It’s Not Easy Being Green

by Mary Carol Holbert, DTM

Christine Bryant &
Mary Carol Green Holbert

I have a whole new appreciation for actors who have to be made up for their roles in television, movies, and the theatre. I’ve always read about the time it takes for some people to be transformed into exotic characters, but now I have first-hand experience.

From the time we learned our District 84 2012 Fall conference theme would be SciFi, I knew I wanted to be an alien for the event. I had visions of some exotic, never-before-encountered species, and wanted to find an artist who could do face/body paint to transform me into such a creature. However, I didn’t realize how difficult it was to find someone to make that happen!

It turns out that you can easily find people who will do face-painting for events (parties, conferences, special events), but finding someone who will work with individual clients was much harder. I had combed the internet, and made numerous calls before I found one artist who, while unable to help me herself, was kind enough to refer another artist to me.

When Christine D. Bryant called to offer her make-up services, I was thrilled! Christine has been doing face and body painting for several years now, initially honing her craft at Disney before venturing out in her own business. (She also works in other mediums, creating drawings and paintings as well as body art.)

“I’ve never done an alien,” she said. “I’d love to create something for you!” With those words, the deal was made, and I had an artist to transform me into something out of this world.

The process was labor-intensive. Christine brought her box of artist’s colors, all specially made for applying to skin, and (thankfully!) soap and water soluble! She applied layer after layer of color: first teal, then a neon green, then another green – all blended together to highlight angles, bones, and facial features. Then, she drew and outlined spots, until I definitely looked more alien than human!

In some ways, the process reminded me of what happens in Toastmasters all the time, as we apply what we learn about the craft of public speaking to our speech projects. Each project is like another layer of paint, blending with the ones we’ve already laid as our foundation. We build upon a base, step by step, until our speaking skills are transformed, and we find ourselves changed. Happily, the new communication and leadership skills we gain won’t rinse off in the shower!

I have to agree with Kermit: it’s not easy being green! It took four and a half hours, and one very talented artist, to transform me into an exotic, white-spot-dappled, teal-green alien, but the end effect was worth every minute! I had a blast!

I enjoyed working with Christine – she’s fantastic! I found both the body-painting process and the end result fascinating!

Again, I can relate that experience to what we go through in Toastmasters. Granted, it takes a little longer than four and a half hours to transform ourselves into confident, inspiring public speakers and leaders, but if we enjoy our educational process, we’ll reach the next level soon enough! We can build our confidence with Toastmasters!

We can become more than we thought we could be, layer by layer, skill by skill. It simply takes desire, application, and time.

And if you feel the need to let your inner alien (or geisha, character, animal, monster, or fantastic creature) out, by all means, contact Christine! [Check out her work on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christine.d.bryant]