Log Seven- Task 3a and 3b

Task 3a
The current networks that I use are obviously Facebook and Twitter. Twitter I have actually started using more frequently and have attached to my Facebook so every time I Tweet it goes directly to my Facebook profile. This is an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage is it saves me time from making two posts, the disadvantage is you can only type a certain amount of words. If it is a long post you can only post it on Facebook and simplify on Twitter and simply hope your followers will see on your Facebook the full post. I try to expand my networking on Twitter by posting constant Tweets to my Facebook for  people to see and then follow. As for Facebook I add people who are photographers, designers, makeup artists, etc who have a certain number of mutual friends as me and/or have worked with my friends who are also models. I've also made a Facebook fan page with my modeling work to reach out to people who aren't on my friends list. Here I can reach others by posting questions related to modeling. Lately I posted a question regarding the newly formed workers' union created by models in New York to help better working conditions for models, never seen before anywhere in the world. I asked people if Toronto should follow New York's example. You can see here http://www.facebook.com/Victoria.Ellingham. I try to update it as much as I can so I don't lose "likes" and fans.
Another form of networking I use is Model Mayhem. This is a website made up of photographers, models, makeup artists, designers, stylists, magazines and anything related to the fashion industry, where castings, advice and many other things can be posted up. I regularly use this site to find my jobs and showcase my work. I've used this site since I started modeling. You can find my profile here http://www.modelmayhem.com/158202. I'm looking to push my profile a little bit further by changing my profile from basic (free profile) to VIP (a monthly fee) which will help get my profile noticed by more people, once I get a better income. With a VIP status my profile will show up amongst the "Model Mayhem VIP Stars" on the main page. I've also begun adding designers and photographers from outside of Canada to my friends list to broaden my networking.
I am still slowly finding new ways to broaden my networking. I may even start another blog separated from the BAPP course directed to people who read my tweets and Facebook posts. So far things are going really well with Twitter and Model Mayhem the most.

Task 3b
Co-Operation:~
In the fashion industry everything is based on image and sometimes people's view of beauty differs with each person. On top of working with various people with various different points of view on image, they have different views on how a shoot or show is run. A lot of times ideas and people clash and being the model you must adapt to be able to co-operate with everyone's vision and/or point of view. As the model you need to learn how to work around difficult situations and everyone's time schedules. You need to evolve and adapt around everyone but still be able to voice your opinion or give an input in particular situations.

Affiliation:~
Affiliation is extremely important in my line of work. As I have said before in previous blogs, I am not "standard" size for a model. My hips are an inch larger than the standard and even though I am 5'8 which is the minimum size for a model, agencies and designers are constantly looking for 5'10 and taller. I have gained a lot of my most prominent jobs purely from affiliation which I maintained through co-operation in previous jobs. The people I co-operated with in previous jobs remember me and they either rehire me for bigger shoots/shows and/or recommend me to others. Even working and socialising with other models have helped me with gaining jobs due to models needing replacements for themselves or recommending me to photographers they work with. Sometimes in these situations I feel it is actually necessary to bring your social life and work life together as long as you know where to draw the line, for example, not being drunk at certain socials or starting more than friendly relationships with coworkers. It is very important though in the modeling industry to attend social gatherings like after parties for certain fashion shows as long as you can compose yourself. This is where you can gain or lose contacts. I feel this is also somewhat attached to...


Social Constructionism:~ 
Talking and socialising with other models in the industry help me learn from my mistakes, understand that others go through the same as me and have had similar experiences in shoots or shows, I learn who is the right people to work with, what to expect and how these models are successful at what they do or why they gain certain jobs.
Sometimes though everything ultimately comes down to your image. Face or body. It is sometimes hard to except and move on but I find talking to other models really helps, I can put a perspective on things and not dwell. In this industry it can be very damaging to the self esteem but ultimately I find I can come out of it a stronger person. I'm still here and doing it aren't I?! :)

Log Six- Delayed Post of Task 2d Inquiry Task

 What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic? I find that in my daily practices in the modelings industry which makes me really enthusiastic to find out more about this aspect of my life is the uncertainty of getting jobs. This is such a cut throat industry and sometimes you never know why you initially did not end up getting a certain job. The competitiveness and constant search for perfection is what drives me to find out more on how to succeed in this world in a healthy way. I want to delve into the business side of the modeling industry and almost break the rules, change how people really perceive beauty and almost prove something. One person who has been brought to my attention is Ben Barry. Ben Barry is a graduate of Cambridge University from Judge Business School with a Masters in Innovation and Strategy. He owns his own modeling agency here in Toronto with "unconventional" models. Every size, age, ethnicity, etc and is changing the way Toronto sees fashion models. Several of his models (some being 60 years old and over) walked in several shows at the last Toronto Fashion Week. It is so hard to break into the fashion world especially in this city as model but Ben Berry seems to have the upper hand. I would love to learn more about how he has achieved the success he has so far gained. He is a real inspiration to not just models but women every where.  http://benbarry.com/

What gets you angry or makes you sad?  Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found away to work around the sadness or anger? What makes me angry and/or sad is also again the uncertainty. Like I said before, sometimes you never know why certain photographers or designers won't ever work with you or why you didn't get a certain call back. You aren't given feedback so readily in the business. It's not the rejection that hurts, it's the lack of information which makes it so frustrating, can play on your self esteem and make you draw your own conclusions. One model from Canada, Jessica Stam, said something that really brought light to this situation and I always try to think about whenever I am upset. She said,  "With modelling, you are judged on your looks. It’s easy to take that personally, but you have to realise that it’s only your appearance that’s being judged, not you as a whole. If you didn’t, you’d be destroyed." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Stam

What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what you love? What I love about the modeling is several things. A lot of people see this as just a way of getting quick and easy money by looking pretty in front of a camera. It is not! Especially the fashion side, it is hardly lucrative. You really have to love this and I do, to me it is another way of expressing art and raw emotion. When I am in front of that camera I take on a completely different form and personality. I realise emotions I never felt before or couldn't express for the audience to admire and make their own interpretations. Here's an example from my spread in http://votivemag.com/.

A great example of this is an old high school classmate of mine, Kelleth Cuthbert, who also models and I have been watching her career inventively.  She is very successful and every time she shoots her personality is completely different from what she is really like in person and she seems to do it so effortlessly. She really inspires me with her modeling. Here's an example.

 What do you feel you don’t understand?  Who do you admire who does seem to 

understand it or who has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or 

beautiful, or has asked the same questions as you? What I don't understand is again why I don't get certain jobs or castings, what really is "beauty" and why people refuse to give feedback. I haven't come across anyone in particular that I admire who has asked the same question. Nearly every model I have encountered has asked this. It's just unfortunately one of those aspects of this business you need to deal with, move on and keep going till the next job and/or casting. Sometimes you can't learn from your mistakes because no one will tell you what they are or there were none, they just had their own issues.

Log Five- Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Hello!
It has been terribly long since I have made another blog entry. After writing the research paper I was overwhelmed with castings, shoots and other items that don't involve my modeling. I have signed up with the University of Toronto's Continuing Education program for French. I had already passed levels I, II and III, once I receive this last course I will be given a certificate in languages. I originally started the French lessons not only because I love the language but it also helps you gain better jobs and gives you a higher net worth, especially here in Canada where French is a second language. I've also been studying to become a fitness instructor so I can have a back up job and more income. I would also love to be able to incorporate my dance training from Cambridge Performing Arts College into my fitness.
I have also recently decided to bite the bullet and sign with a modeling agency. I ultimately chose Icon Model Management in Toronto http://www.iconmodels.ca/. They are an up and coming agency here in Toronto who specialize in fashion and commercial modeling. I would really like to do Toronto Fashion Week especailly since a fashion model retires so early in life and I only have so much time left. Being signed with Icon can ultimately help me get a casting for one or more of the shows hopefully. Also with Icon's help I hope I can break more into the commercial side of modeling.
I have also recently appeared in Votive Magazine http://votivemag.com/. Shot by Stephen M. Loban and makeup by Kyla Jackson who I've worked with both on countless occassions. The magazine is a San Francisco fashion magazine so we were all very excited to be picked up by them. Here's a little sneak peek of the photos and accompanying article.

My ad campaign for PSB Speakers has also begun to spring up which is pretty exciting. Everyone in the UK has to let me know when they spot it! It's my very first ad campaign, I hope to get plenty more in the future. I don't have the tear sheet yet but I thought I'd show with this picture I took from my phone.

I have also begun reading into Course Reader 4. Currently I am reading into the "Identifying Knowledge and Skills in the Workplace" section. Going back though to the section before on "Links to Work Based Learning" the question is asked, "Are there any ideas from work based or organisational knowledge theories of learning that could be used to understand your own professional inquiry?" I have actually unconsciously been using professional inquiry since I first began my adventures into the modeling industry. Usually people in this industry don't see the use of work based or organisational knowledge based theories as a means of helping them in castings or being picked for certain types of jobs. If you aren't casted you put it down to things you cannot or find hard to change like not the right height, weight, size, hair colour, etc. But I have found using certain theories has helped me achieve the jobs that would have been impossible for me to gain. One essential tool is obviously Web 2.0 with the social networking like Facebook and Twitter. Another theory which has been brought to my attention is the "Single Loop and Double Loop" learning. One way I have used this I find in the past was observations at castings. I watch what the girls who were casted wore, how they walked, how they presented themselves at the castings and followed suit for the following opportunities. Here I used single loop learning where I have gone through the "error-and-correction process" (http://www.infed.org/thinkers/argyris.htm). I don't recall using double loop learning, especially in a situation where simply what I wear or how I act at a casting is not enough. I'm not sure how I would use it when "error is detected and corrected in ways that involve the modification of an organization’s underlying norms, policies and objectives" (http://www.infed.org/thinkers/argyris.htm). Maybe if I knew the designer or photographer preferred to use brunettes I would change the colour of my hair. Sometimes in my industry it is impossible to apply certain theories and it really comes down to your height, weight, measurements, etc. I've been changing measurements to suit that standard for fashion lately so I can better my chance of getting a show in Fashion Week. What I don't understand though, would that be considered single loop learning or double loop learning? I'm still reading into Argyris and Schon so hopefully I'll soon have a better understanding.
I will now leave you with some of my latest work and keep you posted on more jobs a little more frequently. Hope everyone had a lovely holiday!