Do you know what I first loved most about body art? It is that it is so “uncivilized”. You would never see someone in the so-called civilized world in body paint unless they are on a stage or in a photo shoot. Yet indigenous people have been wearing body art for eons. This is what first drew me to it. It’s timeless and utterly raw art form.
Body art is also one of the few temporary art forms I know of. Tibetan sand mandalas or art in nature are also in this category. All of these art forms, despite being temporary, have a powerful presence in the few moments that they exist.
When I was in my twenties, I developed this primal desire to create art for the skin. I especially loved creating characters through my body painting. Seeing the model transform into a different personality still amazes me. I never know what to expect because each person I work with is so different when I finish from when I begin to paint them.
When I started, I loved it so much that I found a way to make a living at it. At that time, being a body artist was not a career option unless you did permanent tattoos. Yet, I knew there was a need for it and I was intent on finding my market. I did that and now I have been a professional henna artist and body painter for twenty-two years. At times I have been more successful at it than I ever thought possible.
(Images from my last create costume and body art shoot. All feathers are cruelty-free/ naturally molted)
November 2019
Photographer: David Hobbs,
Model: Katie Baker
Costume/ Body Artist: Rosemary Kimble
But here is the thing. I love body painting but I hate the sexualization of body painted women in our society. While I can always see it as art, so many other people look at my models as sex objects. I have to admit, I have really been struggling with wanting to continue body painting the last couple of years because of this.
And these days I mostly only enjoy it when I get to choose my own design. After twenty plus years, I have frankly become a bit bored with it too. Regardless, I have been a part of so many amazing projects with this artform that I know I will never completely let it go. I still have so many ideas to execute with body painting.
But if you know me you probably noticed even before the pandemic put us in quarantine, that I have been producing very little body art in the past couple of years. I have secretly been working on a career change for the past few years and I have a few things that I have been focusing on, photography, animal communication and writing. I am not sure how I will make a living doing this yet but I know I have been here before and found a way to succeed. So for now, I am just setting my intentions on the end goal, just like I did with my first career as a costume and body artist, and we will see where it takes me. After all everything is temporary, right?
(I wrote this just before the pandemic. Since then I have started the new business Visions and Reflections and have a new website. )
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