This Fall’s Artwork
I’ve gotten to do a whole bunch of different projects lately! Halloween costumes, painted boots, pumpkin carving, Dia de los Muertos celebrations, and more. Here’s my Show & Tell…
Anglerfish Halloween Costume
One of my favorite costume projects from this year.
I started by sketching out the placement of the mouth on his face, as we decided together how to have it as big and menacing as possible within the shape of his body and costume. One tricky part was that the teeth above his nostrils couldn’t be as long as some of the teeth around them. We decided to have a variety of lengths of teeth sprinkled throughout with a longer one right in the middle, and I think it worked well. (I did have to paint the inside edge of his nose black to keep the illusion — you can imagine how tickly that was!)
Jason makes sculptures with LED lights. He designed this color-changing lamp which stayed firmly suspended in front of his forehead, since his hair was carefully woven through the support structure.
Part of his costume had rainbowy neon and silver scales, so I worked some of that into his makeup. The finishing touch was neon-yellow highlights on the teeth that really made them pop.
Pumpkin Carving
For the last couple of years, I have led a pumpkin carving workshop for Ecology Action employees.
This year for my demo piece, I did an experiment using a stencil for the house*, and skinning parts of this pumpkin. That way the light shines through, but not as much as when it’s cut all the way through like this moon is.
It was really fun to be with the Ecology Action team and see all of the different creations they came up with, and support them in finding their own artistic courage!
* I found out that I am not a fan of stencils. It would’ve been way quicker just to draw it with washable marker. I did like my own addition of the tree and gravestones.
Costume Matching
I got to paint for several Halloween parties, festivals, and company events, often designing something to complement somebody’s costume.
Here’s Andy who I get to paint every year at Halloween. We have so much fun, joking, and laughing together while we come up with this year’s version!
Painted Boots
DebraLee is a singer in a band, and wanted something nice to perform in, since she had twisted her ankle and couldn’t wear her previously-scheduled cute high heels! I couldn’t say no, since I like painting roses in my Face Painting world.
Dia de los Muertos
I am grateful that I was introduced to Day of the Dead long ago, and it has helped how I think about my own loved ones who have passed. I think bones are fascinating, and getting to add art to the underlying shapes while thinking of these traditions inspires me. I have been developing my style for several years, but as a white gal, I didn’t want to insert myself into somebody else’s culture without an invitation. This year I feel so fortunate to have gotten to paint at a couple of public events in Watsonville, and also to go up to San Francisco and paint during the evening of Día de los Muertos where the parade was happening. In this way, I got to experience the offrendas people had made commemorating their own loved ones, and hear special personal stories as I painted. Truly an honor.
Besides all this, I have other exciting things to tell you about, including an artists’ grant that I just got!!! for the body acceptance, therapeutic body painting projects I am excited to do in 2023! You can see more about my project & the other cool things that are being funded here.
Last-Minute Gift Ideas
For Kids: I offer Face Painting House Calls, where I come for an hour or two and play with your kiddo and help them learn more about using face paints. They can paint on me, I can paint on them, we can both paint on a sibling, etc.
We can talk about whether they already have some supplies or whether you would like to buy a full kit ($90) or a partial kit. Special rate for this is $90/hr, on winter weekdays.
For Adults: Bodypaint or Pregnancy Bellypaint Gift Certificates (price depends on project, based on $130/hr) We’d need to talk first. Optional professional photography is separate cost.