From
their first appearance at ‘Jamburger' in 2009 the girls have been busy with
face painting and poi performance as well as delving into their bags of tricks
for some new acts, making any event an extravaganza. So I caught up with Sarah
to see what they have been up to and what the future holds for the Festival
Face-Painting Fairies.
If you
haven’t come across the F.F.F. yet you are in for a treat. Sarah Hopkins (22)
and Grainne Murphy (20) have been adding a bit of magic to local events as the
Festival Face-Painting Fairies for a few months now. On inquiring as to how it
all got started Sarah is more than willing to give an honest account. “We
wanted to get into Jamburger for free so we said we would do some face-painting
at it, we decided to go as fairies and it was a festival, so Festival
Face-Painting Fairies. It all took off from there.” Since then the girls have
worked at various fairs, festivals and parties. They delighted crowds at
Christmas in the retail park and in the Spirit Store in the post-Jamburger
revels.
The
girls are keen to keep up the good work and hope to soon start entertaining at
children’s parties and other local outdoor occasions. “I have always
loved everything creative and have painted for years. It seemed like a natural
progression to move into face painting. It’s something that combines my love of
painting with getting out and meeting people."
Like
everything in life this has its weird side “The weirdest thing I’ve been asked
to paint? A kid once asked me to paint him as Dr. Who! The best I’ve ever done
was my mate Gav; he was painted as Wes Borland from Limp Bizkit. The worst, a
guy asked to be done as a ‘scary metaller’. I tried to do red spirals on his cheeks
but he ended up with rosy cheeks and lip-stick.” Terrifying indeed.
But
the girls are not limited to face-painting and regularly perform poi; recently
they were seen at the live performances in the Dundalk’s Market Square on St.
Patricks Day."I love Poi because I have a passion for
music and doing Poi allows me to visually represent the rhythm and the mood of
the music or song, which is a lot of fun". Grainne agrees, "Jeez I like
spinning because it’s addictive and relaxing ...as well as keeping you fit and it’s
a good feeling to see people enjoy something you’re creating."
It was
Grainne that first started poi and got Sarah interested, after that they worked
together. They are self taught, but always help each other out with new moves
and ideas. “ My favourite song to do poi to, and it’s only because I started to
listen to it around the time I started to get good, is Pretty Visitors by
Arctic Monkeys, Grainne’s is pretty much anything by Infected Mushroom.”
Sarah
is full of helpful advice for anyone interested in starting poi too. “The best
thing to do is go to YouTube and look up ‘how to make sock poi’. Always practice listening to your favourite
songs and above all, have fun,”
The
summer is coming and Fairies are becoming more active. “Well we are going to a
Poi Festival, Sothern Lights, in the U.K. this summer and hopefully performing
Fire Poi at the Electric Picnic”. F.F.F.
are also currently working on including hoola hoop, staff and contact ball into
their already program of spectacular skills.
The
girls are big supporters of the local music scene and I had to get one or two
tips before I left. “Go see Insanity or I’d Fight Gandhi, or maybe DJ Yea Buzz
from Drogheda.”
We
couldn’t help discussing the scene in general which begged the question was
there anything lacking in Dundalk music scene? “Venues, especially for under
age gigs somewhere like the AOH would be good. Yea brings back the AOH...
imagine if the AOH was around now, Facebook would have a heart attack.”
But
venues are no issue for these adaptable ladies. Fuelled by an entrepreneurial
spirit and creative energy The FFF are set to paint the town red, and yellow
and pink and green.....
Published www.highway67.net March 2010
