A professional hair and makeup artist was recently lauded by a California film festival. The award is just one of many fulfilling aspects of a career Krischelle Blackwell has pursued for decades.
Blackwell, of Los Angeles, received the Best Hair and Makeup award for the short film “Don’t Die Hard” from the Los Angeles Stars Film Festival. The annual international festival honors and showcases outstanding talent from around the world.
Working behind the scenes on movie sets, photoshoots and prepping clients for milestone events, such as red carpets and weddings, Blackwell has naturally become an ambassador for Chickasaws and all First Americans, carrying on a hallmark of her grandparents.
The idea to become a professional makeup artist was nurtured during her childhood in Ada, Oklahoma. “I grew up in hair and makeup,” Blackwell said. “My mom has been doing hair since before I was born so that really was my first introduction. She was in cosmetology school at Byng when she was pregnant with me. I have a photo of us on her graduation day with my dad.”
Traveling across the country on mother-daughter trips during the summer to cosmetology trade shows, Blackwell has a vivid memory of taking a makeup class alongside her mom, Kim Hisaw.
Blackwell, a Chickasaw citizen, was asked to be the model by instructor Sonia Kashuk. Kashuk is an iconic makeup artist who co-authored “Cindy Crawford’s Basic Face,” a book that brought the art of applying makeup to the masses.
It was that memorable childhood experience that launched Blackwell’s journey to a career as a professional makeup artist.
“I still have a photo of her, and I framed it. She did a smokey eye on me and she’s such an iconic makeup artist that everyone respects. That really made me want to get into makeup even though I was just 8 or 9 years old,” Blackwell said.
The mother-daughter trips to hair shows continued during her youth, with visits to New Orleans, San Antonio, Chicago and other cities. Her mother would always make sure a makeup class was included in the itinerary.
“She would take me to the classes, because I was so interested and of course we would do hair stuff, too, because that’s my mom’s profession,” Blackwell said.
Blackwell is an artist whose palette is the human face and hair, a talent she credits to her Chickasaw heritage. “I feel the same about my mom, with her drawing. She does hair, and she dabbles in makeup. She is still an artist, she just won’t say she’s a makeup artist.”
During her career, which spans about 20 years, Blackwell has lived and worked in Chicago, San Diego and currently Los Angeles. She also frequently travels for work, including trips to Oklahoma to work on Chickasaw Nation projects.
After graduating Ada High School in 2004, she attended East Central University for two years studying journalism before moving to Chicago where she was trained and certified as a professional makeup artist at MAC Cosmetics.
About seven years later, she moved back to Oklahoma, which provided an opportunity to work on film projects for the Chickasaw Nation. She worked in the makeup department on several Chickasaw Nation Productions films, including “Te Ata,” which was filmed in 2014.
“I worked on several sets and fashion shows in Chicago, but I like getting to come home. ‘Te Ata’ was my first feature film. I remember the department head of makeup. Her name was Sharon Simon. They had flown her in from LA, and she was so knowledgeable about the production world and set etiquette and makeup. I really learned a lot about makeup and the production world from her.”
Time spent on Chickasaw Nation film sets not only helped Blackwell boost her career, but it also enhanced her knowledge of her own Chickasaw culture.
Recently, she worked on a film project involving stickball and traditional Chickasaw warriors, and as she worked, she was immersed in the culture.
Recreating the hair and the tiny details of feathers while making sure everything was appropriate and accurate taught her the nuances of Chickasaw culture.
“I think 90% of (the cast) were Chickasaw, so it was really amazing to see how open everyone was to recreate the history and really committed to the role,” she said.
Working on the “Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher” set, she learned more about prosthetics, including scars and “Hollywood” sweat, dirt and blood. A turn-of-the-century period piece, “Te Ata” brought the challenge of braided updos and understated makeup.
“It’s been a journey,” she said. “It is so cool being on any Chickasaw set, whether it is with the elders, or a feature film because I get to learn so much. I thought that I was well-versed in the Chickasaw culture. Growing up we would get to do field trips (to visit) Chickasaw Nation Governor (Bill) Anoatubby. Now we have the Chickasaw Cultural Center, and it’s just really been incredible to see everything evolve.”
Blackwell said she receives her Chickasaw heritage from both of her parents, mom Kim Hisaw and dad Kevin Blackwell.
Her maternal grandparents are Chickasaw Delbert Hisaw (Papa) and Betty Hisaw. Her paternal grandparents are Chickasaw Juanita Blackwell (Nana) and Claude Blackwell.
Blackwell is carrying on the pride in her culture that she saw in her grandparents.
Hanging on her condominium wall is a pencil drawing of a First American warrior that her mother drew in 1984, before Blackwell was born.
“She drew it for my nana. My nana was very Chickasaw proud, she had a ‘Chickasaw proud’ bumper sticker on her van way back in the day.”
Blackwell has fond memories of riding to the Carl Albert Indian Health Facility with her nana. “I remember her taking me to the (Carl Albert) hospital. She would have her dream catchers hanging on the mirror and all kinds of beading in her blue minivan. She was so Chickasaw proud. The same with my papa Delbert.”
Included in her extended Chickasaw family is great-great-uncle Euel “Monk” Moore, a former major league pitcher and Chickasaw Hall of Fame member who was posthumously inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in May 1989.
“I remember his baseball card hanging on the wall at my nana’s house, which is my dad’s house, now.”
Blackwell can list at least three generations of Chickasaw citizens in her ancestry.
Her paternal great-great-great-grandmother married on the banks of Pennington Creek, near Tishomingo.
“Most of my family still live in Oklahoma and around Ada. Numerous family members have been or are currently employed by the Chickasaw Nation, on both my mom and dad’s side. It is so wonderful to see the job opportunities the Chickasaws have created for all of my family and the citizens. It is just incredible,” she said.
Blackwell shares her home with two dogs, an 18-year-old shih tzu named Stella and Pepper, a 15-year-old shih tzu and West Highland terrier mix, who is Stella’s daughter.
She continues to work as a freelance hair and makeup artist in California and has a client base that includes First Americans.
“I have so many clients in LA who happen to be Native. It’s so neat to get to talk about what tribe they’re from and the history.”
In many ways, Blackwell is carrying on the family tradition of Chickasaw pride and sharing the culture.
“I’ve got to make my ancestors proud. I tell everyone. Just like my nana and my papa Delbert and the rest of my family, we’re Chickasaw proud. It’s great to be a citizen and to be a part of how much the Chickasaw Nation is evolving,” she said.
“I love it, I really do.”
She keeps in touch with friends and colleagues she met while working on projects, including “Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher” makeup department head Judy Staats, who reached out to check on Blackwell’s family following an April tornado in Oklahoma. A “Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher” coffee mug has a permanent place in Blackwell’s home.
Blackwell travels home to Oklahoma several times a year to visit family and for routine appointments at the Chickasaw Nation Medical Center.
She said her favorite part of her job is getting to know people from all walks of life and hearing their stories, such as a bride and groom’s love story on their wedding day.
Follow Blackwell on social media for more information and updates, including Instagram: Krischelle_mua and Facebook: Krischelle Blackwell makeup artist.