Oregon Country Fair

Oregon Country Fair is this weekend in Veneta, Oregon and I am so exited. I look forward to fair every year, the amazing vendors, music, shows, food, but most importantly to the wonderful body painting on display all weekend long. There are some seriously talented artists and it is shaping up to be the perfect weekend for them, the warm the weather the more bodies they get to paint!
To see some awesome pictures from past fairs go here http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/photo_gallery.php

I have been chatting with a few local Portland body paint artists about the project, but I am excited to talk to some of the artists at the fair and possibly getting a little painting done on myself. If painting happens there will be pictures, so check back next week. Even if I don't decide to get painted I do plan on taking my camera to capture some of the OCF awesomeness to share with everyone. Fair has a way of inspiring an artist, with so many talented people surrounding you it is hard not to walk away with the excitement to go out and create. I am looking forward to the weekend as a creative recharge for me.

I think their website says it best.
"The Oregon Country Fair creates events and experiences that nourish the spirit, explore living artfully and authentically on Earth, and transform culture in magical, joyous and healthy ways."

How It All Began

I thought it might be fun to give a little history on how this whole concept came about. It all started one dark and stormy night, wait no sorry that was just me channeling my inner mad scientist. Really it all started one long sleep deprived night during my 3D art course. The studio this class was held in a large warehouse style building on the edge of campus where the photography studio, darkroom and printing studio were also located. I am pretty sure I spent more time in that building than I spent at home, I am not even sure why I had an apartment I could have set up a cot in the art building and saved myself $400 a month.

During this time there was a small group of us that you could count on being in the 3D art studio all night the day before critique which lead to many crazy nighttime adventures, that often consisted of us loudly singing songs from the 80s and dancing around on the long studio tables. The tables also made very good catwalks. I swear we were being productive it was all a part of the creative process. I was also doing a lot of stargazing, probably because I was up at all hours of the night. I had tons of charts for viewing different constellations and planets, I was fascinated with the night sky.

Constellations Corona Australis and Corona Borealis.

I think you can all see where this is going, it was during one of theses crazy sessions, amidst the chaos while I was slathering Mod Podge over a particularly hideous project, I came up with the seemingly brilliant idea of painting constellations on to women's bodies. Luckily the two girls who where also in the studio with me were clearly as just as sleep deprived, because not only did they think it was a good idea they volunteered to be my model and help me paint. Thus the first conceptions of this idea formed.