Cheek Art for 4 Hours

[Sherry]

I have an event this weekend where they are deciding the designs we can offer.  It's simple cheek art for 4 hours.    Bummer.  We'll see how it goes, but it seems pretty ho hum.  This will be a first for me, where the customer provides the choices.  I can't complain too much, because I'm grateful to be working, but I really do enjoy deciding what choices I'll offer.  

Here's what they sent.

[smoothdansa]

I couldn't do it.  I'd probably say nope, not happening and hang up the phone.  I mean you're the professional so you should decide what to offer, at most they could give suggestions but for them to have complete control over what you paint to the point that they choose designs that aren't even yours; well like I said, it couldn't be me.  Then again, those designs don't look hard so maybe it's a good thing.

[sparklingfaces]

wow - I HATE cheek art  - blarg!

[Sherry]

I know... me too!  Looking at the designs, I wonder if anyone really painted them.  They look like some sort of clipart merged onto the childrens faces.  Especially the baseball and bat... they look so tiny and detailed that it makes me think no one really painted that on his face.  I think it would be hard to paint so tiny on a wiggly child's face.

[sealmom]

I refuse to do "cheek art" and any one who asks for it I tell them they need to find another artist.  It is absolutely NOT in my business plan to do cheek art and don't want to get known for it.  So I simply don't offer it.  There are plenty of people in my trade area who do "cheek art"... but very few who do full face... and I want to maintain our uniqueness in this trade area. 

[Lonnie]

I agree with you that it looks like some of them have been copied on on the computer  . It doesn't look very good. Why don't you try to mail them some examples of what you usually do? Oh, hang on, it is too late now... Let us know how it went?

[Sherry]

It went pretty good.  We added bunny ears to the bunny whiskers looking design and it became the most popular choice.    The only one I didn't like doing was the bunny cheek art.  Not a great design to do on a small wiggly child's cheek.  I really wasn't impressed with how it looked on a few non wiggly kids either.  Artists error, me thinks. They seemed happy though!

This event was BUSY, so the time passed quickly.  I had one parent meltdown and of course her daughter was the one who was pawing all over my stuff.  She even picked up my camera and started messing with it.  The mother said nothing.  We had one line that would filter to either me or my partner artist... whichever one of us was free next.  After I'd finish one child, I would turn and say, "Who's next?" and take whoever came and sat in my chair.

 I'm not sure how it happened exactly, but I guess when it was this woman's child's turn, she'd ran off to the dance stage.  I called, "Next", no one was coming over, in fact, I specifically remember seeing this parent oblivious, looking off in the distance and standing behind my partner artists' chair.  Finally a boy came and sat down.  I started asking what he'd like, when the parent of the girl started complaining at me.  Telling me that it was her daughter's turn and how long they'd been waiting and calling to her daughter on the stage.  I really didn't get a chance to say much, because she was getting angry, making a scene and telling me that it wasn't fair.  Meanwhile, we have this huge line.  I'm thinking, I could have been done already, if she would have let me start on the boys design.  I can't just kick this boy out of my chair, when I don't even know who's next.  

When I tried to say something, she interrupted and said, "I don't want to hear anything you have to say."  With that, I turned and did the boys design.  She was even more angry then and wouldn't let any of her children come to my line and made a big show of having them only go to the other artists line.  Hmmm.  Other than that little heated thing, it was a great event and I had a good time.  

I did end up face painting her one daughter that had messed with all my stuff.  Not sure how it happened after she made a big show of letting them and everyone know they were only going to the other face painter.  After I did a few more faces, I called, "Next." and here was her daughter sitting down in my chair.  

[Psalmbook]

Yikes, all cheek art!? I think I hd a nightmare about that once

Some people just have bad behavior....