We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jessyca Bluwal. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jessyca below.
Hi Jessyca, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
I just really love my work. I’m a Costume Designer and have been for 12 years. I was a late bloomer and didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to be a creative. I’ve had office jobs that sucked out my soul, but doing what I love really makes me happy. This is a career most people dream about and I get to do it, so I’m very optimistic.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My career is definitely artistic based, but it’s also a great way to strengthen observation. As a Costume Designer you don’t just look at the body and see what fits a person, you have to build a character. It’s not about fashion, or making someone look good all the time. Sometimes a character doesn’t open their mouths in the first few seconds, but you can tell by how they’re dressed if they’re rich, poor, quirky, or in danger. If they’e royal, or fantastical. I love the process of thinking like the character, talking to actors and directors about what they envision and seeing if our ideas match, or even better, what we can learn from each other. My ultimate goal is to give the director what they want, while also never taking away an actors process. More often then not the director sees something they didn’t think of before, or the actor realizes they character needs something specific. It’s a deep process, but it also helps me understand different kinds of people and opens up my horizons to new research and why we act the way we do.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Flexibility, communication, and positivity.
You’re always learning. You never stop learning, so flexibility is very important. Change is inevitable. Being able to think on your feet is crucial. Sometimes things break, rip, or get stained. Someone changes their mind at the last minute. You need to be able to adjust things in time.
Being able to communicate with the people around you is key. From costumes, to hair and makeup, all the way to PA’s. We’re all making the same movie, so it’s important that everyone is on the same page.
I know it sounds corny, but positivity and positive attitudes on set make working less stressful and more enjoyable. If you’re doing a film you could spend weeks with same people. You want to make sure the environment is a nice place to work. No one wants to work with someone who’ll have a bad attitude for weeks and weeks and weeks. As one of my directors said, “We’re making a movie, not curing cancer. If it isn’t fun, why do it?”
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
The key is to take time for yourself. Leave the room for 5 minutes, or don’t look at your phone. Go get lunch away from work, or home. I work a lot from home and I can be bombarded by emails, texts, and calls, while breaking down scripts and doing research, so turning off my computer and checking out is helpful. I love mini road trips. It’s ok to step away.
On set I tell my actors, if you need to step away it’s ok, just make sure you tell the 1st AD. This is a stressful business, but there is usually a lot of support on set. Oddly enough I love to sew and draw. It forces my brain to check out and focus on something else. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed at work, but knowing that all of us are going through the same thing can be a real comfort sometimes.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: Jessyca Ruth Bluwal
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5489492/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Image Credits
Studio.joris
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