Facepainting for the Community

Last week was full of wonderful surprises at the Brentwood Village Spring Fest and the grand opening of the Tessie Cleveland Community Center in Gardena.

First off, Saturday was face painting at the Brentwood Village Spring Festival. This was an event I've been looking forward to since January!  Since the Holiday event in Brentwood got canceled due to rain, I knew this one was going to be double the fun, especially since the community was really looking forward to it.  I got there around noon, and set up near the store called Wonderland, which has incredibly cute baby and kid's clothes, toys and furniture.  To the right of me was a pet adoption, and I enjoyed the little pups running around for the duration of my time facepainting. 

By the time 1:00pm rolled around, my line was pretty long! When I'm busy at work painting, and finally look up to see 15 people waiting to get a face, it's quite invigorating.  The popular faces of the day were puppies and kitties (due to the inspiration of the pet adoption next door), as well as flowers and peace signs. One little girl who was decked out in adorable hippy attire was in dire need of a peacock face, which turned out pretty nice, with green and purple sparkling peacock feathers spreading out from the corner of her eye.

Thanks to Jennifer Turchin for hiring Paint On Your Face and sponsoring a bunch of other fun activities that day.  If you get a chance, visit her store Jennifer Knits in Brentwood Village to stock up on beautiful specialty knits and yarn. They also hold knitting workshops and classes.

Facepainting for community events is wonderful because people who live close to one another can  hang out and share common experiences.  That's what community is all about!  Especially when kids and young adults are involved, it creates an atmosphere where friendships start. It's awesome when I'm face painting at a block party or business and neighbors who have lived next door to each other for 10 years start their first conversation.

  






The Tessie Cleveland Community Center Grand Opening was all about  close knit community.  The kids really came together, and formed relationships while standing in line for facepainting. I overheard them telling each other how great they looked. Siblings were hugging, and parents were taking pictures of their children.  It was a real celebration, and I was so glad to have been apart of it. It's amazing that something so simple like face painting can be an outlet for people to open up to those around them.  Very special thanks to Sylvia Ramirez for hiring me and allowing me to witness the strength of this great center of growth for young people.