Published Tuesday, March 11, 2008 2:45 PM
Updated Tuesday, March 11, 2008 2:46 PM
Students Danielle Porter, Bridgette McCoil, Kathleen Lovell,
Destiny Flowers, Brianna Connelly, Brooklyn McCoil and Diana
Connelly (all seated) listen as Avis MacLellan gives pointers on
makeup application and color choice.
Sharon Gnau
Lexy Bailey learns to perfect her pose from Avis.
A model life
By
Sharon Gnau
Summerville Journal Scene
Avis MacLellan never forgot the principles her
grandmother, Ada Mae taught her during her upbringing. She raised Avis
and was the woman after whom Avis modeled her life.
“My grandmother was never sick – maybe once. I don’t think she was ever
in bed for more than a couple of hours. She was strong and just shook
things off. That was her way,” MacLellan says. “She was like that with
me. I was never allowed to feel sorry for myself. She always put things
in perspective for me. She had a huge impact on my life.”
From an early age, MacLellan loved fashion –– a trait that came from her
grandmother. She says the two poured over the new issue of Vogue
every month.
“She had such a sense of style. There was freshness in the way she
dressed and carried herself that seems to be gone today. She was chic,”
MacLellan says. “My grandmother believed that if you looked your best,
you’d feel your best. I grew up hearing that and I’ve never forgotten
it.”
When Avis graduated from high school, she didn’t have money for college
and went to New York instead to pursue a career in modeling. Despite
struggles to pay rent and feed herself when she first got there, she
managed to pull herself up and keep going. She got a part-time job
at a major department store and worked until she started getting called
for modeling jobs.
As time passed, she learned how to fight the nagging doubts about her
looks and whether she would measure up to other models vying for the
same assignments.
“I started keeping a list of the terrible things I heard models say to
each other and to me. They constantly size each other up and say
negative things to make you doubt yourself,” MacLellan says. “There were
times when I felt like leaving because I was sure I wouldn’t get the
job.”
But she did get jobs. She got to the point where she was
making more money than she ever thought possible.
She met and married her husband, a photographer and moved to the other
side of the camera to start a new career making other people look good.
When the family started to grow, the McLellans began to think about
building a life in a more family-friendly place. Today, she and her
family, which now includes two girls, call Summerville home.
After seeing the good and the bad of the modeling industry and the
negative effects of marketing on young girls, MacLellan realized she was
at a place in her life where she could make a difference in the lives of
girls.
She launched the Model’s Studio on West Richardson Avenue and set out to
teach girls to build their lives on solid principles. “Those are the
things that will carry them through their lives,” she says.
The programs offered at the studio include the expected modeling,
pageant skills, make-up, hair, health and beauty instruction.
MacLellan’s goals for her students reach far beyond that.
“My goal for these girls is to empower them and help them learn lifelong
skills. I want them to build confidence and self-esteem. Each one of my
students needs to know that they are beautiful, that they each have a
gift and that they need to stop competing with each other. They have to
find out what they’re good at and to pursue their dreams,” says
MacLellan. “Sure, this program is about learning to do your makeup and
carry yourself well, but that all goes into building confidence. I want
to push these girls to the next step.”
She says her program is not for parents. It’s for kids. She isn’t out to
sugarcoat the industry.
“I’m not trying to tell parents that this program is a golden pathway to
anything. It’s about teaching these young girls to celebrate who they
are and to use their strengths to their best advantage.”
On their first visit to the Model’s Studio, MacLellan talks one-on-one
with her new student to get an idea of what her goals are and what she
expects to gain from the program.
“If you’re okay with your weight, that’s great. Let’s focus on eating
healthy and developing healthy habits. Not everyone is born to be a
model,” she says. “The industry has been set. If I have a student who
has what the industry requires, I’ll train her and help her to go in
that direction if that’s her dream. But it’s really about so much more
than that. If they have other goals, I’ll help them to fine tune those
goals and build the confidence they’ll need to achieve.”
She is the first to admit that there is a very selfish and unflattering
side to the modeling school industry and fashion industry in general.
Many unscrupulous modeling schools charge obscene rates for training and
give girls the impression that they will turn everyone who walks through
the door into a top model. The industry is tough, unforgiving and not
for thin-skinned people with low self-esteem.
“I’ll never forget the women in my professional life who could have
helped me, but didn’t. I’ve made it a goal in life never to be one
of those women. I feel like young women think they need to work
against each other at every turn.
You see it in print and on T.V. It’s everywhere,” she says. “We have to
stop raising our girls to feel this way. Parents need to think about
what their girls are hearing and seeing. What they’re likely to mimic.”
Contact Sharon Gnau at 873-9424, ext 215 or
sgnau@journalscene.com
