Day 142 - No Rapture at Iris Festival!

Let me start off with this video to let you know how wrong some single minded people were:

Now that this is out of the way, today was the start of the Iris Festival in Greeneville, TN. I did not know that a very good friend of mine Tammy Howell of Making Faces was going to be there. We both did really good and had one heck of a great day. It was hot but non the less, it did not stop folks from coming out and having a blast. Tomorrow is shorter, but promises to be just as good if not better.

Oh, and just 2 more days until we hit the road for FABAIC! YEAH!!!!!!

Happy Painting!

Day 141 - FABATV Preview Was A Success!

Video streaming by Ustream

So if you didn't get to see the preview, you missed out on a great start to one of the most unique online experiences to date! This promises to be the best online workshop resource besides mine!

Wiser Oner was the instructor for the preview and he did such a wonderful job and also got a bunch of marriage proposals! He did a Bad Ass Skull w/ Wing design and it was incredible. He also showed us a simple graffiti design. He is a world class instructor and can't wait to take his class at FABAIC.

Check out www.FABATV.com and check out the free previews before you subscribe. Subscriptions right now are discounted to $29.99/month or $249.99/annual. They have 6 classes right now and will be adding 6 classes each month. All classes run about an hour and as long as you are subscribed, you can watch the videos as many times as you want. These are professional videos that will give you everything you need from basics to advanced painting, marketing & more!

Now, I know what you are thinking, Why would Katmandew be advertising his competition? Well for one thing, they do not have my designs or style, secondly, You can learn from more than just me. Now I can say for sure that my prices are lower for my tutorials, but they are not high quality like theirs. You will have to make a decision for yourself and hope that you choose to subscribe to both. They have a lot more experience doing workshops than I do and they have a better setup than my bedroom. Once I have the money and resources they have, I can make my videos more professional. But for right now you will just have to settle for my small website kfba365.moonfruit.com

I also know those who have already subscribed that you are waiting for more tutorials, I have been very busy and have not had the time to make any, but I promise you that after the convention I will be making more and posting just as FABATV is. I will have 6-10 new tutorials a month. And I know I still have to put up the 2 tutorials I promised and they will be up by the end of the weekend, I PROMISE!

So, until tomorrow, Happy Painting!

Day 140 - Southern Hospitality

We all know the real meaning of Southern Hospitality, to tell someone you will do something without the intention of actually doing it.

That is exactly what happened today. But let me first say THANK YOU to Roger's Trucking for supplying a 53 foot trailer and everyone who did show up and donate either money, clothing, food, personal hygiene products & cleaning supplies. I would also like to thank Mayor Lee Coburn for coming out and showing his support!

For those who were contacted by phone and email and said they would come out to cover the event for radio or tv, THANK YOU for confirming with us that you would not be showing up. Also for those who said they would try to advertise, but then insisted that Facebook was good enough. I am glad you thought our FUNDRAISER was not worth your time and energy. This shows great professionalism and an even better example of Southern Hospitality.

We are trying to see if Roger's Trucking will allow us to keep the Trailer for the weekend to accept more donations that some may not have been able to drop off today.

I am not mad at the lack of business I had or the few donations we got, but I am mad that the only media with professional courtesy was Earl Neikirk, a photographer with the Bristol Herald Courier. THANK YOU Earl!

So I guess to end this I will just say, I NO LONGER WANT TO HEAR SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY, if you cannot keep your word or call to inform that you cannot do something you promised, then you have no place in my professional world.

I will be posting the photos of the very few face paintings and video clips on Wednesday's blog entry. Until then, Happy Painting!

Day 139 - Quick Update

So just a quick update to tell you what we have for tomorrow. We have confirmed that we have a truck & long bed trailer that will be at the Sunoco from 10AM-8PM and we expect to have it filled. We also have the Bristol Herald Courier coming out along with Channel 11 News. I have not heard back from Electric 94.9, but am keeping hopeful that they will show up anlong with WCYB channel 5. Coke is also going to be there to donate  And Home Depot has agreed to donate too.

It may not be much and it may not be big, but we are doing something and hopefully we can make a difference.

So if you get a chance to come out, please bring something and get your face painted while you are at it!

Wish us the best in this fundraiser and if you need to know how to get there, look at yesterdays entry.

Day 138 - Week in Review 5/11/11 - 5/17/11

Just to catch you up the last week, I am going to give you the main info, like the fundraiser, Trail Days and my project.

We tried to raise funds last Thursday, but we did not do so well. I also said in the video that you could see more faces than the one that was in it. I will post those pictures below so you can see them. But first, here is the info as we are trying it again this Thursday:

Where: Sunoco/Wendy's, 2 Clear Creek Rd., Bristol, VA 24202

When: Thursday, May 19, 2011 from 10AM-8PM

Why: To raise funds and donations for the community of Glade Springs, VA

How: I will be face & body painting for kids of all age, we will have a truck and trailer to put all the donations in and have it shipped directly to the community for the Mayor to distribute, Newspaper, Radio & TV will be on site to capture every moment of our event and let others know how they can help if they cannot make it.

What do you Need: Monetary donations are encouraged, but we also need non-perishable foods, clothing, especially for the children, Toys to put smiles on heartbroken faces & personal hygiene products.

So, then I talked about Trail Days in Damascus, VA which I did this past weekend and it rained for most of it. We did pretty good, but not spectacular. In the video you will note that I say "Thank You" a lot. I was dressed in costume and they were complementing me on my tail. There was also a plug for a Trail Mix, but I was not able to get the Company name in the camera, so if you are reading this and you are the one with the Trail Mix, please post your information in the comments section below. Thanks! There was also a hiker we met and boarded for the weekend named Gage. He is a professional hair stylist who has taken to the trails on a self discovery mission. He was one of the best guests and friend one could ever make. We miss you Gage. The highlight of my time there was getting to meet a couple face painters that like to hike and came to my tent to visit. The first one was Nancye Eidson, and if you know her on Facebook, then you know she is a really great face & body painter. The other was Ray, who goes by the trail name POET. He did not have a business card on him, but he is a clown and has gone to LA Fete and other face & body art conventions and said, he should have brought his paints with him. We talked at length and decided next year to bring our stuff to Tent City, where all the partying goes on after festival hours. We will jam and have so much fun, we won't eve get sleep. Can't wait for next year. If you didn't see the entry with the photos of the faces I did, then click this link: http://kfba365.blogspot.com/2011/05/day-135-end-of-trail-days.html

Last but not least is the project I am working on. It is something I have been wanting to do for the longest time, but have not had a chance until now. I will be starting this project at FABAIC.

What: Photo Book titled "The Many Faces of Katmandew"

When: From NOW until I get at least 20 unique artists and plenty of photos. Hope to have the book out by Halloween 2011

How: Each artist will paint their version of a feline on either my face, back, arm, torso or whole upper body and have multiple photos taken of their creation. A photo of the artist and work along with multiple single shots will be placed into the book and the artists business information will be placed in the back of the book along with their headshot and/or logo.

Why: To showcase talent that not everyone knows about and to strike up conversation.

How much: Cost will depend on the number of photos I include in the book and whether it will be hardcover or softcover and the size. I want to keep it around $50 as it will be a very artistic book!

How to Participate: If you are going to FABAIC and want to be included in the book, contact me through KatmandewFBA@gmx.com or PM me on Facebook or call 865-385-2068 for more detailed information.

I have done an example as you can see below, but you already know my style, I want to see what other styles are out there and show then to you.

I have 6 Handmade DFX Feather Lashes left and want you to have them, so the first 6 people to contact me using the links above will get them. Please make sure you include you full name, address and phone number (in case I have questions). I will mail them out directly after receiving your info. So contact me quick before they are gone.

This Friday & Saturday, I will be at the Iris Festival in Greenville, TN. Come on out and get painted by me! If you don't, you will be sorry!

Happy Painting!

Day 137 - Prepping for tomorrows video blog

I told you I was going to create different and interesting videos for you to watch each week while going over what I have done the past 7 days. Well, I am going to try to live up to my promise with tomorrows video blog.

There are 2 video clips that I am going to add to the vlog. The first one is what we did las Thursday to help raise funds for Glade Springs, which we are going to do again this Thursday. The second is a long clip showing you a little about Trail Days in Damascus, VA and the vendors that were out there. I hope I was able to get the video good enough for you to see the names of the vendors, so that you can look them up on the internet. There is also a really good plug from one of the vendors selling their brand of morning trail mix.

I want you to be interested enough in my videos to get excited for the next one, and I know I have not done that yet, but I hope to soon.

I have a project, I am working on and will start it at FABAIC. I will get into more details about it in tomorrow's video.

And with that, I will leave you with, HAPPY PAINTING!

Day 136 - Letter asking for Help!

Dear concerned citizens,

So far today, I spent most of my time calling TV News, Radio Stations and Newspapers, trying to get help for this Thursday, 5/19/2011, where I will be setting up again at the Sunoco at exit 7 in Bristol, VA to face & body paint while raising funds & donations for Glade Springs, VA., a town completely destroyed by a F3 tornado. Any donation, whether money, food, clothing, personal hygiene or toys, is accepted and will be given directly to the town of Glade Springs, to distribute to their community.

I talked with the Mayor of Glade Springs, E. Lee Coburn, III, and he much appreciates what we are doing for his community and has said he would promote what we are doing, he says "Any little bit helps!"

We will have a truck and trailer there from 10AM-8PM to collect the donations and will have it taken to Glade Springs directly on Friday.

So if you are in the area and want to help, please do! If you cannot, can you please pass this around and let everyone know we are trying to help out this devastated community.

Thank you,
Daniel "Katmandew" Lasris

P.S. For more information, contact me at 865-385-2068 or Katmandewfba@gmx.com 

Day 135 - End of Trail Days

The final day was a little slow, but made a lot of connections and new friends and lot's of kids smile. Next year is going to be even better and I am not only going to setup at the festival, but I am also going to be camping in Tent City and providing my services to the masses of hikers that might not have known I was there. Here is a little of what I have done: