March 2012
I have created several leotards for Symone of Pole Paradise HK in the past, as she needs to have fabric protecting her limbs when she is doing hoop acrobatic shows and wanted unique costumes.
Tag: zoo club body art
Birthday Girl Club Glitter Tattoos
I was contacted by Rowena, to go to her house and decorate herself and her friends with waterproof glitter tattoo designs, before they went out clubbing in Norwich to celebrate her birthday. She knew what colours and styles she wanted, so I did this swirling pink, silver and black pattern on her leg, opposite arm, chest and back.
The next girl I took inspiration from her animal print dress…
Then I copied a dress’s flower motif onto another lady.
Video is here
And the final designs =- the most unusual I have done yet, I think, and something I will develop – the girl spotted a face I had done and wanted a tatt like that on her hand and leg. Very cyborg/ Charles Rennie Mac, I think… possibly even Lady Gaga?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cfiNZL7yPc
I then added to their own face makeup with some Glitzer/ Liquid bling, and swarovsky crystals.
And off they went!
A good night, it seems:)
SheRa-Zena leotard Glitter Body Tattoo
HK March 2011
I was let down by a couple of other models/ shoots that had been ‘booked’ whilst I was in Hong Kong, so my last free day before returning to the UK, I was able to get another leotard glittered for Symone instead. I was contacted by a couple of photographers after I advertised at short notice on Facebook, and they met us at Pole Paradise HK’s studios, where Symone had a gap from lunch until 5-ish between teaching.
She asked for something a bit armour-like and in reds, as she’d already a pinkish and a greenish suit I had decorated for her and wanted to be able to expand the colours/ themes she danced in them.
The leotard was a new type from a new supplier, and was not as thick/ nice fabric as her usual dance-wear. I started gluing; usually it takes 2 or 3 coats of the glue, dried between coats, for the glue to stop sinking into the fabric and actually stay tacky, ready for the glitter, on the surface of the cloth.
1st problem; the glue sort of rolled off this fabric and didn’t want to sink in at all! A lot of fiddling and after a while it mostly started to work as expected.
2nd problem; it would NOT dry. The air con was off, to keep Symone warm, and I was fanning the glue…it took over 40 mins for the 1st coat to dry!
And then I ended up having to do FOUR more coats, with elongated drying times, to get the glue to work!
We had to give up with far less of the costume glued than I had planned, as we were running out of time (Symone had to have the pro final picture shoot before she started teaching her next dance class). Plus I was running out of glue!
Albert of shizznitt.com had once again set up his time-lapse video equipment and was able to stay & talk this time which was lovely.
Anyway I finished glittering etc and Symone joined Kevin for her shoot.
The sword (a big, real, heavy, thing!) was what inspired the design, which Symone decided was a mixture of She-Ra and Xena warrior princess, hence the Shera-Zena title!
Symone had on the tallest heels I have ever seen too, yet still managed to do all sorts of moves and poses on pole and hoop!
This is her She-Ra pose.:)
And this is her finished leotard collection…
Kevin also did some funky editing to stick in different backgrounds….The AMAZING video by Albert is
Back in Hong Kong, March ’11- Step by Step Pheonix glitter tattoo leotard
The HK Youth Arts Foundation kindly once again invited me to be the lead artist/ sole bodypainter for the HK Rugby 7s, and as in 2009 (when I was in NZ) flew me to Hong Kong to take part. And this time put me up in a lovely hotel as well (before I either was living in HK or borrowed a friend’s place to stay).
After 6 hrs on a bus, 13 in a plane and another 90 min bus transfer, I arrived late Tuesday, pigged on my fave sushi, (not the HK delicacy of fish-heads as in the menu below!) stocked up on local essentials like Apple juice with Aloe chunks and crispy egg tarts, and crashed into bed.
I had a free day on Wednesday so arranged to meet up with (and decorate) my friend & glitter muse, Symone of Pole Paradise. I arrived at her studio full of jetlag, but excited to be back in HK – its a lovely city I feel very comfy/ safe in, and if not for the pollution/ the climate’s effect on my toddler, we would have happily kept living there.
Symone asked for a feathery glitter tattoo leotard to perform her aerial silk/ hoop routines in. She had a new white suit on, ready to be glittered, so I started on that as we blathered away at each other catching up on what hadn’t been said in a year of emails & facebook. She also read the article on my glitter work in the Spring Issue of Illusion Magazine, as a lot of that was really about her, although all the photos they used were from newer, then unpublished, shoots of mine (see previous posts on here!).
Albert of shizznitt.com who did the brilliant speeded-up video of me doing a goth necklace body glitter tatt on Symone last year – video here – had to work elsewhere, but set up his camera system and left it to auto-record the process of the peacock glitter leotard.
It was interesting doing a white rather than flesh-tone leotard (is my 1st on white!) as the green crumbs of facepaint I use to tint the glue (which otherwise dries invisible, as it goes clear) showed up darker and darker as it dried.
The design morphed from abstract feathery peacock into a very chinese-paper-cut style pheonix, really. When I had glued (3 layers so it stops soaking into the cloth and stays tacky on the surface) and glittered the front, we stopped for lunch (she ordered in some of my fave fried rice – I MISSED HK food!!!).
As usual we were fitting in with her teaching schedule so had most of the afternoon to paint and shoot the results in, before her evening dance students arrived. I think we did maybe 3 hours work on the glitter, about the normal time….
Darren LeBeuf, the photog who shot the last bodypaint event I did before we left HK (Canadian Chamber of Commerce Northern Lights themed ball) popped in to take pro shots for us.
Albert has done the time-lapse video which I have to share. She honestly is NOT as much of a chatterbox as she looks, we were nattering plus Symone has to run her studio from her mobile whilst we work!
Thanks to Symone, Al, and Darren.
LOVE the music too, Al!
Leaf Pixie/ Earth Elemental Body Glitter Tattoo Shoot Norwich
Another shoot from last year (Nov), with photos embargo’d until now when the March 2011 Issue of Illusion Magazine, which contained them, was published. Been killing me to keep them hidden, loved these!
This was with Hayley Bird again, who was able to fill in when a model cancelled on this shoot at short notice.
Victoria and I had seen each other’s online portfolios and wanted to work together; she had studio access but was keen on an autumnal shoot too. Seeing a it was a chilly November, I thought a glitter tattoo would be best, as clothes can be worn over it so the model could be painted elsewhere (ie in a WARM house), and travel to the shoot/ stay in clothes during the shoot, would be best.
The leaves on her torso too 3 hours; I had already gathered a bunch of real autumn leaves and decorated them with the same glitters. Hayley did her hair and makeup, I added Glitzer glitter gel and a little paint on top.
We met Victoria at Mousehold Woods in Norwich. I slashed up a jumper Hayley didn’t mind being ruined so she had coverage over her back/ sides, then she leapt around (barefoot!) posing in trees, leaf litter, bracken etc.
We surprised a few dog walkers but most of the cyclists completely missed us – not sure why, we had Hayley’s rolling suitcase of clothes etc with us so were fairly obvious!
Just when her toes were about to snap off, we returned to the studio to warm her up and get a different set of shots. I had to leave to go paint faces with a Star Wars club for Children In Need, so had a lovely surprise when the super-fast Victoria sent the Cd the NEXT day!! Wow.
Lara Lockwood Baubel Bubble Bristol Glitter Tattoo
Another shoot from last year (Dec), with photos embargo’d until now when the March 2011 Issue of Illusion Magazine, which contained them, was published. Been killing me to keep them hidden, loved these!
Lara is a make-up and hair stylist as well as a model. We met online ( I really want to do an underwater shoot which she & Jack have done several times) and met up in Bristol – the other side of the UK from me, but my mum lives there so we made an early Christmas visit for a few days. Jack is an amazing photographer.
Anyway I went over just before lunch and spent around 4 hrs glittering her, and blathering my head off at her, as she lay wrapped in blankets on the floor of her flat. Jack made an amazing sphagetti too.
I’d spotted some wierd Christmas glitter baubles which I’d brought, along with some shiney balls in matching shades, so that was my inspiration.
Finished, Lara dressed (as the glitter tatt can’t be damaged) and we drove to Jack’s family house studio. I sat in awe as Lara whipped up an amazing hair creation on herself, and added a few glittery bits to her lovely face makeup. Then the pair were off and shooting in the chilly studio.
Just stunning!
Lookout for more of theme in Illusion..and with me at some point, hopefully!
And yes the baubles made it onto my tree:)
Peacock Glitter Tattoo Neck Collar Body Art
Another shoot from November, with photos embargo’d until now when the March 2011 Issue of Illusion Magazine, which contained them, was published. Been killing me to keep them hidden, loved these!
Hayley Bird had ‘found’ me online just after I emigrated to Hong Kong, which was a shame, as she was in Norfolk, where we had just left!
When we re-emigrated, she was often posing for camera club shoots friends of mine were in, so we arranged to do one together. The female photographers were especialy happy as I had the impression most shoots were ‘glamour’ style and the girls wanted some variety.
Hayley’s a stylist/ make-up artist, but also a very good model. She turned up with a case of clothes; I had a bundle of feathers. We decided a plain black corset & sleeked back hair looked best. For a change, I fancied attempted symmetry, in a ‘collar’ pattern. Doodly drips were very hard to control as this wasn’t really one I could paint with the model lying flat.
But I loved the effect. It later reminded me a bit of the neck jewellery the head vamp queen gets killed in on the train in Underworld… need to watch it again and see, I think!
Huge thanks to Hayley who I later hear had cancelled a lot at a tough time to come work with me, and thanks to Michelle & the camera club whose fees in a slow season allowed me to fix my broken car AND get more glitter tatt supplies just in time!
Fire Over Water – Craig’s Glitter tattoo
Another shoot with photos that were embargo’d until now when the March 2011 Issue of Illusion Magazine, which contained them, was published. Been killing me to keep them hidden, loved these!
This was glittered on Remebrance Sunday 2010- appropriate as the charming Craig had to leave the army recently after an injury.
This beganas a tribal but morphed into fire over water, making me think I’ll do an Elementals series. Craig coped well- it was an icy day, and he was lying on the floor of a garage studio in Suffolk!
And Ian’s background here is perfect, gave me grafitti tatt ideas!
Ian did some really creative stuff with lighting too.
Craig is now starting a new career as a personal trainer, and has a modelling contract too. We think he’ll do VERy well!
IMATS London 2011; Sun 30th Jan; Satyr Wood Faun 1 stroke bodypaint demo
Rather stiff from lugging my heavy kit around London (sorry guys, Hong Kong wins on the underground train front – MUCH easier to navigate and far fewer stairs!) it was back for day 2 of IMATS. The morning was a ‘pro ticket only’ event which meant it was a lot quieter; most went to see the youtube guru demos, etc, and stalls were less busy as the ‘public’ wasn’t allowed in the 1st few hours. Shame, really, bit of a waste… maybe making that time pro-only shows would have worked better?
Anyway for a different look, I decided LL was going to be a sort of Wood Satyr. We had a set of foam latex horns and ear tips, again from Russ Hughes, which I glued on. Using a 1-stroke/ split cake I made myself with Snazaroo colours, I began sort of following LL’s contours. It started looking a bit 70’s wallpaper:) If we took a break he had to hide from his fans or he’d constantly be begged for photos/ chats and couldn’t eat!
Body Painting by Cat 