My Time in Connecticut

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I attended a two-day seminar in Connecticut, hosted by my friend Z, and taught by another friend, world-renowned body painter Pashur. It was absolutely amazing.We spent two full days learning technique and design from Pashur, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., eating great food provided by (and some of it cooked by) Z, devouring carrot cake and fudge made by one of our

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,

gz-Body Painting or Go, Rangers!

OK, I'm from NJ, I know. And I'm really a Devils fan. But I married a Rangers fan, and since we met, he'd been talking about me painting a Rangers jersey on his all-white cat, Neptune. Neptune, in addition to being all white, is a lump. He's a sweetheart, snuggly, and likes to lie around. You can mush him to bits and he doesn't care.So we figured it'd work fine.Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell... we

This past Saturday, I painted faces at a 5th birthday party in River Edge, NJ. It was a great party, but I didn't have time for photos, so there aren't any of those. Sorry!It did bring up an interesting issue, though, so I thought I might want to give you some pointers for when you're having an entertainer at your party. This is relevant for hiring face painters, magicians, caricature artists,

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,

Norouz Bazar

I painted yesterday at the Norouz Bazar, a Persian Festival at the La Quinta Hotel in Secaucus, NJ.  This is my second year in a row at this event; I have been hired both times by Hirbod Azmi, a Financial Services Representative with Met Life to draw attention to their table.Draw attention I did!  With a background of dance-inducing Middle Eastern music and the smells of amazing Iranian food, I

A Saturday Evening Party

I was hired to paint at a birthday party this evening, only it wasn't a children's party.  Some couples were getting together for the adults' birthdays, and wanted to keep the kids entertained.  I'd painted these beautiful girls before, at the McFaul Environmental Center in Wyckoff, when I was there for Bergen County's annual Cabbage Night Festival.  Their mom showed me a photo from that day, and

Throw a Party!

An Alice in Wonderland party!  Now, you can tell from my prior posts that I've got Alice on the brain.  But there's a new development.  Of course I can paint your face (or the faces of your kids and their friends) as the inhabitants of Wonderland - it's great to go to the movie painted and get some attention!  See this post.But now, I can also tattoo you with glitter or ink in Wonderland-themed

Body Painting: Alice in Wonderland

In my last post, I showed a bit of the body painting I did on Toni at Wicked Faire. Well, yesterday I received a CD of photos from one of the professional photographers, and my biggest problem has been figuring out which ones to post because they're all so great!All photos in this post were taken by Phillip Makselan.Toni met me in the Green Room with her bra cups already on, and while we were

Wicked Faire 2010

Wow, what a weekend! Jeff Mach's Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire was even bigger and better this year than previously. Eric and I were kept so busy that we didn't even have time to see it all.I was doing face and body painting, as ususal, but this time we also had our soaps for sale with us. Unfortunately, that meant that Eric didn't get to travel with me when I took my face painting cart to my

It's Not Just Faces

For a face and body painter, all skin is canvas, not just the face. On this blog, I've posted photos of arms, necks, and chests I've painted as well, but that's not the long and short of it either. Body painting is an art form, used all over the world in television commercials, print ads, and even an annual issue of Sports Illustrated!This weekend, I'll be doing face and body painting at the

gz-Body Painting or 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

What a Party!

I painted this evening at a christening that could've been a bar mitzvah or wedding. It was at Macaluso's in Hawthorne, and the proud parents were hosting a big crowd. The DJ kept everyone busy, but as soon as I started to set up, the kids gathered. I didn't even put my table up before they were jockeying to go first.The hit face tonight was the puppy, just like one I did at the birthday

A Day of Firsts

I painted today at two birthday parties. The earlier, in Wayne, was a first birthday, and it was a slow start. Lots of kids wanted to get painted, but no one wanted to be first. I find that every now and again. Well, this brave girl decided to run with it, and became a puppy.She was great, and the face was a hit That prompted her friend to join in, but she was more or less undecided as to what

I love face painters!

I'm a member of several worldwide face painting discussion groups. One is small enough, though international, and close enough, that we've become good friends. So a couple years ago, someone suggested a secret Santa exchange, and of course I wanted to participate. I love gifts - giving and receiving!Our version extended past the holidays, into mid-January.Yesterday, I was feeling really blech. My

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,

gz-Body Painting or I got up at 6:30 this morning.

Yes, on a Saturday. I had a good reason, though. I was face painting with two other artists at the Valerie Fund walk in Verona Park this morning.We were all painting furiously for several hours straight, so I only had a little time to take photos, but here are some of them.Two princesses and a monster.A request for a red skeleton that was neither bloody nor angry, so we added glitter. Nothing

Tree Lighting

I painted on Sunday for the... geez, I don't even remember how many years I've been painting at the Ho-Ho-Kus tree lighting! It's quite a few at this point.I love this event, despite the cold. We get a heated tent that makes us even more popular than we always are as face painters. I had my new repertoire of holiday designs ready to go, but the line was so long and the crowd so... crowded... that

gz-Body Painting or I Made Their Day, They Made Mine

I must admit I questioned the sanity of taking on a gig in the late afternoon on a day when I had to be on stage that night. Yeah, yeah, this was nowhere near as crazy as taking on the Tribeca Film Festival gig the day of my opening night, but this was booked even before that.It was so worth it.The kids, the adults, they were all great! There weren't that many kids, so they were actually