gz-Body Painting or Improvements

Tonight was another meeting of the northern NJ Face & Body Art Guild, and I was finally able to make it again. I've missed several meetings because of the show and rehearsals. Now that we're out of rehearsals, and in fact there's only one weekend left, I've got time.

And I am now, quite literally, a card-carrying member of the guild!

How cute is that?

This month's meeting was especially valuable, as we had a guest teacher to lead our workshop, Pashur. Yup, the same great guy whose class I took back in November. He's really a great person in addition to being a great artist, and it was fun to see him again.

In addition to a great new parrot design, he showed us ways to really improve our sharks. Plus, I learned this great tattoo-style rose that, when filled in and shaded, is similar to an Ed Hardy look.

Polished up, filled in, shaded, and surrounded by some tribals or thorny vines, this will be a phenomenal addition to my repertoire.

The best part of Pashur's workshops are the games that get you to push your boundaries. One game was to fingerpaint fifteen 3-color roses with a vine, leaves, and a bumblebee... first person to finish won, so we needed to move fast and throw skill and "pretty" out the window. The range of outcomes was hilarious.

Mine was second from the left.

I can't wait to put my new skills and ideas to good use!

gz-Body Painting or What an experience!

Wow.

Friday night was opening night of the show I'm in, and everyone went out after, so I got home late. And then of course I was wide awake and couldn't sleep right away.

I got up on Saturday at around 9 a.m., leaving for Tribeca at 10, to get to the Film Fesival.

I found my place in Washington Market Park, and set up while Eric went to find parking - it took him an hour! Tha'ts how crazy and huge the fetival was. It makes sense on such a gorgeous day. The high was 88, and it was just partly cloudy. Perfect for this sort of thing, really, and I was in an area shaded by trees, so it was even more attractive.

Well, on the first trip, people saw me put stuff by the table with the "face painting" sign, and started to line up. As usual, people started getting on line for painting while I was still setting up. I set up fast, and got going... and going... and going.

I painted nonstop for 5 hours, barely taking a break for a swig of SmartWater.

The kids were freakin' awesome, EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Not exaggerating. Polite, sweet, fun. Laughed at my bad jokes, and I did a zillion butterflies but most let me match colors to their outfits! And most of the parents and guardians were also freakin' awesome. Seriously, I was thanked for doing the painting, thanked for making the kids happy, repeatedly told what a great artist I was, and thanked some more. They thanked me for even just being a face painter!

It feels so grear to be appreciated, it really does. This is the kind of event that makes the heat, the lugging and carrying, the practice, the investment, the shore shoulders and backs - all of it - worthwhile.

I heard that people were waiting on line for me for TWO HOURS and were STILL nice to me. I'm pretty sure that says something about their character.

People were so disappointed when I had to leave at 4; next year I will definitely not audition for the May show at the theater so I can spend the whole day painting. It's worth it.

While there, though, I got to do my second ever panda! And third, but I didn't get a photo of that one.

I loved this brother and sister too, a kitty that originally wanted to be a bird, and a robot! My robot requests are very infrequent, but a challenge is always welcome.

I also got to design my first mouse! This girl was such a cutie, and luckily, we got video and a photo of the final result.

That night, I was back on stage for a great show, as was I on Sunday afternoon!

After that, I came home to an email from the project manager of the Festival, letting me know that the "official" estimate was that they had over 300,000 attendees and thanking me for "helping to make it such a very special day for everyone who attended."

She commented that she'd wanted to say hi as she passed a few times, but didn’t want to interrupt me "while [I was] busy transforming faces into artistic beauty," that everyone seemed so pleased with my work, and that it was a pleasure to have me with them. It was definitely mutual!

Wicked Faire Revisited

I know that I mentioned in my Wicked Faire post that I was hired last minute to do a full body painting on a cat for a fashion show that was schedule to occur at the Faire.  The request was not to make her look like a cat, but to take my cues from the mask she'd be wearing with her ears and tail.  I had just over an hour to complete the look, from shoulders to shoes.  I did it!

The model, Nicole, was great to work with, and apparently was also great at the show, which I unfortunately had to miss.

Then again, she's a dancer, so how could she not be great?  Those boots are painted on, by the way.  Nicole had on t-strap shoes, but we wanted her to look like she was wearing boots, so I painted them right up her legs.

I did my best to mimic the swirls and curls of the mask, as well as the crosshatch pattern and fading that were involved in it.

All photos in this post were taken by Chris Bossio.

gz-Body Painting or LA Fete 2010

I have had the most amazing time this past week, at the Louisiana Living Arts Festival in New Orleans, otherwise known as LA Fete.

LA Fete started in 2006, when I was offered a pot of gumbo. No, seriously. I'm a member of some international face and body art discussion groups, and I mentioned in one that my favorite food was Cajun. Susie Pierce, otherwise known as Susie the Crazy Cajun, told me that if I came down to her hometown of Baton Rouge, she'd make me a pot of gumbo. My response was, "You name the weekend, I'm there," and all of a sudden there were about 30 other artists chiming in with "me too!" We found ourselves picking St. Patrick's Day weekend of 2007, and LA Fete was born.

Once a party was planned with so many artists, it was only natural that we intend to practice our art, and that morphed into scheduled classes and workshops.

So once a year, for 4 days in March, I go down to New Orleans for LA Fete. I take classes, jam with my friends, face and body paint, and practice my henna.

We attend the New Orleans St. Paddy's Day parade, take an afternoon to face paint at the Audubon Zoo and donate the proceeds to charity, and body paint models for a show at a French Quarter club.

On Thursday night, we had a zombie crawl, and I got to become a tourist attraction in my own right. I'm waiting to see photos of myself show up on Facebook or Google. My friend Z painted me, and I painted other friends Dot Com the clown and Liz Alaniz.

This year, for the first time, my husband Eric came with me. After the Fete was over, we stayed an extra day and went to the aquarium.

We're finally home and exhausted, but it was worth it! Nowhere else do I get an experience like that, working alongside the masters and feeding off of each others' creativity. My clients will benefit from it, too. Every time I come back from LA Fete, my skills are vastly improved. I can't wait to try them out this weekend!

A Win for Face Paint!

Kryolan Professional Make-Up, a quality face paint and theater makeup company out of Germany, is now the first producer of a range of color makeup products to receive the Seal of Quality Approval from the European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation.

With the increase of the prevalance of allergies in industrialized countries, the European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation is working to raise the level of awareness ?poiyhdsxfgbjkl;]
\[-53q and research into allergies and relief therefrom.

The Foundation awards the Seal of Quality Approval for allergy-friendly products if the products have been shown to relieve and/or better the daily lives of allergy patients. Cosmetic products can receive this honor if they have been proven in laboratory and clinical tests to be especially well-suited for sensitive skin and patients with neurodermatitis.

Several Kryolan products, including their Aquacolor face paint line, were tested, and all received findings of "good" or "very good" with skin proving to be unchanged or improved after use.

For more details, look here.

Please do not confuse Kryolan makeup with Krylon, the company that makes industrial and spray paints. They are two very different things!

Tips When Hiring a Face Painter

I've just read an article by Anders Eriksson, located here.

I don't know Anders Eriksson, but he makes some very good points I thought I should highlight for my readers.

If you can, know your face painter before hiring him or her for a party.

You do want someone who's good with kids, who can interact with them well, and who is neither bouncing off your walls nor standoffish. You want someone fun, but who can cotnrol the line and insist upon maintaining a "polite zone."

You want someone who's using the proper products; not just FDA-compliant face paints, but also glitters and shimmers. You want someone who is concerned for the safety of your child and your guests. Always ask!

And you want to see samples of your face painter's work. Unfortunately, there are an uncrupulous few who lift the photos of others' work off the Internet and advertise them as their own work. Most painters who are willing to misrepresent their work in this way can't live up to their promises; they don't deliver the work the advertise. Again, always ask! It's worth it!