I am not an artist, but boy do I like pretending I could be one! Thinking up ideas for our All Saints/All Souls Day Party the first year had me reminiscing about school carnivals and the Halloween party our church always threw for little kids. Two years in a row, I had helped at the face painting booth. That was before face painting, like everything else, got real fancy. That was when a heart or a smiley face would suffice. Now that kids are treated to true artists adorning their faces with gorgeous images of translucent, shimmering butterfly wings, ferocious dinosaurs who open their mouths when you do, and magical unicorns who can see through your eyes, I knew we’d need something at least a step up. And, as always, I wanted it to have a Catholic message.
Studying different Saints and their general symbols to make our Saint Pumpkins put me on the right path (in more ways than one!) for finding suitable face paint images. My first thought was a rose for St. Thérèse, since she’s always showering down roses. I figured that could also work for St. Rose of Lima, because of her name and the crown of red roses she’s often pictured with. I was also going for things simple enough that I could paint, and cool enough that the kids would want. For the boys, the first one I figured out was a sword in honor of St. Michael the Archangel. From there, I came up with more outlandish things – like St. Francis’ mostly bald head with a bird on top of it, and an eyeball for St. Lucy.
Each year, we set up our face painting chairs with a sign proclaiming it’s St. Luke’s face paint studio. St. Luke was a doctor, and the patron of painters. Last year, one of the moms that joined our group was a former art teacher, who had just bought the good face paint for a family event that didn’t pan out. I love it when God just hands me wonderful gifts like that! She expertly took charge of the face paint studio and decked the kids out in whatever they asked for, so long as God made it. Genius!
You can find easy face paint in a huge array of colors for about $10 in-store at Walmart. If you want the nice cream ones that the professionals use (and face-safe glitter and stencils), hop on Amazon. Send us photos of your masterpieces!
