." And then that's another time where it's just like super exciting. And we get to have a little bit more fun and play a little bit more. And that kind of helps break up some of the, the boredom of doing, you know, a neutral face over and over.

[00:09:55] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, that makes complete sense. That sounds fun. Oh man, I'm still chuckling a little bit internally about the, you know, showing up to your family reunion with the pictures, you know, this dramatic, evening look. I kinda like it. I might do that one day.

[00:10:10] Kim Pierce: You should. You should. It wouldn't make anybody look at you strangely.

[00:10:14] Lindsey Dinneen: Right. It'll just be very entertaining. Oh, my goodness. I love that. And so, okay, so how long have you been on your own with your own business?

[00:10:23]Kim Pierce: The business started in 2014. So that's when I started like to put together my website and really start to market myself to other people. And I had a couple of friends that hired me to do their weddings and things like that. And so I just started taking pictures of everything I could and trying to document that so people could see what I did, and I put myself on Yelp, and honestly, Yelp was a huge deal for my business. And all of a sudden people started calling and I built up more clientele and more clientele. And I try not to keep myself too busy because my focus is on my family. And that's one of the great things that this career allows me to do is, yes, I need a hustle and keep going, but I also get to choose my own schedule so that when my kids have something I'm available and I think that's--I mean, it's an amazing part of this career. Being able to come back to my kids or be there for them instead of just, you know, being gone all the time.

[00:11:22] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. That's a huge gift. Yeah, so very cool. Okay. And then, so nowadays I know you're working so closely with Helen. Do you, I imagine you still have your, your other clients on the side as well, or is it, has it shifted a little bit, or how does that whole thing work?

[00:11:42] Kim Pierce: Oh, well, I was very lucky a few years ago-- Helen, well, I guess it was about a year ago--Helen came to me and said, "You know what? I think I want to move from just doing like the newborn mamas getting their hair and makeup done, but extending it to family pictures and headshots and maternity photos," and just expanding you within her business. And I was like, "Yeah. Let's do that like yesterday." So we started to do more shoots together and that has changed everything. I've been able to keep a more consistent schedule. I've been able to make more money, obviously, but I still dedicate quite a bit of time to the wedding industry and doing special events. And I always help my friends when they come my way. But I think my favorite thing that I've been doing recently has been taking young girls when their moms bring them in and we make an appointment and we do like a little lesson and a consultation, and then I take them out shopping. We go to Ulta or wherever, and we do basically--I just take them and I'm a personal shopper, help them find what products would work for them, what they need, what they don't need, what they can spend money on, what they should save money on.

[00:12:49]And then taking them back to their house and teaching them how to use everything. It has been such a fulfilling part of my business is taking people on the same journey that I went on so many years ago by myself. And I love being there for them because it was--I mean, it wasn't bad being by myself learning all of this--but I think it would have been really nice to have somebody kind of take me along and teach me more things rather than me having to figure it all out on my own. So that's been a really fulfilling part of my business is getting to, to show young girls how to start wearing it.

[00:13:23] Lindsey Dinneen: That is so cool. And it's so funny too, because do you, do you ever end up doing that with women as well? Because I feel like there's, there's a decent percentage of us who never have quite learned.

[00:13:38] Kim Pierce: Yes. And I absolutely do. And it is, it is so much fun. I've done it with several girls that I met through Helen. They've been like, "You know what, since we had our pictures taken, I really would like some lessons 'cause I like what you did here. I like how you made this look like this." And so I'm like, "Yeah, let's, let's go." And so we, we go shopping and we spend time together and I get paid to have fun and spend time with these women. And it's just, it's incredible.

[00:14:05] Lindsey Dinneen: That's fantastic. That's a dream job right there. I love it. Well, I know Kim, you have a couple of things that kind of stood out to you, maybe to share with us. I would just love to hear some of your stories if you don't mind.

[00:14:20] Kim Pierce: Yeah, absolutely. Well, I mean, what I've said first is that the newborn moms, when they come in to Helen's studio and they've got this newborn, that's like 10 days old, maybe less. And they are exhausted. They are barely awake on their feet. And then, they're just so dead tired and they look in the mirror and they're like, "Ugh, I just look terrible." And I'm like, "No, let's, let's do this." And so we, I just take a few minutes. They're pretty much sleeping in my chair as I try to make conversation. And I'm like, "You know what? You sleep." And by the time they're, they come back around and they're like, "Hey, wow. I look awake. I look human. I look like a normal person." And I'm like, "Yay!" That is such a great experience to have her just be so excited to just look like she remembered herself looking a few months ago. And that is just super exciting to me. And I mean, one of the best things about doing this, and if I can make that postpartum experience that we all are aware of can be just a little bit hellish--if I can just make that a tiny little bit better for them-- that, I mean, that means all the difference. And so I have to just remember that during those times where I'm just doing the neutral makeup over and over, I'm just making them look more awake and more alert.

[00:15:35] That art is in the natural and corrective makeup, just as much as the glamorous high-drama makeup. It's all important. It just has, I mean, everybody has different tastes on what they're needing or wanting in that particular situation. And so I have to keep reminding myself of that. And that goes back to the other question you asked about, does it get boring? And yeah, sometimes it does, but just remember that the skills involved in doing natural and corrective makeup may be slightly different, but it still goes back to bone structure and it still goes back to highlighting contour, and how all of that works together. And the joy on someone's face when they see what they look like is just, you just can't beat it.

[00:16:17] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. That, that is really cool. Those moments of sort of, yeah, almost transformation of realizing, "Oh, okay. Yeah. The confidence boosting and I, okay. I'm ready for this now." Maybe on some level beforehand, they were, you know, a little apprehensive or worried it wouldn't show them off the way that they would want.

[00:16:42] Kim Pierce: So many times they come into the studio and they're like, "Thank goodness I didn't have to try to get myself ready this morning." And part of that is Helen's genius of hiring a hair and makeup artist just for, for these moms to be able to come in and not have to have prepped themselves at all, other than they have clothes on and their babies there, that's it. That's all they have to worry about. And, Helen's idea behind all of this was to make us moms, and women in general, exist in pictures because we don't like pictures taken of ourselves. We're extremely critical of ourselves all the time. We don't like what we look like. We don't like the way we fix our own hair. We don't like the way we do our own makeup. We, you know, we don't like the big zit on our face. And this, you know, when people were coming in to get their pictures taken, Helen would be like, "All right, you go and jump in." And they're like, "No, my hair's not done. I look a mess. Just take pictures of the baby."

[00:17:38] And they're losing out on all of those pictures they could have had with their child. And someday those children will look back on those pictures and there will be nothing of their own parents there to look at. And those pictures is just so precious. Those moments will just slip by so fast. And if we can make the mother feel confident enough to be in those pictures, then that's a huge achievement that she's willing to get in there. And keep those photos forever for their children to see in the future. It's just, wow. It's just a huge thing. And I credit Helen with that to be thinking about those things and to be inviting women into the studio to get ready there so that they can feel their most confident in front of her camera. And I just think that's just absolutely incredible.

[00:18:24] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, it is. Yeah. It's a great concept and I think you're absolutely spot on with all of it. And I just, I think that's really special what you all provide. So yeah. Thank you for doing that.

[00:18:38] Kim Pierce: I'm just following her brainchild.

[00:18:40] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, there you go. You're a part of the magic. 

[00:18:43] Kim Pierce: I'm very grateful that for Helen to bring me along on that journey, because it has been incredible.

[00:18:50] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. So, how has--just out of  curiosit-- how has all this crazy changed your approach to what you do? I mean, have you had to adapt or change processes or anything like that?

[00:19:06] Kim Pierce: Yeah, well, it's definitely been tough. The financial side, I mean, we're all good there, 'cause my husband has a wonderful job and that allowed me to relax during the quarantine so that I could just figure out all of the protocols that I need to follow going into doing makeup after COVID, because there's not a lot of guidelines for makeup artists, as far as just cleanliness and especially in COVID. I mean, yes, we wash our brushes. Yes, we use alcohol to wipe things down, but it had to be taken a step further. And luckily, a lot of the processes that I personally had in place and had gleaned from Sephora were still pretty well on COVID guidelines. The only things I added, obviously, was a mask. I added a couple of bins to hold product in after I've taken it out of my kit so that it can all be sanitized before it's put back in the kit. And I did wear gloves for a while, but honestly, gloves were a recommendation that they kept going back and forth on and it made it very difficult for me, especially without the warmth of my skin, loved my fingertips to blend things. So I finally gave up on the gloves and I just sanitized like every five seconds. I don't know that there's any way to be a hundred percent safe, but I'm doing what I can to make sure that it's as safe as possible.

[00:20:25] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, of course. So with the hair component, was that something that you--that obviously it's, it's complementary of course to makeup--but was it something that you had actively kind of pursued as well? Or was it something that was more like, this is a complementary skill.

[00:20:46] Kim Pierce: Yeah, it is 100 percent a complementary skill. My talent does not truly lie in hair. I get by with hair. I, my talent and my passion is for makeup. I really started doing hair because most photographers that I worked with wanted somebody who did both. They didn't want to hire two separate people. And so I took what I had learned from theater. 'Cause I had worked on wigs and hair during the shows. I took what I learned there. And then I tried to take a couple of other courses and talk to some artists and try to kind of put some skills together. And I always say, I am a makeup artist that does a little hair. I am not a hair artist that does makeup. Don't, don't get it twisted. And so I also make sure that everyone knows I don't really do updos. I do braids and curls and volume, and that's about where we stop. But pretty much any makeup you come to me with, I'm like, "Yeah, let's do that. I can do that." But the hair is just not as much my strong suit.

[00:21:46] Lindsey Dinneen: Fair enough. Well, I was going to say, I, I, yes, your work is lovely. So.

[00:21:54] Kim Pierce: Well, thank you.

[00:21:55]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, so, okay. So, kind of moving forward, do you anticipate continuing sort of along the same trajectory as far as you know. Obviously the partnership with Helen is so great. Are you hoping to-- let's say wedding season resumes--are you hoping to do that as well? Or are you really kind of just narrowing down at this time?

[00:22:17] Kim Pierce: Honestly, I like doing it all and now that I'm not working in a retail job or any other position, I'm able to dedicate all my time to this. I mean, other than being a mom, so I don't anticipate stopping anything I'm doing. I will work with Helen as long as she wants me to, until she boots me out of there. 'Cause I just love it so much. And I'm so grateful for that opportunity. So I'll stay there forever and any other opportunity that comes my way I will definitely reach out for. I have a couple of photographers that I've been talking to about doing some boudoir sessions. And so I'm really excited about that because that's fun and hair and makeup. I mean all the time, all a hundred percent fun. So I think that's going to be pretty cool, but any opportunity that comes my way, I'm just going to keep plugging along. And I'll still do weddings, I think, unless it starts interfering with the kids' activities, but honestly, I book maybe once a month for a wedding to kind of keep that time held for my kids. So I don't anticipate anything going any other direction. I actually have one tomorrow cause...

[00:23:22] Lindsey Dinneen: Ooh!

[00:23:23] Kim Pierce: Even with COVID, people are still getting married, even if they're smaller and less grand than the original celebration that they were planning on.

[00:23:32] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Well, excellent. Are there any other encounters with art that really kind of stand out to you, whether it was, you know, your own experience with a client or whether it was your own personal experience with a different art form or something like that, that really was like this--oh, man--I need to remember this moment?

[00:23:55] Kim Pierce: Well, you know, to go outside of, outside of makeup, theater is one of the art firms that I hold the most dear. Obviously I was a theater major and there's something about going to a musical, and the singing and the choreography and the makeup, and the costumes and the hair, the wigs, everything that comes together that is just incredibly magical. And it just sends this buzz through my entire body. And I just don't think that there's anything more magical or more artistic, and compelling then to see all of these artistic visions come together to create this one amazing Broadway show. I'm a sucker for a show tune, I'll tell you that much. So anything that's "Hamilton" or "Wicked" or even some of the lesser known Broadway musicals, like "Bring It On" is one of my favorites that nobody really knows it was even a Broadway musical, but I just love all of those. And the art that comes together and the collaboration is just something that every time I am, I just sit there in awe like, "Wow, how did they even do that? How did that many people come together to, with so many different ideas and opinions and create such a magical, perfect event. I just can't handle it."

[00:25:12]Lindsey Dinneen: I love that. Yeah. I think, I mean, I am also a sucker for a good musical. I mean, they have such power to give you this experience is so immersive and, and, magical. So yeah, no, I relate to that. And then do you have moments where you were, so for instance, like a show, like "Wicked," do you have moments where you're like, "Oh, I could do that makeup?"

[00:25:38]Kim Pierce: Yeah, for sure. The makeup that Elphaba wears that-- well, I'll use the first Elphaba, Idina Menzel, when that happened and I started to learn. What happened backstage at musicals, I researched that makeup and was like, "Okay, what products were used? Where did they shadow? I need to know what happened here." I need to know if they use prosthetics, how did they get that green makeup? Not to come off on her clothing and everything. And I just started going into that situation, just like, I need to know it all. And so maybe, yeah, I could do that, but like, I want to know how to do that. Like I need to understand this process.

[00:26:17] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah.  Awesome. Well, thank you for sharing, Kim, so much. It's really fun to hear you talk specifically about, you know, the moments that stood out to you when you get this opportunity to see a woman look at herself and go, "Oh, okay. This is good." You know, I love that. So, well, I have a few questions that I always like to ask my guests, if you're okay with that.

[00:26:43] Kim Pierce: Sure.

[00:26:44] Lindsey Dinneen: Okay. So first of all, how do you personally define art or what is art to you?

[00:26:51] Kim Pierce: Well, to me, art is, it's really any creation or expression that provokes thought or a reaction. Every interaction that you have with art is an opportunity to have a silent conversation between you and the artist. The person experiencing it has a dialogue going in their head and the artist has already put something out into the world to discuss back and forth. I want to be a part of that conversation regardless of the role I'm in, whether I'm the person experiencing the art or I'm the artist. And to me, that's art. Art is just something that makes you think, something that makes you have a reaction.

[00:27:32] Lindsey Dinneen: Beautiful. I love that--silent conversation. That's great. And what do you think is the most important role of an artist?

[00:27:41] Kim Pierce: Ah, well, from the perspective of a makeup artist, it can be a little different from any other medium because makeup artistry quite often is to serve a client's needs. And once you're not necessarily putting out your own artistic vision, so for headshots or weddings, or even if you're doing like a commercial photo shoot where you have a director and they're telling you what they need or want, you're fulfilling someone else's vision. So, in these instances, my role is to execute that dream, that picture from someone else's head that I've never seen, and adapt that to the client or the model's facial structure and their skin tone and make whatever vision they have come true for that. And so that role is important to my livelihood and it also brings joy. It brings fulfillment when the client is satisfied, but that doesn't always fulfill what I need creative creatively, if that makes sense. I feel like I'm always grappling for an opportunity to serve up my own idea of beauty and my own artistic sense. But I think that part of your job as a makeup artist is to achieve both, you've got to satisfy the paying client every time obviously. And you also have to make sure you're taking time and any opportunity to nurture your own creativity, because I mean, otherwise you're going to burn out if you're just doing the same thing over and over, and you're never stretching yourself, eventually you're going to be over it. So only until you can manage both roles as a makeup artist where you're fulfilling the client's needs, but you're also edifying your creative spirit, I guess just like cultivating that within yourself. We can't really move to the next level of artistry until we've met both of those needs.

[00:29:35] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. That makes complete sense. And I love your perspective because it is a little different than some other artists I'm sure are kind of in the same boat, but that's a pretty unique thing, that you bring and yeah, I love that answer because you're right. You, you definitely need both.  I think for your particular form of art, it's a very immediate feedback kind of situation. But even for those of us who don't necessarily have an immediate reaction on some level, we still--obviously, we need to make money through this. So we need people to be liking what we're doing. Yeah.

[00:30:12] Kim Pierce: So, I mean, it's like getting a commission from someone. They tell you what they want and you paint a picture of what they're looking for and you just don't really get that artistic input. You're doing what they wanted and you're trying to get it out the way they want it, if that makes sense. So yeah, it's kinda unique.

[00:30:29] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. And, okay. And then my final question is, and I'll explain my terms a little bit, but do you think that art should be inclusive or exclusive? And inclusive referring to someone who puts the art out into the world and provides a little bit of context behind that, whether that's a title or a description or program notes or something, versus exclusive referring to an artist who puts their art out into the world, but doesn't necessarily provide much context or any context behind it. So it's basically up to the viewer to interpret.

[00:31:06] Kim Pierce: Okay, well, as a makeup artist, again, I think most of my art would be considered exclusive. No one's telling their friends what emotion their makeup is supposed to evoke within them, you know, unless they're an influencer or on YouTube or something. And they're like, "Well, this makeup is supposed to make you feel this way." Most of us are just doing our makeup and, you know, however people look at it as how they look at it. That's not, you know, it's not the same thing, it's left to stand on its own. But I do love to see editorials, where like, in a magazine, artists are given a brief-- they have something that they have to accomplish, but they do it from their own perspective and it gives them that chance to be artistic and take their personal skills to fill a theme. But they have the creative license within that theme. And I think that's a really cool thing to look at because then when you're looking at it in the magazine, when it's published, they do put context with it and you can more readily understand what the artist was trying to convey.

[00:32:06] But for me, I like a little context personally. When I look at art, I kind of like to be met with some sort of context, some sort of clue as to what's going on within that art piece. Because I just feel like that conversation that's happening between you and the artist is a little bit more genuine because you have a hint of the true intent, I mean, because how many times have you looked at something and been like, "Oh, okay, this means this." And then you read the caption and you're like, "Oh, that was totally not what they intended me to see in this." And there is a place for that, you know, where you're, you are exploring something. And going outside of the artist intent and you feel whatever you truly feel with that. But I think part of just, you need to be able to see what that artist is trying to convey truly. And if there is some sort of context, you're able to get there a little easier, and hopefully not compromising what you as the viewer bring to that exchange. So I like a little context. I like being helped to those conclusions a little bit.

[00:33:11] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Well, perfect. I appreciate your perspective on all of that. And, I just want to say, you know, thank you so much for not only being here today, but sharing your experiences and what lights you up about your art, and thank you for creating and putting beauty out into the world, because I think that's really important and I love that you do that. So, thanks for being here.

[00:33:37] Kim Pierce: Well, thank you, Lindsey, for having me. I mean, I was seriously so excited and I, well, I told my son, he's 10 and I was like, "You know what? Mommy's going to be on a podcast. I'm going to be talking about my art." And he goes, "Oh Mom, are you sure? They meant to contact you?" "Yeah!" I was like, "Well, you little stinker. Yeah. Yeah. I, I think, yeah, they'd meant to contact me, but thank you for that vote of confidence there, son." But you know, this is the same child that gave me a note like last week, that was like, "I love you, even though you're not famous."

[00:34:13] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh! Well, that's so sweet.

[00:34:16] Kim Pierce: So let me tell you that I think now that he knows this is real, my credit went a little bit up in this house, so I appreciate that.

[00:34:24] Lindsey Dinneen: No problem!

[00:34:26] Kim Pierce: That was invaluable.

[00:34:27] Lindsey Dinneen: Definitely. I love it. Oh my gosh. I love it so much. Well, if, if any of our listeners, especially around the Kansas City area are interested in getting in contact with you for maybe, an opportunity, is there a way for us to follow you or any of that too?

[00:34:49] Kim Pierce: Yeah. Yeah. I've got an Instagram. That is The Piercing Beauty. And I have my email as thepiercingbeauty@gmail.com. I have a website, thepiercingbeauty.com. And then, yeah, so pretty much any way you want to connect with me, I'm out there. I'm on Facebook, with a business page and all of that. And, I mean, even if you're not in the KC Metro, I'm willing to travel. If you wanna make me go somewhere ,destination wedding, whenever this COVID stuff breaks down, I'm all for it.

[00:35:19] Lindsey Dinneen: Perfect. I actually think Helen, if I remember correctly, Helen was like, "I can do destination photo shoots. That'd be fine."

[00:35:26] Kim Pierce: That sounds just like something she would say.

[00:35:29] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah. Okay, perfect. So, so there we go. We'll just, we'll put that out there, and anyone anywhere, you have your gals for the perfect photo shoot and experience. There you go. All right, well, thank you again so much, Kim, and thank you so much to everyone who's listened to this episode. I really appreciate your support and your interest in art and in the artists that I get to talk to. And, if you're feeling as inspired as I am right now, I'd love if you share this with a friend or two, and we will catch you next time.

[00:36:04] If you have a story to share with us, we would love that so much. And I hope your day has been Artfully Told.

[00:36:14]Hey, Artfully Told listeners, it's Lindsey here. I want to say, first of all, thank you so very much for your continued support of Artfully Told, for listening to the episodes, and for being a part of bringing art to the world. I really believe that what we're doing is important and matters, and I'm just excited to share art with you on a continual basis. I do want to reach out to you.  I do the whole podcasts myself, from the interviews themselves to the editing, to the transcribing, and then of course posting and all that good stuff. And I absolutely love what I do, but it is both time-consuming and expensive to run a podcast. I have to have the proper equipment. And then of course the proper editing software and hosting platform. And in order to continue to be able to do this on a sustainable basis for the future, I'm asking our listeners, if you guys would consider supporting the podcast, even a very small monthly donation, like $5 a month would really go a long way towards me being able to continue to do this in the future. And so I have set up a PayPal account that you can access through the artfully told website, which is www.artfullytold.podbean.com. And I would love if you would consider just making a monthly reoccurring donation to support the podcast. We don't have corporate sponsors. So everything that you hear is me doing this from a labor of love. And I love it, but I would ask if you would perhaps consider supporting it too. Thank you so much. Have an amazing day and I'll catch you next time.