Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Sulai Kaeser
Hi Angela Sulai, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
In sharing my story, I hope to inspire readers to see possibilities, to dream, to heal and to live life in their very own way. We don’t need to fit in and no matter what, right now, there is still life to live, there are still stories to write. If you stumble and fall, give yourself grace, be, feel, readjust and get back up.
I definitely didn’t think as a child that I one day I would make a living as an artist and healer.
Like many unfortunately growing up around domestic violence, addiction and racism caused a lot of trauma which later on lead to many health issues physical and mental.
During my teenage years I was surrounded by amazingly creative and talented artists but also lost souls. Drugs, Jail and Violence was not foreign. Knowing that was not my path, I went to Business School to get a ‘decent’ Corporate job and became a successful professional in that field for many years.
Unhappy and struggling with my health, I became a seeker, I moved away, traveled, worked, moved abroad, moved back worked more and so on. Along the way, I stumbled on and found my passion in Make-up Artistry and became a Freelancer, Teacher and a Mentor.
Fast forward I moved to NYC to follow my professional dream to grow as a Make-up Artist. And its been adventures from working with icons like Tina Turner, fashion weeks, the VMA’s or incredible travel experiences from India, Europe, within the US, Puerto Rico all the way to the South Pacific. And NYC in itself is fun and intense but it also pushes you to the edge. About 1-2 years in, everything felt like falling apart and I hit the ground.
Once you hit rock bottom, there is only one way out: UP!
It was the start of my own healing (physically, mentally and emotionally) and my spiritual journey. I studied obsessively for many years to first help myself and then it turned to ‘when the student is ready the teacher appears and when the teacher is ready the student appears”. So I started offering my Reiki healing which now also includes integrative Somatic Trauma therapy with a strong focus on women of color. As even in today’s time and age, we are still lacking safe spaces, where we can be seen, heard and understood. And as one of my favourite quote by Bell Hooks said ‘Rarely, if ever are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.’
For my own wellbeing I transitioned back to Los Angeles 6 years ago. Here I am today the student and teacher of life, enjoying and navigation the magic and pain of this journey called life! Working as Make-up Artist and Reiki and Somatic Healer, learned to surf in my 40ies and currently exploring ceramic artistry.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Freelancing and having your own business is no joke. No regular paychecks, no job security, you’re constantly being a ’new hire’ and have to proof yourself on every job and with every new client. Every late payment, cancellation or change of mind could put your livelihood on the line. The business side of being an Artist and Healer or any entrepreneur can burn you out and at times take the joy and love for your craft away.
In the those more challenging times, I revert back to my own healing tools from Reiki, to journaling, meditation, leaning on community and loved ones or go spend time in nature and with mother ocean. And that’s the freedom I wouldn’t want to trade, the freedom of time to be out here living life, the freedom of choice who and what I want to spend my time on and who I want to work with and be around.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a Make-up Artist, I work mostly in print advertising, known for super natural looks that enhance the beauty of a woman of any age. I bring calmness, Swiss reliability and try to sprinkle kindness everywhere. And I have clear understanding that it’s the team that makes the dream work. I love the collaboration of many different talented creatives going places and bring life into all kinds of projects.
As mentioned above, my focus with Reiki and Somatic healing is on women of color, cause racial trauma is real and needs to be acknowledged, if we want to create change. The absolute foundation of my work is creating a safe space for my clients. The work is extremely personal, intimate and vulnerable. Some may share things with me they have never said out loud, they might have never felt safe anywhere or anytime. What sets me apart from others is probably the understanding that being trauma informed is not enough and the smallest therapeutic (often based on mindset work only) and well meant approach can easily retraumatize a client. Focusing only on mindset is working with 1 out of 3 brains of the body, it’s incomplete. Being highly sensitive, aware, intuitive and observant and my own personal many traumatic experiences have helped me create these safe and transformative holistic healing experiences with my clients. I am a facilitator and supporter for my clients to guide them to their own healing power and not creating a capitalistic dependance on me, as that would be out of integrity (another core value of mine) with what I do.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I have a conflicting relationship with luck. On one hand I have a very strong opinion on how privilege creates opportunities others don’t have, is that luck? And on the other hand I feel very lucky, though it wasn’t easy, that I grew up in Switzerland. From the outside my life might look quite amazing, and to some degree it is and it’s also been hard. I partially believe you create your own reality and at the same time I believe it is limited to the tools you have and the environment and circumstances you’re in/were born into. For example, I love my skin color but definitely not the struggle that came with it. Then there is a whole rabbit hole we can go down in asking did we choose this life or not? Is it just good luck or bad luck? .
And looking at certain business and or life decisions, same thing was it luck (good or bad) or was it intentional guided from inner knowing or based on resources or lack thereof? Were the results good/bad luck or something else? Or is it just a perspective how you look at things? I don’t have a clear answer to that. So I don’t dwell on the question of luck too much but focus more on gratitude and growth.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.angelakaeser.com www.angelasulai.com
- Instagram: @angelasulaikaeser
Image Credits
Image 4 & 5 by Sally Montana
Image 6 & 7 by David Malana
