| arts Thursday, November 24, 2005
Shifting from gritty to irresistible By Judy Wakefield Just hours after touching up a cast of unsavory characters in a movie being filmed in the outskirts of Andover, Poonam Ray was behind the scenes at a local wedding expo making sure the models wearing the gowns she designed looked just so. She was exhausted, yes. But the chance to help people look gritty, then help models look glamorous was irresistible for this makeup artist. She couldn't wait to try shifting those gears. "I like a challenge," she said. "Going from making everyone look bad to making sure models at a bridal show looked beautiful was a good experience." Since late October she has been handling the makeup for the cast of Second Wind. The movie was inspired by Mike Warshawsky, founder of Andover's Commission on Disabilities. Wheelchair-bound due to a diving accident, he was a 10-year member of the commission. He died unexpectedly last year on Nov. 12. His friend, movie director Daryl Silva, who grew up in Methuen, was inspired to make a movie centering around a wheelchair-bound lead actor. The movie was filmed in Haverhill, Salisbury and Methuen during the past few weeks and Ray was on the set many times for 12 to 14 hours. Second Wind is focused on a character in a wheelchair. Silva did not return a telephone call from the Townsman, but Ray said the wheelchair is apparently where the similarity to Warshawsky ends. "He (Silva) has made it clear, he was inspired by Warshawsky. This is not a movie about him," Ray said. Second City has a gritty feel to it, as fist fights are common and hospital scenes follow. Ray does the makeup for all those blood-trickling-from-the-mouth scenes. "There were lots of challenges in the movie for me. There is a dead mother who talked to her son and there are many facial injuries," Ray said. "I had to make everyone look bad and there are 40 characters. Every day was a surprise." That was a far cry from where she spent most of Sunday, Nov. 13. She was at a bridal show staged at the Andover Wyndham Hotel where she helped models get ready for the runway, and they were wearing the spectacular Indian wedding gowns she designed. It's a way to stay well-connected to her homeland as about-to-be brides are eager to show their Indian heritage. Simple and white is out of the question, as Indian brides prefer ornate dresses with lots of gold beading along with lots of jewelry and makeup. The brides wear red as it's the color of prosperity and is said to bring good luck to couples. Ray, who is married and the mother of two children, ages 9 and 15, meets with brides then works with seamstresses in India to make the gowns. Ray often decorates their arms and feet, too, using the ancient Indian art of mendhi, commonly known as henna. It looks like tattoos, but lasts only a couple of weeks. Brides choose how dark they want their henna and they choose designs. It takes Ray about four hours to design each person's body art. "It's an Indian custom and the girls love the beauty of it," Ray said. Licensed in cosmetology and skin care, Ray also serves clients at Health Time Therapeutic Massage & Medi Spa in North Reading where she is known for her "threading" technique. It's more commonly called eyebrow shaping. She goes by the name "Sondarya" and clients pay $15 to have their eyebrows shaped with thread instead of tweezers. Threading is said to be less painful than tweezers. "For me, keeping busy with all of this is important," she said. "Yes, I go from glamorous work to making people look scary. I like that challenge." |