- Firebird FX
Bringing Strangers Home
The winters are usually slower for me, so I try to compensate by making a handful of winter projects to keep myself occupied. This year I wanted to focus on beauty makeup more than anything, mostly because I realized how little of it I have featured on my website. (And when I say "little", really what I mean is "zero".)
And so I put my usual call out over social media. COME LET ME PAINT ON YOUR FACE! WILL HAVE WINE AND SNACKS! I've always been a little bit astounded (and also incredibly flattered) by how many people always express interest in these kinds of posts, and this time was no exception. Friends and colleagues and people I hadn't seen in years and others who I only knew over Facebook all came out on a Friday night and let me make art on their bodies.
For me, its just as much an exercise in trust as a portfolio builder. Yeah, I got some really beautiful images for my website. And that was the whole point, right? But its more than that. Its a chance to be present for the people you're painting on. To talk and to listen and to learn from them. It's the trust.
I think the trust is my favorite part. Art isn't made in a vacuum. Its an open conversation, especially art made between a painter and a model. Art made on bodies is a literal conversation, as well as a creative and energetic one. Its a chance to learn and also an opening to love.
I think that's what I like most about being a makeup artist. Its a tiny bubble of time that exists only for communion of creativity and love.
