Promo Shots for Body Art Events

I have been blessed to work with some amazing photographers and models. Here and some shots our team has done for promotional materials for the Body Art Cabaret and the Flesh Art Show.

These were taken for the first return of the Flesh Art Show in New Orleans. The model is Kim Nicole and photographer is Chad Awalt.

And these were in the 2nd annual Body Art Cabaret. The model and photographer are again Kim Nicole and Chad Awalt.

And these are Chad Awalt as photographer again, with performer Constance Echo Palmer for last year's Flesh Art Show. All body art, makeup and headdresses are created by yours truly.

When a Festival Goes Down Hilll

Sometimes the signs have already been appearing before you actually recognize them. It was the three years ago, the year we had a penis spray-painted on the front of our booth, that things began to go downhill with one of our favorite festivals. That was the year that they began to shuttle in a younger crowd form the local colleges.

            Then the last straw was the muds pits that began to take over.  On top of it, the festival grounds were not being maintained. And what was once one of our best most flourishing festivals, began to lose ground. For yards in front of vendor row, there were 4-6 inches deep of mud, created from a lot of rain and all of the foot traffic. Little children would scream out crying because their galoshes were caught in the mud and they would step right out of them into the mud. Festivals goers were beginning to get fed up. 

And then it happened again this year, starting before the festival even began. The families who did come back called and told their friends not to bother to come. The festival had sent out a newsletter beforehand saying that gravel had been put down, where it was not. To lose the trust of your crowd is the worst thing for a festival- and causes real damage to the vendors.

 

Despite all this, the festival is bringing in all the younger crowd and making as much money as ever, not even seeing the tides changing. And the vendors are getting fed up, many of us not to return.  So its time to say goodbye to one festival family.

Its the end of an era.

Misnomers About So Called "Black" and "White" Henna

Let me just start by saying what I tell all of my customers. There is no such thing as black henna. Period. No matter what any beach shop or other artist ever says. Most likely when you see “Black henna”, you are looking at hair dye or other chemicals with PPD that has been applied to the skin. The chemicals in those dyes can cause serious damage, including chemical burns and even lead to liver failure.

            Or perhaps you have received Jagua, also referred to as black henna, but it is actually a plant dye from the Amazon. It’s a difficult product to work with, usually getting smeared and making a messy-looking design. But people have been known to do it successfully too. I am a purist and prefer only the best quality natural henna for my work. I am not set on using something black. The natural rust to brick red to purple stain is satisfaction enough. 

Sometimes in photos, the henna appears black or shiny even. That is because the henna paste that is used to create the stain with, it looks black once it dries on the skin and shiny once the lemon sugar fixative is applied over the paste.

There is an ancient product called khabib however, which is what was traditionally used in the Gulf and Africa for hundreds of years. It is a black pigment that makes a black stain. The process to make it requires several days, and so has been replaced in most places by the black chemical dyes. It is not commercially available, especially now with the war in Yemen. Khabib is reduced to a hard watercolor-like box and will keep forever. Just add water and apply with a paintbrush! My friend and henna scholar Kree Arvantis told me about it and is the only one I know who has had the privilege of trying it out.

           

            And there is no such thing as white henna either. This is a new trend that you are seeing all over, and many brides are asking for, but what is being used is usually a mixture of white highly pigmented loose eye shadow mixed with hair gel, that can then be applied like henna from a cone. It looks terrific for the night but will begin to flake soon after application, just like the henna paste. It does not leave a stain afterward like henna would though. This is also known as guilding and can be done with any color, including glitters. It adds some fabulous bling, for a very temporary amount of time. Here is one photo of guilding I have done with glitter. All photos here are my own henna work.