Mickayla Pence

About Mickayla Pence

Mick’s Media Jewelry was founded in 2020 when I discovered the art of making mixed media jewelry and wearable art using a varying combination of precious metals, gemstones, butterfly wings, magazine/photo clippings, feathers, and real pressed flowers – many of which I collect while foraging in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. I then suspend the collage elements in an environmentally safe eco-resin. Each piece I create is one-of-a-kind and truly unique. The passion I have to express myself through my artwork and adornments, fuels me to create statement making pieces of jewelry. My interest in metalsmithing and jewelry-making came about during a prolonged period of unemployment when my career as a makeup artist in the film industry swiftly shut down during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. What began as a hobby to ease my anxiety during uncertain times, quickly evolved into a blossoming new career as more and more people reached out to purchase my jewelry. I love every part of the process and try to learn something new about this craft everyday!

Biography

My journey as an artist has in no way been linear, but my drive to create art has been ever persistent. After earning my B.F.A. from Marshall University in 2011, I left West Virginia to live and work in the bustling grind of New York City as a freelance graphic designer and later as a professional makeup artist for film and television. After some time working as a designer, I began to crave the stimulation of creating meaningful art with my hands rather than a computer. I seamlessly transitioned into makeup artistry after a spontaneous opportunity arose for me to work as a background actor on Warner Bros, “Run All Night,” starring Liam Nissan. This life changing moment aligned for me to meet the head makeup artist on set who inspired me to pursue this new career path head on. I quickly enrolled in the Make Up For Ever Academy NY and my life as an artist truly began to flourish. Over the past 8 years working as a makeup artist, I have had the extraordinary opportunity to travel the world, work with A-list celebrities, and on fortune 500 commercial shoots.

After establishing myself as an artist in NYC, I made the decision to relocate back to West Virginia in 2017 with a Rolodex of promising clients and referrals who frequently called upon me to travel anywhere the work was – this included countless West Virginia productions. However, the Covid-19 pandemic put an unmerciful halt to my momentum as all upcoming movies, television shows, and commercials I was scheduled to work on in 2020 were cancelled. The entire film industry shut down for nearly a year and the new Covid regulations on set made me reassess the sustainability and safety risks involved in human to human contact in this age of uncertainty. During this time, I found myself in a state of contradiction — worried about the trajectory of my livelihood while also feeling at peace with being able to finally slow down and smell the flowers. Instead of hopelessly twiddling my thumbs, I began to bend wire with them. This shift back to my roots and the breathtaking wonders of the Appalachian Mountains provided the inspiration I needed to transition my hobby of jewelry-making into a blossoming career.

As an artist, I am both humbled and entranced by the beauty of our natural world. The symmetry, colors, and textures found in nature are truly remarkable, and my goal is to encapsulate this unique beauty within pieces of wearable art. Half the fun of making this type of jewelry is immersing oneself in the woods, foraging for flowers, feathers, butterflies, and other found objects. You never know what treasures you may find! As I venture further into jewelry-making, I unlock a deeper sense of self as an artist and see limitless possibilities for creative expression and adornment. My evolution as a visionary and creator over the years has expanded without bound to be the catalyst in my journey to self discovery. With every piece of art I make, I broaden my horizon a little more with an everlasting enthusiasm to be a master of my craft.