How to Make Art on Public Holidays.

A step by step tutorial!  

First make contact with other awesome artists! All of us had the public holiday free.

"Hi Jon" "Hi Tani" "Hi Jess" 

"What sort of look are you interested in achieving Jon?" 

"Something creative Tani" 

"Ok Jon" 

Kadoosh! Free reign and absolute scope! I did a bunch of research online. I wanted to create a beautiful creepy crying dolly using shades of blue with giant hair.

I researched how to create make up tears and Gyaru styles. Gyaru is a Japanese style of makeup that makes you look like a real life doll akin to Kawaii and Lolita styles. I love Asian makeup art. 

Interestingly there was a synchronous meeting of mind maps between myself and Jon. When I sent him my ideas he was well excited as he had thought of doing something similar at some point. So it was on!

Find image here...

Find pic here...

Find pic here...

 

Find pic here...

So I mucked around with drawing the tears with make up , using eye shadow and liquid liner, glitters and Mac Medium, which is a great creamy liquid for mixing up with other makeup.

I checked out the model Jess online. She has great purple hair and interesting colouring, so at first I wanted to do purples, but then I realised that there was  a lot of that in her folio already, so I hit on doing an all blue face just for something a bit different. That is when the fun began. I practiced on myself first! If it looks good on me, it is going to look amazing on a spunky young model! 

So I don't forget the makeup I have created I take photos and draw up a face chart. Taking photos also tells me how the makeup will look when the photographer applies their skill to the process. Some makeup can look great in Real Life, but terrible on film. It has to be super clean.

The day arrives and I have my kit fully prepped, and I leave early to make sure I arrive on time irrelevant of traffic etc. We arrive in Nth Melbourne and jump straight into it. 

Jess is so easy to work with. After about 2 hours of Makeup and Hair styling we are ready to shoot! By the time I finish the makeup and hair I am in a pretty weird trance state. Working so intensely for 2 hours at such close proximity to your canvass can have that effect. Sushi and coffee was definitely the cure!

Here myself and Jon start working on direction concepts, I assist and make sure that stray hairs are at a minimum and that the make up is working on film.  This part can take around 2 or so hours as well. It's long day for only one look. Being a portrait shoot, Jess was able to keep on her jeans and comfy shoes.

Voila! Here is the first finished image. A beautifully balanced melding of mediums. I am absolutely thrilled with the mood and intensity that we created. Team art is such a rewarding experience.

Photography Jon Grundy Model Jess Mm MUAH Tani Thunderballs.

So there you have it. That is how to Make Art on A Public Holiday!

siobhan fearon : look book: fab fashion friday : a top bloke

siobhan fearon : look book: fab fashion friday : a top bloke: Yep, i'm a top bloke ! ;) One thing is for certain though : Today is the fist day of Winter and i am super-duper cold so it&...

Siobhan is wearing awesome Joolz ring and Red Velvet Lipstick from my website.

Best friends, craft and lipstick!

Best friends....

At the beach. Sunshine Coast. New Tattoos

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Hair and Make Up by me!

 

I have never had just one best friend, how can we limit ourselves to one 'ultimate' friend? There are too many awesome people out there!  But I do have a small handful of people I call my best friends. They are the friends I confide in, whose I advice and opinions I truly value and actually listen to, special friends I know I can call on in one form or another when times are tough, or times are awesome, or times are just regular times.

Siobhan is one of my best friends. Perhaps the one I am closest to in many ways. We lived together for a while, like peas in a bizarre pod. A wee family made up of myself, my daughter, Siobhan and her husband. Some of my fondest life memories are from that time. I have driven thousands of kilometres to visit her since she moved away because how on earth could I not see this person who is like a piece of my own person, for more than six months at a time? Von is now in Adelaide, which is quite close comparative to her old digs in Qld. I will be there in August. I can't wait!

We share a lot. Our love of craft, of music, of feminism and of pretty things and our kids. But especially craft and feminism.

 Craft....

For my birthday Von made me a doll. A magnificent crazy doll. I have named her Angelina Jolie. Because she is magnificent and crazy too. As are myself and Siobhan. Clever clever ladies.

Picture 1. 8am with my new dolly the postman had just been. Picture 2. 9am frocked up and ready to hit the town.

Craft is something I think myself and Siobhan may be addicted to. We don't want to go to rehab though...The other day I was thinking about habits like gambling....essentially they are a creative experience involving a process and research, thought, practice and an outcome, but usually it is a negative and a downer experience. But with craft, no matter how weird or odd the outcome, it is always enjoyable and a total upper! We all have our vices, but the more we can make them for positive creation, the happier we and the world at large will be.

Angelina Jolie is the perfect example of this, she is awkward and kookie and totally bizarre, but she makes me so freaking happy!

 Lipstick....

My new favourite colour, Geradium from Lime Crime

For the first time in a long time I am wearing lipstick. My new fave is from the Lime Crime range, called Geradium and you can actually buy it on my website (of course). A fabulous neon pinky apricot. I never thought at 40 that I could get away with a colour like this, but in fact it is fabulous, it brightens my pale Celtic skin no end. I am wearing it with a neon orange blush that I bought from the Gorgeous cosmetics line at HUB and with a basic brow, black pencil eyeliner and mascara. No base. Took about 5 minutes to slap on. Not bad eh?

Lipstick, Frocks and Craft..... And new Friends.

Eyes and Lips - A how to tutorial.

Lime Crime Velveteens for lips and Quill Liquid liner for eyes.

Finally. It has taken an age, but I have actually learnt how to use iMovie and have put together my first tutorial. It is probably a tad long, but I think there is some good information in there. Very soon I will put up tutes for a few other lipcolours and various make up styles and techniques.

The products are for sale on my website Damsels and Dames . I have tested all the products on myself and am really happy with the results of Lime Crime on my face! Other products I also use are Ben Nye, Shany and quite a few elcheapo no name brands. Have fun experimenting!

Easter Terrarium

I love holidays, I love the history behind them, which usually involves pagans doing things fabulously for aeons then getting knocked on the head and having their rituals and holidays nicked and turned into something else by another mob.

We got all our bits from a $2 shop in Canberra.

Easter is fabulous, in the Northern Hemisphere it is spring. A time of fertility and rebirth. Hence the chicks, eggs and bunny rabbits. The equinox, splendid.

In the Southern Hemisphere it is Autumn, life is heading down, becoming grounded, digging in for the winter ahead. Autumn in Australia is stunning, especially after a relentless heatwave.

To celebrate we have made Terrariums.  Filled with chicks, eggs and bunny's. I pounced on the idea from one of my fave blogs The Crafty Crow, a great blog for simple craft for all ages.

Everything about these terrariums is super cheesy. Love it. More fun than chocolate (just).

Shadow Boxer

Recently I made this shadow box. It is really teeny and cute and is perched happily in my boudoir on the dressing table. It took me about 6 hours to make. I used scrapbooking paper and brown paint to create the aged look and then topped it all off with a couple of coats of Mod Podge.

Buttons - the old and the new.

Glass Buttons were very popular once.

Beutron over the decades

Perfect condition buttons, about the same age as me.

Simple ergonomic and economic packaging.

Bulk packs. I imagine they were excellent on a budget.

Covered Buttons. A classic concept that has not changed at all.

 I have been gifted over the years with many collections of buttons. These are some of my favourite that are still with their original packaging. I love how graphic styles clearly delineate an era  and give a strong impression of life in that time. Capsules.

Nails for Mum

A little more glam than mum is used to, but they definitely suit her. I believe all actresses of a certain age should have fabulous nails!

Nail Art Disco

I have added a new skill to the tool belt. Gel Nails. I love doing them, and it is brilliant how they last for yonks without chipping. My nail polish always chips about 5 minutes after they have dried. Craft/gardening/cooking/dancing all kill my mani's. But this stuff rules.

I am offering local peeps a bit of cheap deal on these so I can get heaps of practice. If you are in Melbourne, especially in the northern suburbs, drop me a line and make an appointment. $25 (normally around $50) for gel nail polish and art that last for a couple of weeks.

I have around 50 colours/glitters and even nail stamps and more. Brilliant for helping nails grow.

Bookings taken from March onward.

I will post more pictures of my nails soon.

Little Creatures

I bought these wee cuties at a $2 shop while in Qld on holiday. I have no idea yet what I am going to make with them, but I will post as I go along.

Maybe I will put them on hair bows or atop jars. I dunno, but how freaking cute are they?