Life & Work with Celestea Tissaw, and Kimberly Stringer of Flagstaff/Harriman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Celestea Tissaw, and Kimberly Stringer.

Hi Celestea Tissaw and Kimberly Stringer; please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Tea: I had the opportunity to pursue theatre throughout my childhood in school, which influenced my interest in cosplay. Some of my inspiration stemmed from my strong passion for Jekyll and Hyde / Phantom Opera: Sweeney Todd, Frankenstein, Dracula, the Joker, and a fascination with the strange and unusual. Being a theatre kid entails being quite skilled with makeup. I was also highly influenced by my father, who did gore/zombie/wounds and special effects makeup.

Other people who have inspired me are Tophatcosplay, Jhonny Deep, David Bowie, Elton John, Gorillaz, and Walt Disney. 2019 I tried starting a cosplay group, hoping to inspire and express myself with others who share my passion, but that didn’t work out the way I had hoped, leaving me to explore cosplay by myself. In 2020 I started a TikTok with my best friend, which inspired me to start practicing special effect makeup and exploring the world of cosplay more deeply. I kept pushing my boundaries with my makeup and creativity and going beyond what I thought I could do. I wanted to challenge myself to keep improving and thinking out of the box when expressing myself. Now in 2023, I’m working on more significant projects with my best friend, and we are starting to develop content for platforms such as YouTube.

Kim: I started and wanted to cosplay when I first saw the musical play The Wizard of Oz. I was also inspired by a cosplayer named The Alchemic Fox. I have always loved Halloween and dressing up for no reason. So, when it became accepted to do year-round, I was naturally interested in it. When I got older, I decided to try cosplay, and I enjoyed my first cosplay in 2022. At that time, I was just okay at doing makeup. Now in 2023 today I’ve gotten better at doing makeup! I’m doing more cosplays and bigger ones and doing my photoshoots for cosplays. I also enjoy making cosplay music videos with my best friend. We are also working on ideas for a cosplay series to do for YouTube. My willingness to never give up and my creativity has helped improve me in all these things.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s the same for both of us Trying to make the fake bread look great so that Gorillaz’s leader Murdoc looks great too, or trying to stay in character while doing TikToks and videos without breaking character. Then trying to get a wig to stay on our head, or when we have a funny audio or a flirty one, we both get nervous or flustered.

Tea: But the biggest challenge is when makeup/ latex or ring light doesn’t want to cooperate; that’s the biggest pain in the butt.

Kim: My biggest pain is struggling to keep a hat on for cosplay and struggling to think of a good POV.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What sets us apart is Kim and me; we are internet best friends who have a deep special bond despite living in different places, Arizona and Tennnse.

Tea: I’m known for and specialize in makeup effects like fake scars and fake wounds, as well as bringing characters to life. I’m most proud of inspiring and connecting with younger audiences, even older people. Kim is known for doing realistic beards for male characters with face paint. And I am turning anything they have already into cool-looking outfits. I’m most proud of how well I can do beard.

We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success for both of us is accomplishing and achieving personal goals, whatever they may be, or tasks that are big or small that challenge you to think outside of the box sometimes, or in the end, you can be proud of yourself that you accomplish something.

Contact Info:

• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Glow_Monkey_Inc-production-
  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnHxTvuwMQ4xUakKh4SsD_Q
  https://www.youtube.com/@Queen-of-the-Jungle
  https://www.youtube.com/@Blue_MoonStone
  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP7ha_yDZ3jnOsXsfWQJmSQ
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@glow_monkey_inc_cosplay?lang=en main channels

Image Credits
Farragh Diffie / Kelly Diffie