In praise of good face painters

I have a lot of friends who do face and body painting.  I am always in awe of their work.  Becuase I know so many, I always find myself a little startled when I see people doing it improperly  Not talking about skill levels, but the materials and professionalism of the painter.

Twice this summer I have seen people who have no business being face painters.  Both were using acryic paint and neither had proper sanitation.  Acrylic is "non toxic" but that's not the same as "safe for skin"  I've met over a dozen people who have had children with very bad reactions to acrylic craft paint used as face paint.  Also only cosmetic glitter should be used, not craft glitter or glue.

although the friend who commented probably won't mind if I left her name visible, but I have not checked with her, so I blurred it out.

One of the two I saw recently took it a step further than just bad paint and no sanitation.  She let her own kids run wild through other people's booths, let the baby eat discarded food off the asphalt and breastfed while painting someone's face.  I'm as militant a person as you'll ever meet about a woman's right to nurse in public.  I did with all 4 of my kids, but there is a time and place and while you are actually working is not.  Especially if you are supposed to be interacting with someone else's child.

But so many people get it right and they are not hard to find.

Click this link to a gallery of an excellent face painter in Chicago.  She only uses quality FACE PAINT and has fantastic sanitation and safety standards.  http://theclassyclown.com/FACE%20PAINTING/FacePainting1.htm  

There are several good ones here in Kansas City.   Sister Act for example.  

If you're thinking of starting out in facepainting, check out this article and then google many others to get an idea of what you should and should not be doing.

http://painting.about.com/od/faceandbodypainting/a/FacePaintCindy.htm

Need supplies?  There are tons of places, but Mirae is a good place to start.  She's been doing this for awhile and knows her stuff.
http://theclassyclown.com/store.htm

Kansas City - City Market ...The rules only apply to some

I have noticed a trend at the market.

See this guy

That's Mark.  He's very talented and this is his favorite spot to perform.  He's manage to "randomly draw" this same spot for 5 weeks now.  The odds of that happening are 1 in 248000 (husband is getting PhD in statistics, he did the math for me).  Mark is a VERY lucky  man.  Maybe he should play the Lottery.

See this guy?

That's Glen.  He's a paid vendor on Saturday's but on Sunday he gets to set up and vend without paying.  He's not working for tips, he's selling.  

And even if he were acting as a busker one of the reasons we were given for charging face painters and balloon artists was that the people get something so in effect we are vending.  Is Glen only letting them watch him draw without giving them the paper?  If they are getting something then even if he worked for tips, Deb Connor's logic would dictate that he is vending.  Of course he has a set price so he's just out and out vending.

Why do some performers have to draw for a spot and take what they get but others get to have their favorite spot cherry picked for them?  Why do some people who are vendors on Saturday still have to pay to be there on Sunday?    

Seems like rules should be the same for everyone.

Defying the odds at Kansas City's City Market

It really didn't take long for the whole "random" spaces thing to fall apart.  At least for some performers.  Not all, some are still forced to draw spots and get what they get.  However, a few are gifted with the same choice spots week after week.  The odds of someone drawing the same spot 3 weeks in a row is less than 1 in 1000.  Somehow a couple of very lucky musicians have managed it.  One said, "Luck had nothing to do with it!" but then realized that he was saying too much and shut up.  Another performer, non music, confirmed for me that he was allowed to set up in a spot that isn't even one of the designated places.  Three vendors and two other people associated with the market confirmed for me that some performers get the space they want week after week and they had noticed that it didn't seem random.

Even more troubling is that one of Deb Connor's stated reasons for charging balloon artists, but not other performers is that "the kids get to take something away like they do with a vendor".  I don't actually buy that, but for a moment, let's give that argument a chance.  If that's the case, then why is she letting a portrait artist set up, WITHOUT PAYING and not in a designated spot when people get to take things away from his activity as well.

Deb, if you want to charge, how about charging all the performers a flat $10.  Don't force some into $54 plus fees for taxes and licences.

My family & I make enough to cover it, but have no desire to work under her conditions.  We can also make just as much money without working the market.  I have spoken with another balloon artist who said that the $54 was over half of what he made on an average Saturday.  50 - 60 % of earnings is simply too high a fee.  Then because he is now vending instead of working for tips he would be required to pay sales tax on all of that, not just income tax.  by the time you add in income tax, sales tax and material costs he would end up with less than 20% of what he grossed.  That is seriously out of control.

I do still shop at the market occasionally and am friends with many of the vendors, though I do find myself venturing out more and more to other area markets.  This is just another in a string of ways the market has become more corporate and less farmer's market over the past decade.  It makes me sad.  Luckily, Waldo, Brookside and Lawrence retain the earthy, cooperative air that I think a farmer's market shoudl have.

No more Balloons at the City Market

Looks like there will be no more balloons at Kansas City's Farmer's Market.  Deb Connors, the market manager, decided to single out balloon artists and face painters from the other entertainers and charge us as much as as a vendor.

I know it comes because some entertainers didn't follow the rules.  However instead of insisting that they do what they were supposed to and only work for tips, Deb decided to change the rules for us all.   There is one particular face painter who was allowed to set up wherever, not on one of the designated spots.  All the other face painters had to set up in specific places.   She was a member of the local doomsday cult, IHOP.  More than once she gave IHOP literature to my children and I'm sure they were not the only ones.   On two occasions I had people yell at me because they didn't want a Bible lesson with their balloon - although I was never in charge of anyone else's activities.  I'm not against people spreading their own religious beliefs as they feel called to.  True I'm not a fan of IHOP, but their religion is not at all on my list of reasons to dislike them.  What I don't care for is that only some religions and religious people are allowed into the city owned property.  Deb once told me that no fortune tellers or anything else that would upset the Mennonite farmers.  I get her reasoning, but then it seems that all religious activity be curtailed, not just some.

We always followed her rules.  Despite the fact that as the evolved they were (according to two lawyers I consulted) really pushing on the edges of what the 1st amendment allowed her to do.   Contrary to popular belief, the market is not private property, it is city property. Just like the Plaza and Power & Light.  Now the rules have gone way too far.  Makes me sad.  For 12 years I've enjoyed doing balloons there.  I always worked for tips only, even though sometimes that didn't pan out.  My theory was that if one person didn't have a tip, I'm sure the next one would make up for it. I never turned anyone away because they couldn't or even didn't want to put any money in my bucket.  I didn't treat them any differently, because treating people well always comes back to you.

One lady was at the market and got a flower.  She didn't have a tip and we made her one anyway.  I don't remember her.  It happens all the time.  She remembered us though.  Months later we got a card in the mail with $5 and a note.  She told us that she had been having an awful day and that flower was the one bright spot and she wanted to say thank you and tell us how much it meant.  The $5 was cool, but the card is priceless.  It was a bright spot in my day.

I'm going to miss the market, but it's not the only place in town where I busk.  I'll email my regulars so they know where to find me and post here and on my main website for everyone else.

---

update - April 7

Went to the market yesterday to purchase some produce and spices.  Found out that Deb is now drawing for the spaces randomly.  That's better in some sense, worse in others.  Some of the spaces are crap and not worth the time it takes to set  up.  Mark drew one of those.  Despite the fact that there were LOTS of open "good" spaces and it was already past noon AND there were only 3 performers in the whole place, he was stuck out somewhere that wouldn't allow him to make money.  He didn't play.  The coffee shop didn't have music on Sunday because no performer drew that spot.  Its' a shame since that's where people gather and for years they have been able to enjoy music.

Drawing is fair - but what happens when a performer draws a space where they wont' fit?  Knobtown Skiffle Band can't work in most of the spaces.  Neither can a facepainter or balloon artist.  Does she then allow them to set up in some other space and doesn't that remove the fairness from the whole thing?  Also why on earth would I PAY for a space that the other performers get for free?  If I am to pay shouldn't I be allowed to set up like a vendor with a 10x10 spot, not a 2x2 area?  I'm required to pay the same as they are, but not given the rights.  If I'm going to be a vendor then I want to be a vendor.  I want the spot, the control of how many people doing what I do can be there, the reliability of knowing where I'll be.  If I'm going to be subject to the same rules as the buskers, then I want the same price the other buskers pay.

It was sad to see the loss of energy at the market.  Not many musicians, no balloon artists, no face painters, no jugglers, no magicians.

Maket/Plaza balloon work

Anchor with starfish

Killer whale jumping through the waves

Mermaid scene

Red Octopus

Jelly Fish

Whale

Stingray

Seahorse

Side of scene

Palm Tree Scene

Big monkey

Parrot

Parrot

Weekend in balloons

This weekend I made a carousel with balloons.  It was a lot of fun to spin.  I hope my bad video skills don't give you a headache.

Then for Mother's Day I made these sculptures