My first long-running gig!

I've done lots of festivals, fairs and birthday parties but I wanted a longer-running gig. I've been visiting businesses with my photo book and a lot were interested but no one has made a definite booking yet. So I emailed the local corn maze on a whim and offered my services and they accepted! I go Sunday afternoon to hash out rates, designs, etc. and paint on their kids' faces for professional pictures for their website and signage. The corn maze runs from Oct. 2- Nov. 14, 12 hours a day Sat and Sun and possibly some school field trips during the week during the run of the corn maze. It's right in my target market so this is going to be some good advertising for my own business. I'm now working on "wild west" designs and a lot of Indian designs, since my booth will be in the Indian tipi village.

I'm going to be worn out when this is done but I'm sooo looking forward to it!

Congrats!!

Congrats! Good luck with all the details!

Fabulous!!

Sounds like fun Congratulations!!!

Congrats! I've always wanted to go to a Corn Maze! Looks like so much fun and then get your face painted, even better!

Congrats!!

Painting at a Corn Maze sounds like fun. I hope you have a busy and successful season!

Congrats!

Cool! Corn Mazes are really fun, I went to one years ago as a kid. One of your designs could be like those T-shirst that say "I survived ______" but put "the corn maze" in there or something. Just a thought. Hope it all goes well! Good luck!

Great idea, Punky!

So far, I've come up with (full face) horse, cow, duck, sheep, scarecrow and bunny and Indian maiden (headband and feather with beads) and (simple) Indian stripes, etc.

Our corn maze got cancelled... drought and no corn!

Oh no, Shannon! Drought is one thing we rarely have here... we get tropical thunderstorms nearly every day during the summer.

We're coming in to the best part of the year here for outdoor activities... mid Sept to mid Nov is gorgeous! Sunny yet low humidity and hardly ever any rain. Temps average around 85 degrees during the day. Such a relief after the brutality of the summer! We have a family reunion on the beach every year at Thanksgiving because most of the time we can wear shorts!

Dec and Jan is usually cold and rainy, then the weather gets nice again in Feb and Mar. Then the rains start and then the heat so can't do anything outdoors in the summer

That's amazing! Great job!!!

YAY Squiggle!
Woot woot......how cool!
Congrats!..... Be sure to take some photos!

Sounds like a great gig. How fun that you will have custom themed designs as well!!
Are they paying you your normal rate? I love that you'll be advertised on their website as well. Super fun, good get!

We're going to do a pay-per-face type deal the first weekend and see how it goes. It's $12 to get in, which includes 3 mazes, a hay ride, a tipi village, swings, petting farm, kids corral, pig races etc. They can upgrade their ticket for $6 to include pony rides, arrowhead dig, bow hunt, duck races and cattle roundup. They can also buy a $5 "wooden nickel" at the gate for special activities inside. She said last year most parents paid the upgraded ticket and gave each child a few wooden nickels to do the other activities.

She's bought a ton of Indian headdresses so she wants me to design a simple Indian face paint to go with the Indian headdress and we would split the take and they would pay with the wooden nickels. I would collect the nickels and settle up at the end of the day. She also chose 12 other designs that I'm free to charge what I want for those, and she just wants like 10% of whatever I take in for those. She's going to give me $100 in $1 bills to make change and we'll settle up at the end of each day. She's making all the signage. She said if I can't make it any certain day, or have to leave early we just take the sign down (it'll be on an easel). She's giving me a t-shirt to wear with my shorts or jeans and I can hand out as many business cards as I like.

This place is realllly nice. I drove out there today and took a tour and painted for her. They've built an actual wild west town, with a saloon, a jail, a mercantile, etc. to go along with the mazes and the petting zoo, etc. She said last year she had a magician, and several other entertainers and is so excited to have a professional face painter this year. Last year was their first year and they had 15000 people for the season with hardly any advertising. This year they've advertised alot and added a whole lot more stuff, so they expect to double the people. Plus, you have to understand, we're in a very rural area and there's next to nothing for people to do! We're entering the best weather season of the year and after being cooped up inside all summer with the a/c, people want to be out in the sunshine and cooler temps and fresh air!

My only concern is, there's sooo many activities for the kids to do. I don't know if it's going to be a matter of no one getting their faces painted because there's so much else to do, or getting mobbed. She did say we could do the first weekend and see how it goes and we could either renegotiate or I could call it quits if it wasn't working out well for me. She seemed to be just as concerned with advertising my business as her own! I'm not having to put out any money in advance, so I don't see how I could lose, unless no one wants their faces painted, and in that case, I just wouldn't go back. What do ya'll think?

BTW here are a few of the designs we came up with...

First off, your designs are awesome. I love the feather headband one. Second, that place sounds so fun. I wish that there was somewhere like that down here. It sounds like you will have a great time working there.

That sounds awesome! I'm looking into our corn maze right now!

Our first weekend is behind us... here are some pics:











It was pretty slow for the first weekend (30 faces), but the owner said the next 3 weekends are going to be crazy. She said I'll probably run out of paint! If she only knew how much paint I have! LOL

Awesome! Maybe I should call our pumpkin patch/barn/fruit stand/ice cream shop/ maze place and see if they would like a face painter.

pjhamel wrote:First off, your designs are awesome. I love the feather headband one. Second, that place sounds so fun. I wish that there was somewhere like that down here. It sounds like you will have a great time working there.

PJ, where are you in Florida? I found this.

http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/FLpumpkins.php

great paintings, I hope you do well.. corn mazes are fun and a good place to paint..I think I may approach the one we have in in onalaska wi

Good show. Love the scarecrow. Last year I painted at a native heritage sight and was going to recreate a painted buffalo skull that I had seen on one of their pamphlets, on a cheek. First I checked with the organizers and they prefered me not to do that particular design as it was a sacred design. Glad I checked as I didn't want to offend anyone.

I was privileged enough though to paint an elder's design on his face. He said he always wanted someone to paint his face with his traditional colors/design but didn't feel confident in anyone. I truly felt honored that he allowed me to paint him.