Okay, so it has been a few years since I have done any face painting. I still had all of my brushes, sponges, and face paint, including some TAG split cakes. All the supplies were in a bottom drawer, along with the supplies for making sock puppets.
When I packed the suitcase to come to Greece, I specifically planned on leaving the face painting supplies here at the Gateways2Life center for women and children. Palettes are surprisingly heavy for their size. I didn't have them with me when I came to Greece in September, but a team from the states had done face painting in August and it was very popular with the children. Face paint is difficult to find here in Lesvos, so I knew I would bring mine back with me and donate them to the center.
After bringing out the paints on Friday afternoon, I quickly discovered that there are much more talented artists than me on this small Greek island!
I am a better clown than face painter. (At least I hope so!) Maybe I am just a little rusty with the face painting. Or, maybe I should leave the face painting to talented people like Beth MacKinney!
To be honest, my favorite part of face, and hand, painting is the contact. I enjoy sitting and focusing on one child at a time, holding their hand so I can paint it. Personally, I don't like to face paint while I am in clown. I just don't think I look good in clown make-up that close-up. That is just my preference.
And now, it is my preference to encourage other, more talented friends, to do the painting. I will even find some pictures online and show them how to do full face designs. It will be my pleasure to see others excel at doing something new. It is wonderful to give people opportunities to find undiscovered talents within themselves!
I will stick with clowning. I have a new skit that I will try out when I clown at the Gateways2Life center this week. Who knows...maybe someone on this beautiful island, in this women and children's center, wants to try clowning. I would love to bring another clown into the world...