Face Paint Follow Up
So, I survived to tell the tale! What a crazy experience, I don't know how people do this for a living! All in all, I think it was a great day, and I am SO glad I decided to buy my own materials. The speed and chaos is so crazy I can't imagine having another person trying to use the same paints. Unfortunately no pictures made it out of the event, at least not on my end!
I think the hardest part of the experience was getting the paint consistency right. Again, I use watercolor, so a very different feel with the face paint. Getting my brush loaded enough to make full lines but not wet enough to drip was more difficult than I anticipated. For the most part the kids were good, although having little ones wait in line with irritated parents and comments of "how long is this going to take?" added to the pressure. I painted furiously non stop for four hours, I wish I knew how many kids I did but honestly, too many to count.
A few thoughts for anyone trying this for the first time.
DO have examples for the kids to pick from: I had a book of designs (few as they may have been) and a second copy for myself. This allowed the kids to be ready to go by the time their turn was up. The second copy was crucial for reference, you don't want to have to keep everything committed to memory.
DO have your kids sit at the same level that you are on, a chair that is slightly higher for little ones would work well.
DO have lots of water, it can get very mucky, very quickly. I had one milk jug for rinsing and one for dipping in to help delay that process.
DO take some sort of pain reliever before going to bed. I woke at 1:30am with sharp pains in my chest, back, neck and head. Thank goodness I had a heads up about this from a fellow artist friend otherwise I would have been really concerned!
DO have wet wipes. If not for fixing mistakes, for cleaning your hands periodically. I am usually so neat but the speed that you are going makes for very messy conditions.
DO have cosmetic glitter. Didn't matter what the kids picked, they just adored it when the glitter went on!
DON'T be afraid to touch people. As much as it is not in my nature, it is utterly impossible to make smooth lines without using your subject's head and face as a balancing point. I was very timid in the beginning but by the end I was, turning, angling and leaning away!
DON'T get caught up in line dramas. You have too much to focus on than to keep the line in order.
Over all, I feel pretty proud of myself. I don't usually say that, but in this case, I'm going to allow this shameless pat on the back. I am a very shy person who usually creates on my own in private and only show others if or when I think something is done. With this, people were watching the whole process, mistakes and all, and I'm sure they had their opinions. I'm sure no one knew it was my first time, people just seem to assume you do this all the time and should be better at it or quicker at it. There were some people who acted as if I was hired help rather than a volunteer, there were others who offered wonderful compliments and thanks, and still others who acted as if I wasn't even there!
I think the mere fact that I was able to maintain my composure and work at the speed that I did says two things that I didn't know about myself the day before. One: I am finally secure enough in what I do to not be intimidated by people seeing it and commenting. Two: When the pressure is on to perform, I didn't crumble. May seem silly to some but I'm encouraged because both relate to my upcoming Surtex Exhibit where I will have all my art out on display and will have to be there to explain, promote, and hopefully sell myself. Related? Well, to me they are. All things good and bad, an overall fun day that I'm sure I will repeat. Will I be doing parties anytime soon? I can't say that I will but I'm never one to rule it out!