What got you started?

I've always been into arts and crafts. In light of everything that's going in the Virgin Islands (8%salary cut, layoffs, and no child support) I was on the search for something that I could make a business out of and still totally and completely enjoy it. I have a Bachelor's of Science in Biology from the University of the Virgin Islands. Yeah I'm the artistic bio geek and proud of it. But basically at the very least I'm hoping that soon to be Mika's Creationz, LLC. will supplement my income and allow me and my son to live a bit more comfortably.

I was born into a family of artists, so art of any kind is second nature to me. I play with painting, stained glass, clay, you name it.
Last summer my daughter's soccer organization was having a big picnic/field day/carnival type event and were asking for volunteers for everything from face painting to running the food stands. Maggie saw "face painting" and said "Oh my mom is an artist, she can do that" without even asking me first. She begged and cried and begged and cried and I finally caved. On Friday. The event was on Saturday. So I went to the game on Saturday and sat in the stands with my cardboard and my huge tomato box full of acrylics, and painted up a sample board (way to wait till the last minute) of things I knew I could paint. Skulls, flowers, strawberries. When it was my turn to paint (i was scheduled for an hour between other volunteers), I went at it (with these horrible nasty dollar store "face paints" that the organization unknowingly provided) and apparently, I rocked. I didn't KNOW I was rockin until people started asking me if I did birthday parties and if I was professional, and could they have my card. (REALLY???) My line was longer than any of the other booths, so they sent some girls over to help me out. 80% of the people stayed firmly planted in MY line, and came back 2 or 3 times with tickets to get another painting. I ended up painting for FOUR hours instead of one because I couldn't let the kids down. I got the worst case of sun poisoning I have ever had, and was very sick for three days after, but happily sat in front of the pc, slathered in aloe and drinking ice water, and googled face paint pics and supplies. I couldn't get it out of my head. The idea of making people HAPPY and making money at it was pretty awesome. So I got me four little snaz kits from Michaels with a coupon, and went nuts on the neighborhood kits, using the snaz book and online resources as a guide. Then my friend asked me to paint at her graduation party in lieu of a gift, so I did. People asked me for my card. I didn't have any. But I did have computer printed strips of paper with my phone number on them. Two people called me, I painted for them for $30 for the whole party, no matter how long it took. (What did I know??!!) A month later I ordered $100 worth of snaz, booked in at a county fair and made a month's rent in three days. Cha CHING! And here I am, now, a one-stroke addict and face paint junkie, who lives and breathes for face painting.

I was at Faireworlds and saw the facepainters there and was just taken. I hung around on and off and on the second day a young man starts talking about the face painting, telling me about it and what they are using. And then says ya know my mom with show you how, come on. And this sweet young man introduces me to Sweet Loretta. We chat talk about the different art we do and just had a nice time. Later that night I returned to get painted and she introduced me to Fire Pixie, who painted me. After several months I saw some body paintings and thought of these two women. I looked up Sweet Loretta, saw her work and within a day was ordering paints and supplies from her. She called me, gave me some advice and sent me paint. I have been painting on people ever since. I am a sculptor but I do love face painting. And am happy to now paint at art festivals and wherever I can. Art is that way it inspires and calls you.

My church was having a festival. About a week before the event, my pastor (who is also my grandpa), knew that I dabbled in sfx make up and asked if I wanted to face paint. When I said "sure," he gave me $10 for supplies. At first, I wasn't really sure what products to use. I had used halloween grease paint before on myself to come up with cool designs, but they didn't seem like a very good idea with the Florida heat. So I started doing research on better face paints. I read up on all of the brands, learned how expensive they were (that was a shock), and started calling every craft and party supply store in town to see if they sold them. Only one store did, and their selection consisted of two very dried out snaz six color party palettes, priced at $20. I bought it.

With no practice, only that palette, a pack of paint brushes from Joann's, and a bag of cosmetic sponges, I face painted for six hours that Saturday. My designs were horrible compared to now, but the kids loved it. Three different people asked if face painted at parties as well. I smiled, said I probably could, then went home that night and did a lot more research.

A few weeks later I found the face paint forum, ordered some proper paints, and actually started practicing. I got my business license two months after the festival, and booked my first gig a week after that. I've been face painting since.

I've always been good with crafts, I have lots of neices and nephews and so for Christmas, to buy each of them something special got to be kind of expensive...not to mention my siblings and mother (I'm the kind who likes to buy for EVERYONE!)...anyway I made gingerbread dolls for all the girls and I honestly can't remember what I made for the boys. I even got fabric paint and painted the face and the wiggly lines on the hands and legs, each with a pretty dress that I put on them. I painted their names and the year I made them on each of the doll's backs. I can't remember what I did for the boys but the girls LOVED them and they still have them and it's been 16 years. I've painted rocks with animals on them, I 've made pottery from the potters wheel. I learned to make Indian pottery by hand and gathering clay from the earth along with pot sherds and also clay with muscle shells, mixing with water and conditionibg it, made a couple of fires out by a lake where I fired them, then burnished them to make them shine. I went to the Choctaw Indian Fair in Mississippi and never saw any there, then one year I saw some for sale that they had made, needless to say, mine were much better than theirs! I made the duck bowls that I once saw at a museum in MS that were found in Choctaw country. One year I bought wooden shapes from Michaels, I drilled holes in them, they were all western...cowboy hats, boots, stars, ??? I can't remember all of them but then I made small neckerchiefs from bandanas and these were Christmas ornaments I had painted and added glitter to. My sister loved them (so did I).
What got me face painting was that I had just joined the Feral Cat Coalition of San Antonio, TX and at the 1st meeting we were discussing ways we could raise money for the feral cats (spay, neutering, medicines, traps, food, etc.). I searched the internet for crafts and such. I thought we could have a small festival and try to get people to do volunteer work there at the festival. Booths, foods, snow cones, cat jewelry, cat toys, etc. Somehow I landed on face painting. I searched more about face painting and more, and more. I was fasinated, I had never seen a face painter nor a face being painting. It's been since last May and I have been buying supplies every month trying to prepare for this. I AM hooked!