Handy Spotting

Found a whole lot of my left hand on an aisle for Hamilton Beach while out shopping with my mom!

Tear & Pull Aparts for Lean Cuisine

Today was one of those deliciously steamy moments you see, when the Hero food is being pulled apart to show off the yummy that lies inside.  The Hero food deserves its Hero moment and that is what today was about.  We were showing off a new product from Lean Cuisine and it was a team effort.  What you can’t see in the still from the playback camera is all the people huddled around the table.  One prop guy on steam, the other keeping the food at the right temperature to hand to me the moment playback yells ‘speed.’

My giant bug glasses!  These babies are handy to have as hand models are often staring right into very intense lights while manipulating the products.

All night shoots for The Cracker Barrel

Our super dooper glasses make us look like bug people!  We say we have to wear these glasses because of the intense lighting but really it is so you can’t tell we are sleeping while sitting up at 4am.  Jimmy Furino and I had a blast on our all night shoot in the middle of nowhere Florida.  We shot from 10pm to 5am!!

Lean Cuisine Spots are on the air!

There are 3 Lean Cuisine spots running right now featuring my handy work. The spot are all part of a ‘Book of Truth’ series that they are doing. Keep an eye out for Myth #14, #22 & #35! You can only see my hand at the beginning opening the book BUT that does not mean that I was being lazy for the 3 days of shooting last spring. I am working on all the food hero parts of the commercial. The ‘Hero’ of a commercial is the shot that shows the food in a state of perfection, the yummiest bite of whatever is being sold

You can see me showing off the cheese in the pizza pull and again in the fork lift. These quick little moments take a lot of amazing people to get right. We were working with some amazing food stylists to get the cheese so perfect.

Nutella Spot is on the air NOW :)

I was very excited to see my Nutella Swipe on tv the other night.  This spot was a lot of fun to shoot as it encouraged finger licking    I am doing the swipe in the shot, spreading the Nutella on the toast.  There was some time spent in the kitchen on set learning the precise pressure and tilt of the knife needed to get the perfect wave in the Nutella as it is smoothed over the bread.

$30 million diamond day

Ahhhhhh Yes! These are the shoots that people associate with hand models. Whenever someone finds out what I do for a living, the first thing they ask (after the George Costanza question) is do I do mostly jewelry ads. There are a lot of jewelry ads, yes, most definetly…. but more often than not, I’m working with food… So I do really enjoy these glittery days where there are men with guns making sure I don’t “RUN! RUN!!” (as my friend Melissa texted me to do when I told her I was wearing a 30 million dollar ring on my finger.)

This was one of those glittery days for Glass Magazine. There were four guys with guns on this set. I didn’t run away

Canon Power Shot Television Commercial

Check out the TV spot that I worked on with director Greg Ramsey.  We had a lot of fun spinning the camera around.  There was a lot of choreography involved for the hand modeling dance though most of it ended up on the editing room floor in post    Super fun day and you can catch me poking my finger in at the end.  I hear this spot is playing before the previews in a lot of movie theatres

May issue of Smart Money Magazine

Thinking about buying a home??  Ahhh!  One day, I look forward to turning the key in the door of my own home.  Till then I’ll turn keys for the magazines!  Check out this month’s issue of Smart Money Mag for a great article for first time buyers and check out my key turning hand model skills on page 71!

May issue of Paper Magazine

The May issue of Paper Mag is out NOW    Amazing nail creations by Naomi Yasuda!!!

Naomi’s nails are incredible, her attention to detail is amazing!! a subway sub on a nail!!!

Lookey the lil cheesburgers n fries!  Incredible!!

Always a cool day to be Naomi’s hand model.    I have a favorite memory of a shoot involving dangling chain mail from the nails and scratching a male models torso

Making new friends on set.

Wonderful skies and new friends at Monica Stevenson’s studio overlooking The Hudson River.

The Big Money reveals the Faces behind the Hands

Hand Models Revealed!!    Check out the story on the faces behind the hands that everyone has seen at The Big Money by Caitlin McDevitt.

Hand Model Song by Nate Shelkey

My friend Nate Shelkey wrote a song for me! giggle! Love it! He is a freakin’ awesome and hysterical guy and a great musician too. You probably saw him pantless during the Superbowl in the Dockers “I Wear No Pants” commercial… or dressed up as a giant mouse in commercials for D-Con mouse traps. Nate pretty much rocks all around and you can check him out online here!

Drum Roll Please… Here is the Hand Model Song by Nate Shelkey!

New Nikon Ad

Just got my hands on a Nikon ad from a shoot with photographer Forest Barber. I love how it turned out.

W Magazine Feature

W Magazine ran a feature on Hand Modeling in the January issue and I am excited to be included in the article

Newsweek Interview

Check out the story on hand modeling in the high tech world of gadgets!

http://www.newsweek.com/id/227011

Handy in The National Enquirer

Searching for a spooky sighting this Halloween? Perhaps the return of bat boy? Maybe an Elvis sighting in french toast? How about an alien abduction?
The 10/18 issue of The National Enquirer has it all INCLUDING the Terrifying Dismembered Hand of Ashen Ghoulington!!
......well okay, maybe it's not THAT spooky, but check out the article! It's full of handy tips from Ashly Covington & Ellen Sirot, so make sure you pick up a copy of The National Enquirer the next time you're in line buying that last minute bag of "Halloween candy"
Its a boooootiful article!

Ashly on the Radio

On Tuesday I got to talk with Deminsky & Doyle from WSCX 94.7 in Detroit about being a hand model. The guys were great and I had a fabulous time chatting with them.

I'd like to invite you to check out the spot online

CNN.com Interview

:)

CNN.com Interview

Hamilton Beach Girl :)

Check out Ashly Covington on Hamilton Beach's new homepage!
Ashly's hands can be seen on the product packaging for almost every thing that Hamilton Beach makes. Very fitting that most of her hand was cropped out for this shot starring her FACE!
So for everyone who asks 'when is more than just a hand gonna be seen?'

HERE YOU GO! :)

Facebook Fan Page

To ask question of top hand model, Ashly Covington, become a fan at http://www.new.facebook.com/handmodelusa
and post your question on the discussion board.

Ashly will be answering questions posted about being a hand model, becoming a hand model and everything related to skin and nail care!

Behind the process of an Ad

There are so many steps to each advertisement out there.. From the concept to the creation, by the time I get to the set, many months of research, development and testing have already gone on.

I was booked for day #2 of a shoot for Samsung. day #1 was the face gal. They shot with me for a few hours holding the camera up to my face with my hair slicked back and in a few different tops. After they got several shots the client liked they combined the face gals pic with mine and that got them to the shot they had visualized. :)

KitchenAid

Just found this ad from a shoot I did last fall for KitchenAid. :) The shoot was out in PA and I had a blast with everyone.

Shop Smart - March

My mom found the copy of my Shop Smart cover!
Thanks MOM for getting me this :)
Check it out, on stands NOW!

Tom Chambers Photography

I am very excited to share some pics by one of my favorite artist photographers, Tom Chambers. His work is compelling and intriguing. I can still remember the first image I ever saw from his collection, it was a little red haired girl with a greyish stripe across her eyes in a black & white dress with a dolls head on fire.. He showed it to me 10? years ago and the images has never left me. It is so hauntingly beautiful. So I had been wanting to work with him for years, yearning to make it to one of his canvases. & finally on a freezing cold day, he had me leap about barefoot in the street and stand on tip toe and cuddle carpets in my old prom dress.

Check out Tom's Work - Tom Chambers Photography
He currently has a show this weekend. He is participating in a 4-person exhibition at the Chase
Gallery in Boston (Newbury Street). http://www.chasegallery.com/
So if you are in Boston, go check him out.


& no! I did not touch any departed animals 4 this :)

Theme Magazine

Next time you find yourself in Barnes & Noble or any of the Universal Newsstands around nYc take a peek at issue #17 of Theme Magazine!!!! The shoot was a fabulously long day filled with awesome peeps, rockin' nail colors, cool jewelry, paint and more. It was a treat to work for this beautiful magazine.

Breville

Coffee, Lattes and Espresso – they have always had a warm, mystical lure for me. Watching my parents cradle their cups in the morning, peeking into cafes with people relaxing in overstuffed couches sipping foamy treats. And the smell!! That smell that makes me feel cozy and wonderful.

I should be a coffee fanatic with my all-nighters as a theatre major in college and my penchant for overnight drives home to surprise my mom and friends in VA. I want to love it. But I don't. I dislike that taste even more than Buckley's cough syrup (which will get rid of a cough but tastes like death.)

I've only had three sips of coffee ever. Once when I was a child and my dad gave me a sip, I gagged and can remember being so taken aback by a taste from something that looked and smelled so wonderful. I had the same reaction in college when I was given a taste by a friend at 4am when we were frantically trying to get all the finishing touches done on the stage – same reaction.. *ack* *ack* Nooooooooo, not for me.

And then again, most recently when I was working on a shoot for Breville. The shoot was non-stop esspressos – the smells were amazing. There was coffee everywhere and for 14 hours I basked in the scents. Towards my 13^th hour, I was called to do a shot where I would create a Snowman in the espresso. The Baristas started the design and I finished it up, which called for using a stick to make the buttonholes. To do this, I had to insert the stick into the foam to create the first button and then lick the stick clean for the next one (licking the stick was the fastest way to get it ready). It all smelled so wonderful that I knew I would just love it. I stuck that stick in and pulled it out leaving a perfect circle behind and stuck it in my mouth and *ack*! Same Reaction. I was again just so taken aback by my sheer dislike of something that I want to like. *Sigh* I finished the Snowman's buttons and got it in the first take, thus saving me having to have that 4th taste. I drank some hot chocolate and cleared my taste buds and decided that I would just live with loving the smell. Cuz that smell is delicious enough.

Check out the hand stylings of Bruce Hawkins, Guy Veryzer, Genia Morgan, Alejandro Garcia and me :) My starring moments come from making the snowman and the ring of hearts! Lots of cup holding that day.

the Holiday Spot

the Love Spot

the Art Spot

The Oracle of Bacon

Woo HOO! I am connected to Kevin Bacon by one person in the Oracle of Bacon.
:) This makes me smile because back in college at James Madison University we theatre folks got really into the 6 degrees of kevin bacon (as it was called back then) and there were always long streams of connections going - this person to that etc. Ahhh the days of the vax.
So today when I was sent the link to this site
http://oracleofbacon.org/cgi-bin/movielinks?game=0&firstname=Kevin+Bacon&secondname=Ashly+Covington&using=1&start_year=1850&end_year=2050&dir=0&use_genres=1&g0=on&g4=on&g8=on&g16=on&g20=on&g1=on&g5=on&g9=on&g13=on&g17=on&g21=on&g25=on&g2=on&g6=on&g10=on&g14=on&g22=on&g26=on&g3=on&g11=on&g15=on&g23=on&g27=on

I had to check it out!

Ladies Home Journal

Bookstores and coffee shops are havens for models and actors in NYC - nothing short of brilliant to find WARM places to kill time between go-sees and auditions. The other day I was killing time in a bookstore and found 2 handy spottings both in the same magazine!  

:) Check out the Dec. issue of Ladies Home Journal

high fashion handy

commercial print mommy hand (the little girl hand model was so adorable!)

Scotch Fur Fighter

3M has done it again! They knocked my socks off and have saved all the walls in this apartment with the Command Strips

I have pretty much everything in this apartment up with those wonderful devices, they work great for everything from hanging pictures to hanging hooks for heavy winter coats, plus they are a breeze to take down and move! Leaving NO HOLES behind. I loce them.. so I was very excited to lend a hand on another 3M Product - the Scotch Fur Fighter.


I'll admit, I had an ulterior motive when I went to set that day.... I wanted to know how these things worked! You see, when I moved up to NYC I had to leave my cat behind with my mom. When I finally got an apartment where I could have Sortia (my kitty) well, that was when I found out that my mom had catnapped her! She had fallen in love with her though she was heavily against all the cat hair that now covered her favorite chair. Duct tape was pretty much the only thing that worked and that was quite a project to make work.. time, effort & a lot of duct tape for a clean chair up until Sortia would leap back into HER chair.
So I was very excited to see if there was finally going to be a product out on the market that could help!

When it came time to demonstrate the product on shoot day, you could feel every person on set leaning in to get a closer look. Would it work? Would it clear a line on the fur covered sofa? Action was called and I did the sweep and could hear the excited gasps from all around - IT WORKED! There was a completely clean streak going down the center of the cushion. ALL the hair was up. I flipped the product over and there was all the hair, nice and neatly stuck to the pad. WOW. WOW. Everything was reset and we did it again and it worked again and again. I had no problems in picking up any fur that was in the path of the Fur Fighter.

Happy with the results





After the successful day, I was anxious to get down to VA to surprise my mom. Sadly I could not seem to get a photo of her favorite chair that showed how covered it was in cat hair. Her chair is brown and it would just not show the hair in any of the pics that I took. She has been complaining for YEARS about how she has lost her favorite chair to my cat. Every time she sits in it..she gets covered. So I called her into her room and pointed out her chair to which she gave a disgusted grunt and said 'cat hair, hrmph!' I then pulled out the FF and she raised one eyebrow (i wish i was talented enough to do that) and grunted and said 'yeah, nothing works, you can try.' She sighed, being very dramatic, and crossed her arms and stood waiting to be disappointed. I did one swipe and suddenly she perked up, she peered down and ran her finger across the chair where I had just swiped. She grabbed the FF out of my hands and looked at the bottom of it. She looked at her chair again. She looked at the FF again. Then in a very VERY quiet voice she said 'It's a miracle' and then she stood silently in awe. My mother NEVER stands silently in awe. So YEAH! Thank you 3M for giving me the opportunity to learn about the FF so I could impress my mother. You have made her a very happy woman. She called me the other day to tell me she was sitting in her chair in BLACK pants - That hasn't happened since she catnapped my baby 5 years ago.


My mom also found that my cat loves to be brushed the FF J giggle

Woman's World - Oct 6, 2008

Check out the Oct 6 issue of Woman's World magazine (on stands TODAY!) to see another handy happening and for a chance to win the jewels. :)


here is the close up :)

Part of the college experience....

I'm back in college.. well, in print anyways! I got a hysterical text message the other day from my roommate wondering if I was stalking her - apparently I was staring at her from her Majority Minority textbook in one of her classes. She snapped a pic and sent it to me and sure enough there I was on the page of her book.
HA! I had forgotten about these photos. Back when I first started modeling after college I had done a stock photo shoot and as it is with those types of shoots never knew if anything had happened with the photos. Well, they surfaced again in my roomies textbook. Giggle.


back in my blond days. :) I'm the gal with my hands crossed over my knees in the front row. My roommate said the blond hair threw her off for a moment though when she looked closely at the hands, she knew it was me. giggle.

Posied to make a splash

Ah yes, I've finally done it. One of the blue liquid shots :) For this shot we had to pour, dab and then wring the pad. I worked with another fantastic hand model, Kara (she and I sometimes get paired because our hands are similar in size and coloring.) Everything had to be done at exactly the same time, in the same way. She and I would kick butt at a mirroring exercise, giggle.

I had the "Hero" product (the Poise pad) and she was with the competitors brand. I had to compete with the camera for space (it started on my side) and do all the actions with my left hand. I'm a rightie though in this business, you've gotta be able to perform with either hand.

so yeah! kara and me rockin' the blue liquid.

Dawn

6/25/08 – TV – Dawn “Latin Lover” – Carmen – dbl scale  

was very nervous for this shoot as I walked in with a small cut on the back of my right hand (the normal money hand!)  got to set and was weighing my options, do I call Carmen?  Do I tell the AD?  Will I be able to cover it?  I peeked in the dressing room and found to my utter relief that there were 3 face girls AND 2 makeup artists.  2 very talent makeup artists.  I sneaked in and asked the blond, Michelle what she thought and she said ‘no worries, I can cover that!’  sweet relief.  The manicurist donna did my nails in 2 coats of sugar daddy and michelle covered my wound and birthmark and I was ready to rock.  Everyone on the set was amazing and turned out I had worked with quite a few of the crew guys on other stuff and they remembered me and were happy to work with me again.  

Shots – 

Set down bottle of dawn

Pick up bottle of generic and hand lotion

Same as above and add set down bottle of dawn

Hand caress  (after dunking my hands 5 times in the water with the dish soap – legal thing)

Pour dawn into the sink

The hand caress shot was oddly difficult to get!  I had to rub my hands around like I did for the Lysol shot though it was after dunking my hands repeatedly in the dawn soap..this soap is supposed to make hands look amazing after 5 uses.  I had to promise not to add lotion or any oils after dunking..  what made it hard to rub my hands together was the fact that they were sticky and it wasn’t a smooth rub.  I found that holding something cold helped to freeze away the tackiness.  Certain shots were difficult positions though everyone was uber nice in helping me find them and making sure I had ample rest time between shots.  

Director – CJ Waldman – 40’s, dark kinda curly kinda short hair, bout my height, pointier face

1^st AD – Rob Jackson – worked with on Colgate – little shorter than me, short light brown (kinda graying) hair, friendly, has an 8 year old daughter.  

DP – Deke Donelian – short, stocky, dark hair, darker skin, nice smile

Art PA – Joel Barkow – bout my height, chubby, curly (wavy) brown hair, nice smile, plays guitar

Makeup – Michelle Tang – short blond hair, thin, tall, athletic.  Turns out she was the makeup artist on the Gillette job that I did 3 years ago.  Really into sky diving been over 1700 times.  Going to Nepal to pick up her soon to be adopted daughter kaiya..  partners with,

Daedra Kaehler – other makeup artist.  Shorter than me, really athletic, totally fit, straight brown hair, brown eyes..the kinder one in the relationship.  The two of them are redoing a house upstate.  They have 2 dogs.  

Sonja Francis – lead – we did the snuggle spot together.  German, dark brown hair to shoulders, layers, really pretty, big smile.  

Kate Gersten – friend of lead – long curly blond hair (dyed) blue eyes.  Big smile, really outgoing.  Going to brazil if the strike happens.  

Elaine Goode – sorta Hispanic, short curly brown hair, really cute, brown eyes, told me about where to go for laser hair removal.

Lightning Bugs & a new Veramyst ad

The weather is perfect. Ideal, beautiful. I love NYC in the 70's. I love open windows. & I love getting surprised by a lightning bug flashing up right in front of my computer screen as the internet page loads and there is my hand in an advertisement on the side panal!
WEEE! I've been looking for this ad for awhile.

American Hero Shoot + go-see

 6/19/08 – Print – Gallery Shoot? – Gilla Roos, David - $200

photographer – Phil Marco – 50’s?, shorter than me, large build (not fat) mustache with grey in it, glasses, losing hair on top, slightly disheveled grayish dark hair (can tell it is graying)  really nice.  Gives hug and kiss on cheek at end.

Shoot was me holding a folded American flag in my lap with my hands on top, little girl (leah) held my hand for some shots, and layed her head on flag for some shots.  Widow of a soldier shot.  I kept her occupied during the shoot with chat about swimming and her favorite animals.  Phil thanked me for keeping her focused.  For a portfolio piece for Phil..gonna use it in a gallery show.  said he would give me a copy.  Also said he wanted to test with me in the future.  Shoot took from 10am-11:30am..actually from 10:30 on..  david roos gave me the wrong start time, phil didn’t expect me till 10:30.  good morning..

Then went on a go-see for verizon through fft (Charlie) wore jeans, green short sleeve – really quick- in and out..took two pics, kept two comps.  Super fast!

Tantillo's

 6/18/08 – TV - Colavita Olive Oil  - $750 – Direct

6/18/08 - "Tantillo's" through the Suite Spot - Olive Oil/balsamic tv spot

- through Adam at SuiteSpot.   Dionne Audaine sent me an email with the casting information.  I submitted myself and went on casting.  

Adam Drescher - - hip, 20's , tattoe on right arm (almost 2 disecting half moons)  , short very light brown hair, taller than me, slendar, scruffy, blue eyes, cute

Bruce Erik Brauer - Director (VP Creative Services/Advertising and Promotion at CBS)  looks like ray liota without all the bad acne scars,  early 40's?  short brown hair, no facial hair handsome.  Really nice.  said it was his first time directing hands, he was very clear - gave great direction!  very specific!  

VP Creative Services/Advertising and Promotion

Eli Heiten – assistant director (eli@suitespotnyc.com)   (917) 365-2988

wearing the orange/striped shirt, shorter than me, pudgy, short dark hair, gotte/mustache (close crop) – looks to have a son around 1 year old.  Really nice. 30’s.

Daniel Marachino – D.P – tall, slendar, short dark hair, 30’s? glasses, friendly.  (danielmarracino@mac.com

John Schwartz   1st Assistant Camera (917) 826-8863      schwartz@gullpondproductions 

Bout my height, light brown thick kinda wavy hair, late 40’s, little more regular guy looking, 

Alan Hostetter Gaffer (917) 328-1179 farmboyhos@aol.com

Huttemberg Nassar Key Grip (718) 506-6128 huttforall@aol.com

Rommel Genciana Key Grip (917) 459-4045 rommel.genciana@gmail.com

David Rodd Red Tech (646) 283-2910 david@lightningrodd.com

Carla Venticinque Set Decorator (201) 214-7546 carlaventicinque@gmail.com

Hispanic, long curly black hair, 5’6” great smile

Aaron Osborn Prop Master (201) 978-5764 aaronosborn@gmail.com

Hipster, mid 20’s, light brown very short hair, slendar, 5’7”

Marilinda Hodgdon Food Stylist (917) 669-6583 marilinda@rcn.com

40’s, dark hair with bangs, glasses, shorter, 

Kelly Wroe Food Stylist Assistant (917) 570-9699 kwroe@hotmail.com

Short reddish colored hair

Bill Hodgdon Food Stylist Assistant whodge5@aol.com

Couirey Eckmayer PA Driver (516) 376-8973 couirey@gmail.com

Tall, casual hipster, facial hair, brown hair, helped me out with mac programs!  Really nice.  Talked about how the lil’ kids today are corrupted.  

Mark Espada P.A. 1-347-393-2660 mark.espada@gmail.com

Mario Graham ASSISTANT (973) 964-8290 mariogonline@gmail.com

– tony (shorter, Italian, sorta like a younger more attractive more regular person like al pacino.) and the gal was a blonde in her early 40’s, really nice, attractive, wavy ‘done’ hair, said she would send me a sample.

6/18/08 - Colavita Oil Oil - balsamic, bliss basalmic, olive oil, pasta sauce

1 – drizzle blish balsamic on nectarines and strawberries.  

2 –drizzle BB on vanilla icecream (chocolate underneath with a mint leaf)

3 – dip bread in olive oil

4 – pour olive oil on wooden spot

5 – drizzle B on salad

6 – toss salad

7 – drizzle OO on salad

8 – pick up tomato

9. set pasta bowl in place

10. spoon sauce on spaghetti

11. pick up noodle with sauce

12. hero – OO

13. hero – BB

14.  hero – B

15. hero - TS

Balsamic comes out in a slower pour…this is even thicker than normal.  Easy to keep a very even pour and control the direction.  

Olive oil – nice slow controlled pour.  

Balsamic – comes out very fast and thick and harder to aim.  Pouring from a paper cup that has been folded to make a spout is the easiest.

The shoot went great.  The products were fairly easy to control and aim and get the proper speed.  Atmosphere was AWESOME.  Everyone rocked.  Very relaxed.   The clients were on set and great to chat with.  Everyone was really friendly and made the shoot easy.  Arrived at 8:30am left a lil after 4:30pm.  Great lunch – catered and they let everyone use the balsamic on all the sandwiches and stuff.  The bliss balsamic was AMAZING on the vanilla icecream.  I think perhaps, better than chocolate syrup.