Just a Little Help

A friend of mine, Joan, an absolutely phenomenal face painter in Arizona, will be painting at a monster truck event out west.  Never having been to one, she didn't quite know what to expect and asked for some design ideas.  She got some good ones for truck themes, and I kicked in an idea for a really quick monster truck, since she's not sure how many interested people she'll have.

Here was my idea.

And her awesome rendition of it in face paint!

Pretty cool!

Who you gonna call?

The winter is a little slower for face painting.  For some reason, people seem to think of it as an "outdoor" thing.  It doesn't need to be, so if you needed a face painter, be sure to get in touch with me.

In the meantime, a friend of mine needed a logo for her ghost hunting group, NJ ROPE.  They're based out of south Jersey, so if you're anywhere in the area and need a paranormal investigation, be sure to call them.  Kerry, the member who's also my friend, suggested a ghost being caught... not too cute, not too scary, not too happy about its predicament.  She and the director weren't sure if they wanted the actual state of NJ to be involved, so I did it both ways and they can pick.

Which way do you think is better?

Boy's Glitter Tat Birthday

Last weekend I was hired to do glitter tattoos at a boy's bounce house birthday.  Glitter tats are perfect for bounce house party places, since they won't rub off on the houses, minimizing cleanup for the employees.  Plus, kids get sweaty when bouncing, and the tats don't just sweat off, always a plus.  Some of my designs...

Once the birthay boy chose that one, it was pretty popular!

I thought this was a nifty way of getting over a fear of witches.

Another popular one was this great tribal dragon.

The kids had a blast, and I got to have fun with them.  A great way to spend an afternoon!

They say you can't go home again...

... but I did.

From 1979 to 1982, I attended my 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classes at the Warren Point School in Fair Lawn, NJ.

Then I went on to junior high and Fair Lawn High School... and from there to college and law school.  I really only went back to Warren Point to pick up my sister when she was a student there.

Until yesterday.

About a month ago, I got an email from a woman who was on a Fair Lawn school PTA, looking for a face painter to work at their "welcome back to school" carnival.  When she told me the town, I had a feeling... so I asked which school... and it was mine!  I was inordinately excited about going back to my old stomping grounds.

I mean, I used to play handball on that same blacktop!

There were some changes.  A new wing, for instance, and the seesaws and swings were gone (what have they done with seesaws?) and this was in its place.

OK, so that's pretty cool, even if my seesaws are gone.

The best thing was being able to tell the kids that I was a student there too... about a thousand years ago.  And, of course, to paint them.  I think I did about 8,000 butterflies and 7,000 tigers in the four hours I was there.

I did so many of those two designs that I think at first the kids thought that was all I was offering!  It just so happened those were the first two requested and it stuck.  There's always the "hot" design at any event that just gets a million requests.  I did finally hear someone farther back on the line mention the word "bear," though, so I took the opportunity to suggest a brown bear or panda.  It resulted in two pandas, one "real" and one green.



I also ended up with a lot of puppies because at the end when I had to cut the line, I gave a choice of "butterflies, snakes, or puppies, that's it!"  I didn't get any photos of those, though, because I was racing by then.  I did get some randoms throughout the afternoon...

(Yay, Fair Lawn!)

I only kinda wish Mrs. Sandler (my grammar school art teacher) was still teaching there and had been at the event.  How funny would that be?

Normally, when I cut a line, that's that.  I don't take any "just one more"s because it's just not fair to the kids I've already turned away.  Yesterday was no exception... almost.

As I was painting the second-to-last customer, a little girl came up and asked me, "May I please have a face painting?"  I told her I couldn't do it, and explained why, but thanked her for asking so politely and saying "please."  She was with her mom watching me as I got to the last customer, a little boy who was the brother of the girl I'd been painting a minute before.  When it was time for him to get in my chair, he chickened out.  His mom asked me to take the polite girl in his stead, since I now had room for one more and she'd asked so nicely.  It was the one time I've made an exception, but I loved being able to teach her that being polite gets her places.

And the PTA took photos too!

From Girls to Ghouls

I face painted this afternoon at the Ridgewood Country Club for their Labor Day party.  In amongst my usual fare of dolphins and skulls were these adorable kittens.

On the other end of the spectrum were this scary clown...

... and this adorable (and yet scary) zombie.

It's a terrible photo, but I so love it when they get into character.

Bergen County Zoo

For several years now, I've painted with my friend Emilie and several other face painters at the Bergen County Zoo's patron appreciation night; this year it was on Friday, July 31, from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.  They have all sorts of great things set up for the patrons besides face painting.

My first "victim" chose a snail, which I think came out pretty cute, and she was happy.

I had a few tiger requests, of course, several butterflies, and this monster.

Another wanted a snake, and when she saw my finished product, made me feel great with a "You're really good at this!"

We painted our little hearts out.  It was, in short, a zoo!

Lots and Lots of Henna

I was hired to do henna tonight at a birthday party for a 14-year-old girl.  The kids were great, though I was really disconcerted to hear "Oh, this is from Glee" when songs from my junior high and high school years were playing.  Wow, am I that old?  Really?  When did that happen?!

At any rate, the party was outside, where the humidity was wreaking a bit of havoc with the henna's consistency, but I got some decent results and the kids loved it.  Mom had set up a great little table from me, with printed paisley designs to "set the scene."  That was great!

Some of my pieces...

(The girl pulled this one up on her smartphone; it apparently means "love.")

(In case you can't tell, peace signs are "in" this year!)

And my very last request of the night, from the birthday girl's younger brother, a penguin.  I drew it first in surgical marker to be sure I'd get it right, and you can still see it behind the henna.  The marker is easily washed off, while the henna stain will remain.  It was quite dark at this point, and I was working by a dim porch light, so I wasn't quite as "on" the marker as I thought I was.

And yes, the penguin is holding a little fish.  I just had to.

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.

[Subliminal message:  The show is great, and there's only one weekend left, so you should see it!  Click here to buy tickets.]

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!