SUNFLOWER was inspired by a trip to the floral district. Julia Johnson saw the giant crates that ship sunflowers internationally and she was struck by their structure and volume. The clash of this exquisite organic material in the context of these big abstract shapes. SUNFLOWER became our collaboration to explore this. Using the incredible, structured ceramic art of Morgan Peck as an additional element , we set out to show fashion, beauty, and art in a bright expression of these incredible flowers.

Photography: Julia Johnson

Model: Deja Monet

Set Design: Dane Johnson

Stylist: Michel Tomaszewski

Makeup: Diane DaSilva

Hair: Chatwaka Jackson

CREATIVE DIRECTION

Concepted, built the team, and cast for this editorial magazine pitch. Identifying a trend toward more androgynous looks in women's wear, I wanted to explore all the parts of this in beauty, fashion, and accessories. Boy was shot in one day at Edge Studios in Los Angeles.

Photography: Jonathan Bar

Styling: Heather Rest

Hair and makeup: Amy Chin

Models: Essence Taylor at Q Models and Olivia Palermo at Next Models

Savannah College of Art & Design / 2021

CREATIVE DIRECTION

Conceived, written, and directed by Andrew Ondrecjak, THE ACTRESS is a film made in collaboration with Isabel Sandoval as a commission for SCAD. In search of her unique voice, an aspiring actress infiltrates history, traversing time, space, and gender as she shape shifts through Hollywood’s most iconic roles.

The task of transporting a single person into these very specific and known characters and spaces required managing a team of highly specialized artists. Shot in digital and film, I facilitated the synchronicity of hair, makeup, costume, and set art direction in pre-production concepting, design collaboration, and on-set management and trouble shooting.

THE ACTRESS is showing exclusively on Mubi starting June 8. 2022 in a series called “Brief Encounters”. Click HERE to watch.

CREATIVE LAUNCH LEAD

Jonny Cota won the premier season of Amazon’s “Making The Cut” which gave him the opportunity to launch his namesake line JONNY COTA STUDIO on the Amazon platform. Amazon’s interest was to create more space for luxury brands and we conceived and executed a more elevated site to entice the current customer and attract a new population to shop the platform. Together we created the look and feel of the launch which was shot on Mount Batur, an active volcano in Bali, Indonesia.

The Jonny Cota brand is almost exclusively created in Bali and we wanted to incorporate the place and feel into all assets while creating relevant looks for the international market. I lead direction on vibe, casting, hair, makeup, styling, on set, edit, and ideation on all assets from the brand images to the eComm visual language. The concept flowed through to the launch of its namesake store in which I contributed merchandizing and display styling and concept.

For more on Jonny Cota Studio click HERE

Beauty has a unique set of challenges to capture. As an ongoing project, I have worked with Ross Martin and numerous hair and makeup artists to find the essence of these subjects. As a long established studio hair and makeup artist, I enjoy the detail-oriented nature of beauty photography and the abstract language of its storytelling. I am forever moved by how beauty reveals itself in expression and light in two dimensions.

ART DIRECTION

A strong portrait gets to the heart of something personal about its subject. They may boldly express an Identity we know, or they may invite us to learn something unexpected. In collaboration with Ross Martin, I have been exploring storytelling in hair, makeup, and styling with interesting people. We set about to create iconic images in a variety of styles. I lead art direction in casting, concept, on set, edit, retouching, and layout.

Art Monsters express themselves fearlessly. They wear white while painting. They mix comfort with creativity. Less concerned with fitting in, they paint themselves into a world that could be. Fearless dressing leads to fearless choices in life. ART MONSTER was shot by Meredith Bruner for Lemon Magazine with sets by Amy Taylor and grooming by Danielle Piersons. The clothing was created and styled by me.

ART DIRECTION

The HI FASHION COSTUME ARCHIVE #1 was conceived as a book proposal to document the rich history of costumes employed in the performance aesthetic of the Los Angeles-based band HI FASHION. Shot over 2 days by photographer Andrew Johnston, we produced 40 exciting images that spoke to the commitment to dance, performance, and inclusion that is the hallmark of the Hi Fashion experience.

ART DIRECTION

The greatest strength lies in vulnerability. Flowers symbolize this truth in the most powerful way. Explosive and temporal, the delicate nature of flowers touch our core. Do you remember the first flowers you ever received? The first flowers you gave? Connecting the past to the present, they change the energy of every room. Each bloom reminds us that what we do and see in this moment must be embraced as fully as we understand that it will not last.

Photography: Ross Martin

Makeup: Helen Phillips

Models: Bryce Anderson, Kuoth Wiel, and Bryce Belyeu

Cover Graphic Design: JT Russo

CREATIVE CONSULTANT

For over 10 years, I have worked on omni-channel asset development from campaigns to eComm. From producing all aspects of photo shoots to art directing their 10 year anniversary presentation there is no wing of the business I did not touch in some way. I have designed women’s wear, co styled the fashion shows at Mercedes-Benz fashion week in New York City, collaborated with corporate hair and makeup teams, co-created presentations in unconventional spaces, merchandized selling floors, and added my touch to the over all aesthetic of this heritage staple of the Los Angeles Downtown fashion scene.

ART DIRECTION/DESIGN

An Ocean Voyage is a line of clothing dedicated to the artful traveler. The adventurer who is as comfortable at the Boutique Hotel in the city of the moment as they are in a hammock in the rain forest. The explorer who is more interested in returning with stories than souvenirs. Part comfortable travel gear, part adaptable resort wear, the label speaks to the new design-conscious, southern California lifestyle consumer. I created this prototype featuring unisex, oversized designs and launched them as a capsule in the Cota Store at the The Row in Downtown Los Angeles.

Design, production, art direction, and promotion were executed to test concept. Inventory was sold out within 2 months. By creating social media assets and exploring the world of this target consumer, I have been imagining how to present this concept on a larger scale.

LEAD ART DIRECTOR

HI FASHION is the multi-channel art project I created with Jen DeMartino. Conceived as an electronic pop duo, HI FASHION incorporated music, costume, dance, choreography, video, direction, experience design, and organization of collaborators to create events geared toward the queer community. The effort led to international headlining shows at national and international Gay Pride Celebrations. With a current total views on You-tube of over 2 million, the reach and appeal of the aesthetic was international and continues to grow.

As Lead Art Director , I was responsible for ideation, design, direction, production, and event organization. With an aesthetic that included collaborators on and off stage, I lead teams to execute large scale events with multiple partners. In the process I directed 3 of the most successful videos including “Amazing” which lead to collaborations with RuPaul’s Drag Race, Bloomingdales, Perez Hilton, and various film and television placements and charity organizations.

For more on HI FASHION click HERE

CREATIVE CONSULTANT

With the launch of the Jonny Cota brand, there was the interesting challenge to create an editorial, elevated world for the namesake brand that differentiated from the more accessible Studio line while incorporating the best performing product from his heritage brand SKINGRAFT into the platform. By creating a new platform that assumed the former brand into the styling, concept, and marketplace, we hope to bring the heritage customers into the conversation and show the devoted Skingraft customer how the consistently top selling items integrate with the new collection while introducing them to the newer aesthetics.

For more on Jonny Cota click HERE