It's New Year's Eve and time for the regularly-scheduled Monday blog post. Before I delve into my normal Model Monday speel, I'd like to wish all of you readers a safe, happy holiday spent around the ones you love most. I also, and most importantly, wish for you no DUIs and/or deaths (seriously, people, be smart tonight).
2012 was a big year for me as a model. I got my start towards the end of 2011 and spent all of 2012 deeply engaged in my work. During this time period, I've learned a lot about my own strengths and weaknesses. I've had triumphs and great accomplishments, as well as fall outs with people I once called friends. There were days I jumped for joy and nights I cried myself to sleep. But again, I must say, I learned so much.
I learned that there will always be people who hate you and your work, some for valid reasons and some for no reason at all. There is nothing that can be done about it.
I learned that it's okay to be denied by photographers. Sometimes, your goals and their goals just don't match up. It's nothing personal.
I learned that the only way to truly grow is to try new themes with different people. The same photographer won't be good at everything you want to do. You have to network and find those photographers who specialize in what you want and need and go for it.
I learned that this isn't easy. At all. It's an investment of time and money, and sometimes that time and money results in not a single usable photo.
More importantly, I learned that there will always be people better than you and people who are trying their hardest to out-do you. Accept critique with humility and grace and never get so high on your pedestal that you begin to believe you're above everyone around you. Also, don't shoot down those who are trying to best you - instead, be flattered by it because it means you make a real impact on that person in some way.
I've come so far in this last year. I have nothing to complain about. I look at where I started and where I am now and I'm amazed. One year, 345 Facebook friends, a name change, and dozens of photoshoots later, and I am in bliss at my own progress. I really see myself doing nothing but continuing to grow and impress the shit out of the world around me. It might be a selfish desire and resolution, but I personally think it's okay to be selfish every now and then, considering I do know and keep in mind what my real priorities are anyway.
What did you learn about yourself in 2012? What do you seek to do in 2013?
Have a happy New Year, be safe, and know that Rein Razer adores the shit out of you <3
Monday, December 31, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
When Competition No Longer Seems "Friendly"
Well fuck, don't I fail. I promised you all blogs about art AND modeling on Mondays and Wednesdays, and although I had every intention to write a blog on Monday, the fun that comes with the Eve of Christmas got the better of me (aka I got drunk at 4pm and passed out by 11:30). To make up for that, I'm fusing my normal Model Monday post with an Art Wednesday blog to bring you...a...Monesday post!
Everyone faces competition at some point in their lives. Maybe you were on a sports team, or you had a friend who was as big an attention whore as you are, or you competed in the seventy-fifth Hunger Games. Regardless of how it happened, I'm sure for 99% of you, it HAS happened.
For probably...oh...75% of that 99% of you, you've experienced competition among your friends, or as most would say, "friendly competition". Most often it's not malicious, and in the end creates a stronger bond because you learn your relationship is more important than who gets that job offer you both interviewed for, or that "big break" in life.
But what happens when one party takes it too far? What happens when the competition no longer seems "friendly", and the two of you are locked in rivalry?
With me, I have to be pretty careful of this happening. I've let my jealousies get in the way of friendships and I'm sure I have friends who feel like they compete against me at times too. Not to sound cocky (okay maybe a little), but I can't imagine a friend wouldn't be jealous to see another friend showing off tummy and thighs for the whole Internet to see. I'd be jealous too. So, I take the following three steps to ensure that unfriendly rivalries and jealousies among friends don't happen, and here's what I do:
1. I make myself appear as human as possible, and I try very hard to be kind to everyone. I wear my emotions on my sleeve and I let my friends into my soul. If someone can see you have real thoughts and feelings and are a generally good person, it's a lot harder to hate you.
2. I make a point to encourage and boost the spirits of my friends. Anyone who's ever said "I wish I could be a model", I tell them I can get them set up and direct them. I don't ever tell someone they "can't" do something, even if I might get a little miffed because I consider what I do "my thing". If those friends are given information and direction and do nothing with it, it's on their asses, not mine.
3. I scope out my "rivals" and try to get to know them as people. To be the one attempting to make peace (even though your competition can be annoying as fuck) shows you're mature and NOT to be trifled with.
Usually, doing this helps and for the most part, I live out the modeling aspect of my life peacefully and without much conflict. These methods aren't a cure-all though, trust me. There are still a few people in my life that I have negative dynamics with. But hey, maybe you can try them out and see what works for you.
Discussion Question: Have you ever been jealous of a friend's success? Has it ever negatively impacted your relationship, or did you overcome it?
Everyone faces competition at some point in their lives. Maybe you were on a sports team, or you had a friend who was as big an attention whore as you are, or you competed in the seventy-fifth Hunger Games. Regardless of how it happened, I'm sure for 99% of you, it HAS happened.
For probably...oh...75% of that 99% of you, you've experienced competition among your friends, or as most would say, "friendly competition". Most often it's not malicious, and in the end creates a stronger bond because you learn your relationship is more important than who gets that job offer you both interviewed for, or that "big break" in life.
But what happens when one party takes it too far? What happens when the competition no longer seems "friendly", and the two of you are locked in rivalry?
With me, I have to be pretty careful of this happening. I've let my jealousies get in the way of friendships and I'm sure I have friends who feel like they compete against me at times too. Not to sound cocky (okay maybe a little), but I can't imagine a friend wouldn't be jealous to see another friend showing off tummy and thighs for the whole Internet to see. I'd be jealous too. So, I take the following three steps to ensure that unfriendly rivalries and jealousies among friends don't happen, and here's what I do:
1. I make myself appear as human as possible, and I try very hard to be kind to everyone. I wear my emotions on my sleeve and I let my friends into my soul. If someone can see you have real thoughts and feelings and are a generally good person, it's a lot harder to hate you.
2. I make a point to encourage and boost the spirits of my friends. Anyone who's ever said "I wish I could be a model", I tell them I can get them set up and direct them. I don't ever tell someone they "can't" do something, even if I might get a little miffed because I consider what I do "my thing". If those friends are given information and direction and do nothing with it, it's on their asses, not mine.
3. I scope out my "rivals" and try to get to know them as people. To be the one attempting to make peace (even though your competition can be annoying as fuck) shows you're mature and NOT to be trifled with.
Usually, doing this helps and for the most part, I live out the modeling aspect of my life peacefully and without much conflict. These methods aren't a cure-all though, trust me. There are still a few people in my life that I have negative dynamics with. But hey, maybe you can try them out and see what works for you.
Discussion Question: Have you ever been jealous of a friend's success? Has it ever negatively impacted your relationship, or did you overcome it?
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Handmade vs. Factory Produced: Local Artists Do It Better
I have several friends who are into the arts and crafts fields. While I myself market through, what I guess, is more towards the "fine arts" end of the spectrum, these friends market their wares at anime conventions, producing everything from cupcake necklaces to gorgeous, handmade, one-of-a-kind dresses. More often than not, every show and convention is a profits gamble. There's no guaruntee you'll break even on your table fees, let alone make a skyrocketing profit and sell out of everything. It's rough, and I'm sure there's plenty of people out there who get what I'm saying (Writing? Saying? Whatever).
What I'm here to write about on this lovely installment of Art Wednesday is why you, the reader, should take the time to invest in more handmade goods from local artists, versus purchasing something "factory produced". Trust me, I've heard the age-old arguement of, "Why spend $_____ on a commission when I can go to Ikea and buy the same size piece for the same amount, and not have to wait around for it to be completed?" One of my nearest (I guess not "nearest", she lives in Michigan) and dearest friends makes handmade lolita and steampunk clothing and is now branching into cosplay. I can't tell you how many times some snooty brat has said that for what she's charging for the handmade goods, she could go spend on brand-name items. To snooty brat's credit, she does have a point. Yeah, you *could* go buy second-hand brand stuff for the same amount of money, but hey, you'll also be wearing the same damn dress hundreds of other girls are wearing/replicating. What's the fun in that?
I think what a lot of people fail to realize is that handmade goods and fine art cost as much as they do because of how cost is factored. Being a painter myself, I price my work based on a combination of supply costs + labor. My labor fees run at about $10/hour. When you consider my 8 x 10 pieces, therefore, that are priced between $30-$35, you can take that to mean the artwork took about 2-2/12 hours to make, plus the cost to cover the expenses of acrylic paint, varnish, paintbrush cleaner, and canvas (quality art supplies ain't cheap, lovers).
What you also have to think about is how much energy and love goes into being the sole producer of your work. While I can't speak from the standpoint of someone who makes jewelry or dresses, I can say that with my paintings, everything is one of a kind. A piece of my heart goes into everything I make and I work at my art until it is something I stand back, look at, and feel true pride for. I don't give up my pride and joy cheaply...I don't expect any other crafter or artist would do the same.
But this is exactly why you should invest a little more money into your local artists. You might not be getting instant gratification, but you can know that each time you look at the work hanging on your wall that the artist has pride in it and labor and love and times was invested into it, just for you, no less. You also know that you're getting something that isn't identical to what anyone else has. What better feeling than to know there is originality in your home!
Discussion question: Do you partake in a craft or art? What is it? Do you enjoy it? Do you too often face people who complain about the price? How do you handle those potential clientele?
See you all next Monday, lovers.
-Rein
What I'm here to write about on this lovely installment of Art Wednesday is why you, the reader, should take the time to invest in more handmade goods from local artists, versus purchasing something "factory produced". Trust me, I've heard the age-old arguement of, "Why spend $_____ on a commission when I can go to Ikea and buy the same size piece for the same amount, and not have to wait around for it to be completed?" One of my nearest (I guess not "nearest", she lives in Michigan) and dearest friends makes handmade lolita and steampunk clothing and is now branching into cosplay. I can't tell you how many times some snooty brat has said that for what she's charging for the handmade goods, she could go spend on brand-name items. To snooty brat's credit, she does have a point. Yeah, you *could* go buy second-hand brand stuff for the same amount of money, but hey, you'll also be wearing the same damn dress hundreds of other girls are wearing/replicating. What's the fun in that?
I think what a lot of people fail to realize is that handmade goods and fine art cost as much as they do because of how cost is factored. Being a painter myself, I price my work based on a combination of supply costs + labor. My labor fees run at about $10/hour. When you consider my 8 x 10 pieces, therefore, that are priced between $30-$35, you can take that to mean the artwork took about 2-2/12 hours to make, plus the cost to cover the expenses of acrylic paint, varnish, paintbrush cleaner, and canvas (quality art supplies ain't cheap, lovers).
What you also have to think about is how much energy and love goes into being the sole producer of your work. While I can't speak from the standpoint of someone who makes jewelry or dresses, I can say that with my paintings, everything is one of a kind. A piece of my heart goes into everything I make and I work at my art until it is something I stand back, look at, and feel true pride for. I don't give up my pride and joy cheaply...I don't expect any other crafter or artist would do the same.
But this is exactly why you should invest a little more money into your local artists. You might not be getting instant gratification, but you can know that each time you look at the work hanging on your wall that the artist has pride in it and labor and love and times was invested into it, just for you, no less. You also know that you're getting something that isn't identical to what anyone else has. What better feeling than to know there is originality in your home!
Discussion question: Do you partake in a craft or art? What is it? Do you enjoy it? Do you too often face people who complain about the price? How do you handle those potential clientele?
See you all next Monday, lovers.
-Rein
Monday, December 17, 2012
Model Monday: Why I Put Up With This Crap
Welcome to my first installment of "Model Monday" blog posts, where I will inevitably discuss something (I find) interesting and related to the modeling field. I figured, why not start things off with a post on how I got into modeling in the first place, and why I continue to do it.
Honestly, I haven't been modeling all that long - a little over a year. And I didn't begin referring to myself as a "model" until I had a fair number of shoots under my belt and began really discovering what styles suited me best. I have all the odds against me for achieving any solid fanbase outside the Quad Cities: At 24, I'm already breaching into the "too old" range, I'm average height at best, and I have a thicker, curvy build. It's pretty damn apparent that I'm never going to be a runway superstar with her own reality TV show.
However...I discovered the worlds of pinup and burlesque, which encourage (even praise!) a thicker, more feminine shape. That's when I began to shine and "get it", so to speak.
When I first started modeling, I was doing alternative fashion shoots in the areas of lolita and cyberpunk. They weren't anything professional or special. I just liked taking cool photos in my bitchin' anime convention outfits. I ended up hitting the modeling scene kind of...on accident, I guess. I was getting some fall lolita photos done, and a husband/wife photographer team tagged along. They loved my look, and wanted to photograph me in some other themes revolving around ideas they had. Of course I went for it, and it helped that I was friends with a freelance MUA, and over time things just...built up, I suppose. I met more photographers and worked on more projects and here I am today.
This isn't a walk in the fucking park, though. Don't think for a second this is all glitz and glamour. As much as I heavily enjoy what I do, as I stated before, I have a lot going against me. Not just with my appearance, but also with people. I know there's a lot of jealous losers out there, and their negativity does take its toll. With modeling, I feel like I get way more criticism than praise at times. Hell, even friends have messaged me to be like, "Dude, your last shoot sucked" (maybe not so blunt, but you get what I'm saying). When your face and body is under complete and constant public scrutiny with every photo posted, that's rough. Modeling is not for the weak-minded and insecure.
**I'll repeat that last line again, because it's the best advice I can give to anyone considering giving this a try: NOT FOR THE WEAK-MINDED AND INSECURE.Seriously, if you have confidence issues in the slightest, you will never last.**
So you, dear reader, are probably wondering, "Why get into something that just creates negativity?" Where am I going with a blog title of "Why I Put Up With This Crap"? What is the God damn point of a long blog talking about how I got into this, and why I meet the haters with a jolly-ass grin on my face?
Well, let me tell you:
I'm a vain person, and I love seeing images of me looking like a sexy badass.
What? This blog is "uncensored, uncut, unashamed". Why would I lie or sugar coat it?
Look forward to another Art Wednesday post, and keep on shining, lovers!
-Rein
Honestly, I haven't been modeling all that long - a little over a year. And I didn't begin referring to myself as a "model" until I had a fair number of shoots under my belt and began really discovering what styles suited me best. I have all the odds against me for achieving any solid fanbase outside the Quad Cities: At 24, I'm already breaching into the "too old" range, I'm average height at best, and I have a thicker, curvy build. It's pretty damn apparent that I'm never going to be a runway superstar with her own reality TV show.
However...I discovered the worlds of pinup and burlesque, which encourage (even praise!) a thicker, more feminine shape. That's when I began to shine and "get it", so to speak.
When I first started modeling, I was doing alternative fashion shoots in the areas of lolita and cyberpunk. They weren't anything professional or special. I just liked taking cool photos in my bitchin' anime convention outfits. I ended up hitting the modeling scene kind of...on accident, I guess. I was getting some fall lolita photos done, and a husband/wife photographer team tagged along. They loved my look, and wanted to photograph me in some other themes revolving around ideas they had. Of course I went for it, and it helped that I was friends with a freelance MUA, and over time things just...built up, I suppose. I met more photographers and worked on more projects and here I am today.
This isn't a walk in the fucking park, though. Don't think for a second this is all glitz and glamour. As much as I heavily enjoy what I do, as I stated before, I have a lot going against me. Not just with my appearance, but also with people. I know there's a lot of jealous losers out there, and their negativity does take its toll. With modeling, I feel like I get way more criticism than praise at times. Hell, even friends have messaged me to be like, "Dude, your last shoot sucked" (maybe not so blunt, but you get what I'm saying). When your face and body is under complete and constant public scrutiny with every photo posted, that's rough. Modeling is not for the weak-minded and insecure.
**I'll repeat that last line again, because it's the best advice I can give to anyone considering giving this a try: NOT FOR THE WEAK-MINDED AND INSECURE.Seriously, if you have confidence issues in the slightest, you will never last.**
So you, dear reader, are probably wondering, "Why get into something that just creates negativity?" Where am I going with a blog title of "Why I Put Up With This Crap"? What is the God damn point of a long blog talking about how I got into this, and why I meet the haters with a jolly-ass grin on my face?
Well, let me tell you:
I'm a vain person, and I love seeing images of me looking like a sexy badass.
What? This blog is "uncensored, uncut, unashamed". Why would I lie or sugar coat it?
-Rein
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Why I Hate Realism
I welcome you to the first installment of my Wednesday Art blogs. This also means you weren’t
completely scared away by my introductory post, so good for you! I figured an appropriate start to this newfound trend would be to rage at something art-related (since I’m just so gosh-darned good at that), and what better subject to rage about than my deepest loathing for the genre of “Realism”?
There are several reasons why Realism leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve never been all that fond
of the aesthetic to begin with, because why focus on making every last detail accurate when you can
move outside the box and create your own, unique take on the subject matter? Don’t get me wrong,
I understand the amount of skill and training Realism involves, but as someone who works in the
Impressionism and Abstract Expressionism genres, this was never something that was going to “click” with me.
It didn’t help that, as a student, I went from being encouraged to dabble in the abstract and fantastical
genres to being practically forced to move into more realistic subject matter. In college, I had a
professor who loved realism. He was all about realism. Realism was his style and his world – and hey, to each their own! I didn’t care that it was his thing, so long as he didn’t try to make it my thing. But oh, he did. And I struggled, struggled, in classes with him to keep above a C average.
In late high school/most of college I was going through what I like to call my “Dark Ages”, where I only wanted to paint macabre and horror-related elements (I actually did a bitchin’ evil mermaid painting my senior year of college). One day, while working on a painting my mother lovingly refers to as “Trauma Doll”, this professor came up behind me, stood there speechless for a few seconds, and then, in a small voice, said, “Why do you paint such scary things? Everything you make…always so scary.”
By this point a few of my neighboring classmates had stopped minding their own business and looked to see what it was that was freaking the shit out of my professor (I’ve painted freakier, by the way), and lo’ and behold, I became the creepy, “clearly-she-must-be-disturbed” girl of the art class. After that, said professor spent a lot of time trying to encourage a more “realistic perspective” and discouraged any more “Trauma Doll” projects. In fact, anything remotely abstract from me was a no-go with him.
I’d never been more enraged. Seriously, I just enjoyed dark and weird art. That didn’t mean I spent my free time thinking about killing puppies. I decided to rebel against said professor's wishes by continuing to complete assignments in my own style. I'd still meet the guidelines of the project, but I'd do it my way, and no one else's (because I'm Rein Razer, and fuck that shit).
In the end, I passed with a B- in the class, despite the fact I continuously rebelled against his style-wishes and made things the way I liked them. I’ve always interpreted that grade as his way of saying, “You never listened to me and I’d like to give you a lower grade for it, but I’m mildly intimidated by you so here’s the lowest B possible. Have a nice summer.”
And that is why, boys and girls, I hate Realism. So tell me: have you ever been heavily discouraged from something you enjoy, or have people misunderstood something you do/enjoy as being “not normal”?
Comments and thoughts are encouraged!
Check back on “Model Monday” for my first entry about my life in the modeling world!
<3 Rein
completely scared away by my introductory post, so good for you! I figured an appropriate start to this newfound trend would be to rage at something art-related (since I’m just so gosh-darned good at that), and what better subject to rage about than my deepest loathing for the genre of “Realism”?
There are several reasons why Realism leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve never been all that fond
of the aesthetic to begin with, because why focus on making every last detail accurate when you can
move outside the box and create your own, unique take on the subject matter? Don’t get me wrong,
I understand the amount of skill and training Realism involves, but as someone who works in the
Impressionism and Abstract Expressionism genres, this was never something that was going to “click” with me.
It didn’t help that, as a student, I went from being encouraged to dabble in the abstract and fantastical
genres to being practically forced to move into more realistic subject matter. In college, I had a
professor who loved realism. He was all about realism. Realism was his style and his world – and hey, to each their own! I didn’t care that it was his thing, so long as he didn’t try to make it my thing. But oh, he did. And I struggled, struggled, in classes with him to keep above a C average.
In late high school/most of college I was going through what I like to call my “Dark Ages”, where I only wanted to paint macabre and horror-related elements (I actually did a bitchin’ evil mermaid painting my senior year of college). One day, while working on a painting my mother lovingly refers to as “Trauma Doll”, this professor came up behind me, stood there speechless for a few seconds, and then, in a small voice, said, “Why do you paint such scary things? Everything you make…always so scary.”
This is "Trauma Doll", for the record. I don't think she's all that scary...
By this point a few of my neighboring classmates had stopped minding their own business and looked to see what it was that was freaking the shit out of my professor (I’ve painted freakier, by the way), and lo’ and behold, I became the creepy, “clearly-she-must-be-disturbed” girl of the art class. After that, said professor spent a lot of time trying to encourage a more “realistic perspective” and discouraged any more “Trauma Doll” projects. In fact, anything remotely abstract from me was a no-go with him.
I’d never been more enraged. Seriously, I just enjoyed dark and weird art. That didn’t mean I spent my free time thinking about killing puppies. I decided to rebel against said professor's wishes by continuing to complete assignments in my own style. I'd still meet the guidelines of the project, but I'd do it my way, and no one else's (because I'm Rein Razer, and fuck that shit).
By the way, ^this^ is my mermaid, and she's pretty fucking rad. Shell pasties, FTW!
In the end, I passed with a B- in the class, despite the fact I continuously rebelled against his style-wishes and made things the way I liked them. I’ve always interpreted that grade as his way of saying, “You never listened to me and I’d like to give you a lower grade for it, but I’m mildly intimidated by you so here’s the lowest B possible. Have a nice summer.”
And that is why, boys and girls, I hate Realism. So tell me: have you ever been heavily discouraged from something you enjoy, or have people misunderstood something you do/enjoy as being “not normal”?
Comments and thoughts are encouraged!
Check back on “Model Monday” for my first entry about my life in the modeling world!
<3 Rein
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Center Stage
I really hate introductory posts.
It’s always the same spew about who I am, what I do with my time, and why you should waste your time reading every word I write. So, I’m going to try really hard to make this interesting. Maybe I’ll hook you in and make you a little curious…maybe not. But I don’t write to please others – I write to tell my story.
You’ll probably rarely, if ever, see my real name on this blog. That’s because this blog isn’t about the
real me; it’s about the other half of me – the half that poses in front of a camera, performs on a stage,
and releases beautiful artwork to the world. The normal me is your standard mid-20s female who works two jobs to live comfortably, and no one wants to read that shit. So welcome to my other world, and my double life, as freelance model and artist Rein Razer.
People ask me how I’d describe my “alter ego” on a fairly regular basis. Most assume it’s just some odd alias I use to keep my modeling life separated from my everyday life, and I’ll admit that to some extent that’s true. But Rein is much more than just a name that covers my tracks. She acts as an alternate persona that I can use as a mask, as a means of summoning personality traits I don’t have in my daily life. When I model, create, or am on stage, I’m Rein, and Rein is very different from the “normal” me in a few ways.
Allow me to list some comparisons:
1. I am a compassionate, caring person. Rein is self-centered.
2. I am mildly naive and childish. Rein is clever and incredibly street-smart.
3. I am confident. Rein is arrogant.
4. If I were a meme, I’d be “X ALL the Y!”. Rein would be a hybrid of “Grumpy Cat” and “Condescending Wonka”.
In short, Rein is everything I wish I could be (at least sometimes, no one likes a 24/7 bitch) but would
never have the balls to be. She speaks her mind, she takes no shit, she creates beauty and art wherever she goes, and can rock the bejesus out of a bedazzled bra top and victory rolls. Rein is my escape from the mundane and usual and the persona through which I can live out my dreams of fame and creativity.
I’m pretty sure some people would argue that this is a horribly unhealthy display of dissociation and
escapism. They might be right, but mostly likely they’re full of it. I should mention that Rein isn’t some “voice in my head”, nor do I switch between personalities uncontrollably. I’m not mentally unstable, I’m an artist with a strong imagination.
I plan to update this blog twice a week with articles you might actually enjoy reading. Mondays will be dedicated to information about my modeling escapades, and my thoughts on modeling in general, while Wednesdays will be entirely dedicated to my life and role and in the visual arts. Pretty exciting, right? I know, this is going to be fantastic.
Until we meet again,
Rein
It’s always the same spew about who I am, what I do with my time, and why you should waste your time reading every word I write. So, I’m going to try really hard to make this interesting. Maybe I’ll hook you in and make you a little curious…maybe not. But I don’t write to please others – I write to tell my story.
You’ll probably rarely, if ever, see my real name on this blog. That’s because this blog isn’t about the
real me; it’s about the other half of me – the half that poses in front of a camera, performs on a stage,
and releases beautiful artwork to the world. The normal me is your standard mid-20s female who works two jobs to live comfortably, and no one wants to read that shit. So welcome to my other world, and my double life, as freelance model and artist Rein Razer.
Artwork by Crystal Isis
People ask me how I’d describe my “alter ego” on a fairly regular basis. Most assume it’s just some odd alias I use to keep my modeling life separated from my everyday life, and I’ll admit that to some extent that’s true. But Rein is much more than just a name that covers my tracks. She acts as an alternate persona that I can use as a mask, as a means of summoning personality traits I don’t have in my daily life. When I model, create, or am on stage, I’m Rein, and Rein is very different from the “normal” me in a few ways.
Allow me to list some comparisons:
1. I am a compassionate, caring person. Rein is self-centered.
2. I am mildly naive and childish. Rein is clever and incredibly street-smart.
3. I am confident. Rein is arrogant.
4. If I were a meme, I’d be “X ALL the Y!”. Rein would be a hybrid of “Grumpy Cat” and “Condescending Wonka”.
In short, Rein is everything I wish I could be (at least sometimes, no one likes a 24/7 bitch) but would
never have the balls to be. She speaks her mind, she takes no shit, she creates beauty and art wherever she goes, and can rock the bejesus out of a bedazzled bra top and victory rolls. Rein is my escape from the mundane and usual and the persona through which I can live out my dreams of fame and creativity.
I’m pretty sure some people would argue that this is a horribly unhealthy display of dissociation and
escapism. They might be right, but mostly likely they’re full of it. I should mention that Rein isn’t some “voice in my head”, nor do I switch between personalities uncontrollably. I’m not mentally unstable, I’m an artist with a strong imagination.
I plan to update this blog twice a week with articles you might actually enjoy reading. Mondays will be dedicated to information about my modeling escapades, and my thoughts on modeling in general, while Wednesdays will be entirely dedicated to my life and role and in the visual arts. Pretty exciting, right? I know, this is going to be fantastic.
Until we meet again,
Rein
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)