03/01/2026
Happy Women’s History Month!!!
Woman. Daughter. Sister. Artist. Friend. Wife. Sculptor. Painter. Model Maker for Industrial Magic and Light.
Meet Our Next Feature: Randy
I was awake late one night cruising the interwebs, and I came across a profile with the user name “New American Art.” I clicked on her profile and discovered there was a local woman in Ocean Gate who created beautiful art in the form of relics. I was fascinated. The art itself was unusual in a way, something beautiful and intricate, but very different. I knew immediately I wanted to reach out to this woman and interview her for my Women’s History Month feature. Boy, was I in for a treat. It turned out her name was Randy, a fourth generation Gator. Her family had owned an original home in Ocean Gate for over 100 years. I couldn’t have been more excited. Before I was a photographer, I was a history teacher. I love learning about the stories of the times before, especially in New Jersey, and especially where I live. This seemed like a dream so I reached out and messaged her on a whim. She sent me her website when she responded so that I could learn more about her, so I clicked on the about section and up popped a photograph of a sleek young woman working on the Death Star. The Death Star from Star Wars. As fate would have it, I unknowingly had stumbled upon the chance of a lifetime. Randy was employed at George Lucas’s Industrial Light and Magic for over 25 years as a traditional model maker. She worked hands on for movies like E.T., Poltergeist, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and on and on. She was the first woman to work in this section of the film industry, and created the magic for cult staples that we all grew up watching. I could not believe my eyes, or my luck.
Read more at the link!
https://oceangategalphotography.mypixieset.com/blog/randys-feature/