A New Year

New beginnings
are always exciting.
It about the possibilities
that lay before us,
and how far
we are willing
to let them take us.

Happy New Year.
May 2013 show us the way
to merry foolhardiness.

Monday's Magnetic Poetry

Never Sorry

The first time I heard of the Ai Wei Wei was a few years ago when the Sunflower Seeds project was being exhibited at the Tate Modern in London. The art installation was made up of one hundred million handmade porcelain sunflower seeds, covering the ground of the Tate Modern Turbine Hall. Each sunflower seeds had been painstakingly moulded, fired at 1300 C°, hand painted and fired again.

The process of fabricating these seeds is fascinating and seeing how real they look almost makes you want to eat them. But imagining creating a space filled with one hundred million seeds was absolutely mindblowing.  I was beginning to like this Ai Wei Wei.  There was something uncensored and limitless about his art.

So when I heard about the documentary Never Sorry, I just had to go see it.  The film — which received a special jury prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival —, takes you on a journey where you discover not only an audacious contemporary artist, but also an individual who confronts, opposes, denounces and disses the Chinese goverment with unrelenting verve and creative effrontery. Behind that soft spokeness, is a deep roar that seeks to bring change for his country and his people.

So if you do get a chance to see this unique film at a theatre new you or to rent the dvd, don't hesitate.  You really won't be sorry.

It's Time To Sparkle!

Spring... The last honeysuckles around my neighbourhood have given their last blooms, which for the past few weeks have filled the morning air with that unique and intoxicating scent.

I suddenly understand why the main character in the novel entitled Perfume, — Jean-Baptiste Grenouille — pursues his obsession of trying to capture human scent in a bottle. There are some scents, you just want to capture forever. If I could put the pure scent of honeysuckle in a small bottle, I would. 

But instead, I created flowers on this lovely client a few days ago, who wanted something special for a wedding she was attending that same evening.

That's one good thing about the Bijou Tattoo, you can get it done on the same day of your event, as opposed to henna body art which takes about 48 hours to get to its maximum darkness.

Of course, these flowers don't smell anything...but they sure do sparkle!

Some Like It Red!

Sometimes having a brilliant idea comes in a instant.  However, giving life to that brilliant idea sometimes can take quite a while.  

For example, I remember reading that it took 8 years for Salma Hayek to be able gather all the money and collaborators necessary to make the movie Frida.  

My great idea came more than 3 years ago, when in a flash, I imagined how great it would be to create an image of a blue-eyed redhead wearing beautiful henna on her hands.

First I had to find the perfect redhead with sparkling blue eyes. Not a small feat, as I'm sure you can imagine.  Did you know there are a lot of redheads with pretty brown eyes?!

My search finally ended last summer, when one of my henna clients, — a lovely young woman named Lily —, came by my studio for another henna session, flaunting her gorgeous hennaed hair and her crystal clear blue eyes.  She had just graduated from acting school and I knew she would be the perfect model for my henna project.

She was delighted at the thought of being able to play the henna muse and we tentatively schedule a date for sometime in the fall to do the henna and photo shoot, but because I still wasn't clear on what kind of design I wanted to create, I decided to postpone the project until I had more material.

More than 6 months would  pass before I started seeing clearly what kind of background I needed to use to get the contrast I wanted create, what kind of dress and accessories the model would wear to complement the henna, what kind of henna gloves I was going to design (mid or full gloves, fingerless, etc.), what angles I would shoot, what poses, what style, etc.  

This long creative process is often like working on a complicated puzzle where you work on building the contour first. And then you try to put together some same colored pieces together. Then slowly you've formed big chunks and manage to place them where they belong in the big picture, until suddenly everything come together to form the completed puzzle.

We finally got to reschedule the henna session and photo shoot in April. And I have to say, after 3 longs years, it was worth the wait!

Playing With Words

Remember that magnetic board project I mentioned a few posts ago ? Well, today I'm finally posting the overdue instructions on how to create one of your own.  But first a little story... 

Over a year ago, I bought a magnetic poetry kit for my daughter as a birthday gift, only to realize that the magnetic board they sell at various stores cost a little fortune and frankly, are not the prettiest suckers in the world. White board, bland, boring. Grey board, bland, boring. Not fit for a teen's funky room.

So I started thinking about a creative alternative. The kit contained 500 words so the board needed to be at least 16x20 inches, which would make it easy to place on any wall.  Weeks went by but I wasn't struck with any kind of ingenious idea.   So, in the meantime, I decided to get a poetry kit of my own thinking how much fun it would be to have a some poetry right smack in the middle of the hallway.

One day, as I was heading back home, I found 2 laminated picture frames placed in a box out on the sidewalk. They were obviously meant for trash and suddenly creative lightning struck at last. As I reached for them to have a closer look, I saw they would be the perfect size for the poetry kits that were waiting to be exposed. 

Like a giddy school girl, I strutted back home with my soon-to-be-fancy finds. I thought about what colour I wanted the boards to be and then I remembered reading something about magnetic paint and set out to find some at the hardware store. I was ready to start my magnetic board project.

STEP 1: Find a laminated board, preferably with a boring picture that way you won't feel any guilt when it comes time to splatter the thing with paint. You can pick the size you prefer. It could be one big one, like a 16x20 or 2 or 3 smaller ones like 8x10.

Laminated frames were all the rage in the 80's and 90s. I'm sure you could ask around and find someone who has one in their basement. With a little good timing and luck, you might even find one in the trash!

STEP 2: Clean the frame and surround the edges with masking tape. I used soap and water and then a few squirts of Windex. I know. I know. It was my excuse for being able to spray on a flat surface.

STEP 3: Take a paint brush and cover with magnetic paint. The product says 3 layers, but I wanted to apply a colored paint over the magnetic paint, so I went for 5 layers. I used a paint brush even though it's recommended to use a roller brush. But if I had to do this project again (which I won't. You know, been-there-done-that kinda thing!) I would use a roller just for the sake of creating a smoother surface.  

Let each coat dry well (about 1 to 1½ hour) between each new application.  And if you're planning to apply a coloured paint over the magnetic paint, let the latter dry thoroughly for about 24 hours.

Once you've applied all your magnetic and colored paint, gently remove the masking tape around the edges.

I would recommend that you wait a few days before placing the magnetic words on the board, particularly if you chose to cover the magnetic paint with colored paint.  If the colored paint hasn't hardened enough, you risk having the magnetic words stay stuck on the board and when you remove them, the colored paint will peel off.  Trust me... I speak from experience!


I have to say, having a poetry board in the hallway is a lot more fun than I expected.  Everybody who comes to my home stops right in front of it (well, it's not like they could miss it!) and can't help to start placing words together, creating peculiar and joyful poetry.

Monday's Magnetic Poetry

Bald. Bold. Beautiful.

Three words that describe so well the women wearing their henna crowns and which are also part of this wonderful book published by Henna Heals — a social purpose business offering henna crowns as an alternative to wigs and scarves, for people suffering from hair loss due to alopecia or cancer treatments.

The book is filled with beautiful henna photos taken by photographer, Frances Darwin — who is also the founder of Henna Heals —, as well as a few of my own henna portraits. The company is based in Toronto and the henna crowns are provided by three talented henna artists: Nadia Bukhari, Holly Monster and Tarquin Singh.

Sparkling Skin Jewel!

My latest glitter body art design.

Christmas parties are just around the corner and ladies want to sparkle, shine and scintillate!

A few days ago, a friend of mine who happens to be a true Spartan goddess posted on my FB wall: “Some girls are just born with glitter in their veins”.  I swear it must be true!

Monday's Magnetic Poetry