Hello all, 
I have a new found love. A love of S.T.E.A.M. Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math.
Yes thats right I said it....I love Science , Math and Engineering. I think more people indulge in these topics more than they think. 
I have been working at a public school for about 7 years now. I started in the cafeteria and playground. I then moved into a classroom helping out children with special needs. They really had my heart. I then applied for the Technology aid position and when I got that position unbeknownst  to me it came with the innovation lab responsibilities. At first I was overwhelmed but I soon came to love love love it. 
Fun4UFaces wants to introduce to you an extension of party packages that we will offer. I am so happy and excited to be offering this amazing and fun package. Each package will be designed to your personal needs. We will be offering things such as, balloon cars and talk about the science end  of movement, such as Newtons laws. We will be offering engineering and making bird feeders out of recycled materials. We will offer so much more that. I will be based on age and their capabilities. All of which will be discussed when you are ready to book a S.T.E.A.M party with us. 
​

Canvas painting is all the rage right now. When I first started years ago it was for children....I am so happy to see this has taken off, to delight Women and Men as well.... It really is a great time for people to get together and really enjoy each other.

This image was a Valentines day couples party in which I had the pleasure of teaching. I have to say it was almost a therapy session more than an educational experience. In this session the couples had to paint an image with a road coming together. In the end you can see how couples worked together and the reflection of their relationships in the paintings. Insofar as, If  the road came together. If the colors were the same. If they worked together to make it look as one...some were way off and some really worked well together..as I was told by the couples...this was how their relationships were in life..it was the most profound moment in my painting career. 

In my painting classes you will learn the theory of light and color, perspective, dimension, shadowing, highlighting, tips on how to get an idea of something by just laying down your brush. You will also get confidence on painting. Most people often say "I can't do that" or "Oh no this looks too hard" When all is said and done they often say "wow, I really pulled this off" This is so much  fun...to see such confidence at the end is beautiful. I really do love this part of my business. We really have a good time.  Here are just some of the reasons to have a party..
 Girls’ Night Out • Birthday parties • Bachelorette parties • Baby showers • Church groups
• Hunting Season parties • Team Building / Corporate Events • Office parties • Graduation parties
• Field trips • Wedding Showers • Employee Appreciation Day • Family Reunion Events
• Class Reunion Event • Retirement parties • Sweet Sixteen parties • Neighborhood Block parties
• Holiday/Seasonal parties • Organization parties (Book Clubs, Art Clubs, Red Hat, Junior League, Girl Scouts, Sororities) any reason is a good reason...So let's have some fun and book a party today! We will come to you in the comfort of your home or office...wishing you all the best...

 What do you expect from your entertainer? How much are you willing to pay for your expectations to be met?

As face painting and body art take over the world most customers still think we do this for fun. Us entertainers consider it  fun..yes.... but its also a business. 

Here are a list of things we expect to do for you, to make your event special. 
First we expect to have a great conversation about your event and meet all your needs on the first phone call. 
We want to give you the best rate possible without selling ourselves short. It is so hard to give rates based on our needs and expenses without explaining that to you every time. Consider what we have to do in order to make this work. We have to take at least 15 -30 mins for an initial conversation just to figure out what your needs are. We then have to fit it into our schedules or find other artists to fit the bill. Which at times takes a day or two.  We have to write up invoices. Make sure you get the invoice in a timely manner. Educate ourselves on technique, which is an expense. Show up on time  and do a great job.

In order to all  of this and run our businesses in a professional fashion we need to do the following: Build a brand, set up a tax id #, buy supplies, set up ways to take deposit payments, have a website, set up social media, apply for annual  liability insurance, have a mode of transportation, have insurance for transportation and a ton of other things. So by now I am sure you get the point. This is all  just the beginning of what we expect from ourselves to do a great job for you!  Without all of that we could not possibly achieve a job well done,  from ourselves. 

So with that said, I am wondering now what you expect from us? Maybe a discount? Maybe more for your money? Consider this...If I were a lawyer or a doctor, would you ask for a discount? I don't expect to be compared to any of those professions, but am I not entertaining your kids? Am I not making their event special? Do I teach them a thing or two about customer service, entertainment, art and fun? Yes...and don't forget a bit of patience...which in the instant gratification generation should be first priority. As an entertainer I want to make sure your child feels special and that is my job.

Our expectations of customers is fairly simple. First we would like to thank you for being our customers. We really don't expect too much. We want to be treated fairly. For you to have a reasonable idea on what it costs us to run our companies well. Pay us what we are worth, have a table ready upon arrival (if not we will bring our own), be courteous and offer at least a glass of water..believe it or not that doesn't happen often. Have the final payment ready upon arrival so we are not waiting around. Sometimes our jobs are back to back and we have a very small window to work with. It is very important for us to to arrive at your event on time and we expect to arrive to the event after yours on time as well.

There are tons of companies that are just starting out that will give you a great discount. That's great and that happens..but ask yourself, What are they bringing to the table? Will they be professional? Will their kits be clean? Will they have a great and fun personality? Will they leave you with a great sense of accomplishment? Having your friends say that your event was great is important..So consider all this when hiring an entertainment company..Consider the expectations..

​

2015 may be the best winter I've experienced in New York in the 23 yrs I have lived here. Although we are not out of the woods yet. Let me tell you I have been through some tough ones. So the Christmas season is upon us and I just want to say I am so grateful for the parties I have been booking. Just this month alone I have been booked for Henna, Face painting, Glitter tattoos, Airbrush T-shirts and Airbrushed tattoos and Canvas painting parties..I am grateful to be given the opportunity to show my diverse love for the arts. 

Speaking about Art, President Obama has signed and passed the Every Student Succeeds Act. This is the end of the no child left behind act. (NCLB). This new law holds great promise for restoring arts education as central to the school day and in the lives of students and our nation’s future workforce.NCLB policies resulted in many unintended consequences to schools, teachers, and students across the country. It demanded accountability steps that resulted in a hyper-focus on testing in a few subjects, leaving other core academic subjects—like the arts—to be reduced, or in some places, abandoned. The bill signed today removes this onerous element of NCLB and provides support for a well-rounded education, with all the arts disciplines represented, to be realized throughout the country. Stated in the article by Robert L. Lynch on Dec 10,2015. 


I for one believe that this act that was passed is the best gift we could give our children. I also believe that there should be an assistant in all Art rooms across America. I teach Art at a summer recreation program in a local school for the district and whole heartedly believe I could not do it without my great volunteers. Planning out lessons and preparing them for multiple ages can be overwhelming. We as a community need to step up and demand that Teacher assistants be put in Art rooms. It would really benefit a lot of individuals who really need the jobs and help out the Art teacher who clearly needs the extra hands. 


So some fun news: Fun4UFaces will be teaching workshops on multiple types of media at a new gallery opening up in Rockville Centre, NY. I will also have some artwork displayed there in the gallery.  I will have more information coming on that soon. I would love your feedback to find out what you would love to learn as individuals. 


Getting the new year in full swing. I will be taking appointments for parties coming in the new year. I will be adding tons of new things such as elite entertainment, costume designing and bringing on more models that I cannot wait to work with.  So stay tuned. 


Hope you all have a wonderful and safe Christmas, Yule, Chanukah, Eid, Rohatsu, Kwanzaa and any other religious holiday you may celebrate. Be well my friends..


Blessed be, 
Andrea

So as Halloween came to a close, I find myself feeling a little bitter sweet as this season is my favorite time of the year . As you can possibly imagine its a very busy time and it can be exhausting for us face and body artists. Once all is said and done some of us are feeling the emptiness of having to juggle all the clients, scheduling appointments and being creative. Although the quiet time does not last as we all know, and soon we find ourselves with a renewed energy. An energy that is much needed for the next bout of a busy season. I am already booking for Christmas and New Years Eve. Well honestly I am already booking into May of 2016. 

Let me tell you a little bit about how I became a face painter...quite interesting indeed...how one becomes a face painter...Anyway...one of my good friends worked for a church cooking for the Priests and Nuns. A man walked in and asked my friend if she knew of a face painter. She had said "no, but I know of an artist". She gave him my number he hired me on the spot, he bought my first kit and I was off to the races..Literally...he hired me to paint at Belmont Racetrack. That was 17 years ago. Really I have to say that was a devine intervention and God really had his hand in that course that changed my life forever. Sadly that man passed away 2 yrs after I started working for him and I decided to give it a go on my own. 

I am happy to say I have so loved this journey. I've met great people along the way. I've been in many beautiful homes as well. It is amazing where this industry takes you. I have painted for a company called Wolfe FX . They have had me at their booth at the International Make Up Artists Trade Show (IMATS). The locations have been in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto.  I have gone into NYC painting for corporations like CO. The founder is pictured here in this blog. I have painted for Nickelodeon Halo Awards, I have been on Channel 12 news Long Island teaching a Halloween application segment. Honestly I can go on with how wonderful this business is. Minus the competitive aspect of it. Competition has never been my strong suit..I feel it breeds anxiety, hopelessness and despair. One can only imagine the feeling of being the best..how lonely is that? So I mainly put my energy into the positive aspects of the business. Like teaching and giving back.

Face painting and Body Art isn't the only thing I do....
Teaching art is the premise to my work. Painting is my passion. Whether it be on canvas or on the body. I love to create, I love to teach. When i have classes, I love to let the kids and adults create their own rendition of a famous artist. Or they can create something on their own, from with in. Art is all around us and its being created every second of everyday. It is forever evolving. Be creative and love what you do..its important.

Peace and love, 
Andrea Colletti
Fun4UFaces@aol.com
516-643-9930

Halloween...the most magical time of the year. According to me. This is the time of transforming people into characters and allowing them to be someone other than themselves is so much fun.

Costumes can be expensive but with  some face painting, clothes from your closet and/or hiring a professional face painter you can be in costume in no time. 

I have been face painting for 17 yrs now and honestly I've seen loads of stuff when it comes to this industry. We are full of some very creative people. Lots of us are ladies and the handful of men in this industry rock out some crazy designs. They sure can hold their own in this woman dominated industry.  

Most of my clients come to my location mainly because I get so busy that traveling door to door has been a little hectic for me. So clients call and I book them out mostly in half hour increments. Time depends on if I am doing prosthetics  and special fx applications. In the picture shown, the Jester had a prosthetic chin and nose & contacts. The application, make-up and contacts took about 45 min to complete. He turned out fantastic.  He was very pleased, which makes me happy. 

There are all types of events in which I do this time of year. There are school functions that have up to 200 people per night and there are corporate functions that are only 12 clients at a time. All of which have their own set of ups and downs..Mainly with 200+ kids you are limited on designs. When you are at a function where you have less clients and a bit more time you can be as creative as you like. 

Nest time your in need of a costume don't put aside face painting. It can be more effective with just that than paying tons for a costume. We face painters get booked up so fast our heads spin at times. We try to fit everyone in and we have a list of other painters in our area to cover a gig if we need to...and that is if the other painters are available. So call and book us early in the year because waiting till the last minute may cost you more in the long run. 

Have a Happy and Safe Halloween,

Andrea 

I started a new blog and thought it was saved. Rats I lost the whole thing. I guess I will have to start over and shorten my previous version. Lucky for you I think I was rambling on about self esteem and such. What I was saying in the previous blog was "What makes you happy?" Especially Women and Girls. Have you asked yourselves that? Have you taken the time out of your life to truly sit down and figure out if you are doing at least one thing in your life that makes you happy. As we juggle work, home life, children, chores, dating, fitness, food  choices and such are we truly happy? Have we actually been asking ourselves, " Have I taken at least 1hour out of my busy day to be happy?". Most likely the answer is NO. Most of the time life flashes by and seasons go into seasons and we find ourselves asking, " Where did the time go?" 

There are several factors in making yourself happy. Of course the first one being Love. Love is something everyone needs in order to survive. Whether it being a spouse, boyfriend, children, siblings, parents, pets or friends. We are all in search of Love. In all that searching, have we forgotten to love ourselves? We as a whole need to first love ourselves.  How can we possibly love others and have others love us back if we start with the absence of love with in? 

There are other factors in being happy. Doing things that we love to do such as Yoga, fitness, cooking, crafting, building, learning, working and so forth. How do we know what we love? Do things outside the box. Do something you never thought you would do. Ask yourself what can I do that I normally would not. When you embark on a new adventure you often find people that are on a similar path as yourself, possibly in the search for happiness. 

17yrs ago I started a new  path in Face Painting. It started where I was working for a racetrack for a family fun day they had organized. The person I worked for died. Someone said, "if you love this do it for yourself!" I did! At first the industry seemed small and there were not too many others who just face painted. Most of them  were clowns first, balloon twisters second and face painters third. I could not clown. I froze every time I tried. Im funnier within my own skin. It was hard to find new things to keep things fresh, but I forged ahead. Years later I found that this  industry grew so much and I have met some wonderful people. I have made some great friends. Sure Ive made some that were not so great. It doesn't mean they are not good people. Just not good for me. The face painting industry is made up of mostly women. These women have found a way to support themselves, each other and their families, all by making children and adults smile. How wonderful is that? I am so thankful that I have found this type of work, because honestly it doesn't seem like work.  

We all need to find some sort of support in something we love to do. My goal is that I want to support my community  and teach others to support theirs, by offering tons of classes. Groups in which they can join and places to make them feel safe and happy. Especially young girls who have no direction and happiness. Our young generation seems so lost. So eager to find happiness and to be accepted for who they are. If you are interested in discussions on how we can better our young girls by helping them find direction please contact me via, www.fun4ufaces.com or at fun4ufaces@aol.com to discuss how we can make our girls stronger.

Until next time  we will discuss the path in which we must take in order to raise girls with confidence. It is important! We are raising a very uncommunicative bunch. How will they ever survive?