Face Painting : Molly Danielsson

In my attempts to live nomadically I have found that the most tiring aspect of the nomadic life is the ever present potential of loneliness to creep in on my heart. In our day and age it's quite easy to live a very good life while continuously on the move. However, there are less and less social practices that allow us to meet and truly engage with new acquaintances outside of religious practices. I often find that the easiest ways to engage with people is through purchasing things from them or purchasing things that give me access (like drinks at a bar) to talk with other people who have purchased a similar thing. I'm always surprised to find so few options for more interesting social interactions. I do hope the internet can get around to fixing this whole isolation problem.

I regularly ask new acquaintances if they don't mind if I draw them while we talk, I don't even ask them to sit still. Portraiture has been an incredible tool for me to have meaningful interactions with complete strangers. Portraiture is an excellent way for me to engage people at a low key dinner party, but it fails to work in more lively settings like a three mile paddleboat ride down a Scandinavian harbor, for example. For more active situations I turn to the glitter, color and sheer sparklessence of face painting to stimulate special encounters among new and old friends.

Face painting seems to have magical powers to relinquish all the negative aspects of one's character and illuminate the beauty. Further research is required.

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