Check Out Eris Eldritch’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eris Eldritch.

Hi Eris, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started doing beauty makeup on myself and for my friends at 12 years old; having been an artist since I was a child, I was able to work my skills up faster than one may expect. I very quickly started doing makeup for events like school dances, proms, quinceañeras, pageants, and even weddings. Throughout Jr. High and High School, I was the go-to makeup artist for many people around Houston, Texas and would wake up every day at 5AM to do a full face of glamorous makeup for school! But my end goal, however, was to become a professional Special Effects Makeup Artist after being inspired by the show Face Off. Combining my love for makeup and my love for the horror genre was a dream come true for me, as I grew up sneaking my dad’s horror movie DVDs to watch for myself and going through his collectibles to see what would look better in my room rather than his! Unfortunately, at the age of 16 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and hyper mobility, which greatly impacted my health and what I thought would be my future.

As my health declined, I became less motivated to do makeup, but my passion never diminished. After graduating high school, I told my parents I didn’t know what my goals were anymore as at that point my ability to walk had decreased significantly as my joints and muscles began to weaken, and I didn’t know how I could keep a job let alone the one I had aspirations of. I had previously told my mom in passing about Cinema Makeup School, a school in Los Angeles where you are trained in Special Effects Makeup by some of the best artists in the business with decades of experience. She asked me why I hadn’t considered attending this school to work towards my long time goal of being a professional makeup artist. I told her I didn’t know it was an option, as it was so expensive and my family didn’t have unlimited money. My mom reassured me that whatever money they DO have, they would work towards making my dream happen. My parents have always been supportive and generous people. And although we had been struggling for some years at that point, whatever they could make happen for their children, they would always make sacrifices for. They would do everything in their power to provide that for us so we have the opportunities they didn’t have when they grew up. The only thing in my way was my declining health, and I refused to let that take away more of my youth.

By this point, I had isolated myself and developed depression from the constant stress of being in pain daily and unable to function with even the simplest of tasks. I had previously been independent, so this change had ate away at how I viewed myself. Refusing to let this pattern continue, I was determined to work daily to gradually build my strength back, starting with forcing myself to take care of myself in ways that my parents would usually offer to help me with. Knowing that I had to increase my mobility to strengthen my body, I moved into a mobile home my parents had bought years prior, alone. I did this because I would be forced to cook for myself, clean up after myself, and most importantly take care of my dog who I had brought with me. I knew it was easy to neglect yourself, but neglecting another is a different story. No matter how much pain I was in, I would bring myself to take care of my pet. It started out as being able to walk to the porch, then after a short period of time I was able to walk to the driveway, then I eventually could walk down the surrounding roads, and so forth.

This self-discipline would eventually lead me to accomplish other tasks as well, such as gardening, which I used to do many years prior to my diagnosis. By the time I was 19 years old, in one year, I had rehabilitated my health to a point that I felt ready to take the next step in pursuing my goals. I had grown confident in my physical abilities to make the leap and move to Los Angeles and enroll into Cinema Makeup School, only possible because of the support and grace from my parents. Upon moving to Los Angeles, I have flourished in my artistic endeavors and will continue to do so despite the occasional setback in my health. I have been graduated from Cinema Makeup School for two and a half years as of today, and work professionally as a beauty and Special Effects Makeup Artist for films. I have worked as a freelance artist as well as in SFX shops. I now make replica props from iconic movies to sell on Etsy in my free time!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My health has been a major struggle, as previously mentioned. But more recent obstacles have been the COVID pandemic and the strikes in Hollywood. I was in school and newly graduated during the pandemic, which created a very unstable and unpredictable work schedule. As for the strikes, I have been working seasonal jobs to try to supplement income since my jobs on set have decreased.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Something that I pride myself on is my integrity and self-respect. I’ve walked away from many projects because of unethical business practices or toxic work environments, and I would do so again. I am a classic Texan and appreciate honesty in others. I value respect and consideration very highly, and think all people should be treated as people, no matter their status. I have had many experiences where this seemed to be a controversial opinion, but I didn’t stick around in those situations long enough to become desensitized to it.

What makes you happy?
Helping others. It’s my belief that you only are as good as what you do for others. It takes a village, and you never know what others are going through. Any one of us could be in someone else’s shoes if given the right circumstances or luck. Remaining humble is important because no one is invincible to misfortune. I’m also a big fan of talking. It costs $0 and can help someone tremendously. You don’t need to be rich to be there for other people; you just have to be strong. I have learned many lessons that I could only have learned through seeing the raw real vulnerability in others, no classroom could teach that.

Contact Info:

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