Historias Na Pele - Stories on the Skin

Bodypainting has power as a source of healing and empowerment. Working on the Historias Na Pele project with Agencia Terrua, Brazil, was an incredible experience for all involved. 

Historias Na Pele is Portugese for stories on the skin. The project focused on six cancer warriors the women featured and their stories of how they fought through the battle with breast cancer. Each participant is currently in remission and had varying experiences including mastectomy, reconstructive surgery and the scars it leaves. 

Capturing each story began was a long process, and began with much discussion with the subjects. Each woman spent time being in discussion with a psychologist and then with a writer to help them safely verbalise their feelings and experiences. Next came my job, 

working with them and divining how I could turn those feelings, their raw expressions they had shared into art they could inhabit. With the assistance of a translator we used visual cues in the form of fabrics, paints, crystals, photographs, and totems they connected with that they had brought to discuss. We used images, colours, patterns and symbols to connect those experiences and how they visualised them. The journey took longer for many that the actual painting. The Japanese art of Kintsugi captured our imaginations and gold featured prominently in many of the designs as a representation of strength. Many of our participants wanted to highlight their scars and celebrate them. For many the project gave them an outlet to explore and celebrate their bodies. 

The project was shot in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and all of the participants are Brazilian. I had an amazing team working with me on the project translating and helping me to connect with them.  

Each day on this project was filled with tears and laughter, even through language barriers we all bonded and I think created something which gives a glimpse into each woman’s psyche. I was excited to hear last week that the project has won an Award in Brazil, Colonistas 2018. 

These images picture by Bruno Fioravanti is from the book created to accompany the project.

I hope these stories continue to inspire women fighting cancer not just in Brazil but across the world. 

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Skin Wars and Skin Wars Fresh Paint are now available on Netflix

Skin Wars and Skin Wars Fresh Paint are now available on Netflix

Mat Gleason, Emma Cammack and RuPaul Charles in Skin Wars Fresh Paint.

All three seasons of Skin Wars and all of the Skin Wars Fresh Paint episodes are available to stream on Netflix outside the USA so Skin Wars Fans around the world will now be able to see the show on demand. 

The show is hosted by RuPaul and features artists who are top of their field in different art mediums who try bodypainting for the first time in this knock out contest to win $10,000 each episode. With mentorship by the stars of the main Skin Wars show and with myself and Mat Gleason as judges. 

Skin Wars Fresh Paint Street, winner is revealed.

Pregnancy Bodypainting Collaboration

Photo: Erin White, Bodypainter: Emma Cammack, Model: Morgan Dodds

Sometimes personal collaborations create something beautiful. A few weeks ago I painted my pregnant friend, Morgan, who is due any day now. We discussed painting her growing bump and a plan developed. We wanted to paint something that represented a mother's love. "Being pregnant with our first child has been nothing but a sheer blessing. My husband and I waited 5 years of being married, while being stationed in Germany for 4 of those years with exploring the world together. We were ready for the next step in our lives." This is her first, much anticipated baby and Morgan is recording her pregnancy journey through photography and film. She is a Make-Up Artist and Cosmetologist and is fascinated with body art. We had met up a few times and discussed Bodypainting and all things Skin Wars. "I had met Emma a few times, and followed her on Facebook, as many of you know she's a judge off Skin Wars, and international body painter. I had uploaded a few pictures of my belly where Emma offered to paint my tummy. This turned into a beautiful collaboration between Emma Cammack, Tiffany Hudson, Erin White, and myself." Morgan chose elephants, so I painted an elephant calf holding it's mother's trunk onto her belly to represent her bond with her soon to be born little boy and to compliment the colours Morgan and her husband have chosen for their nursery. 

Bodypainting is not just for size 0 models. It is a way to own and celebrate your body in all it's majesty. Celebrating your body and creating art with it is empowering. Pregnancy in particular is a beautiful time in a woman's life. I love the fact that Morgan overcame her initial nervousness and trusted the team to create something to celebrate her pregnancy. Bodies are beautiful. Women too often worry about feeling too fat, or bloated or ugly in pregnancy, when in reality they are beautiful. Watching the behind the scenes video and seeing the genuine smiles and beauty in Morgan's face you can see how empowered the experience made her. 

Photo: Erin White, Bodypainter: Emma Cammack, Model: Morgan Dodds

It was wonderful to collaborate with some other local creatives who specialise in working with mothers and infants, something that was important to Morgan, "While working as a make up artist in the local military community I've had the best of times meeting the best of the best photographers, and extreme talent in the local area. Once I had confirmed I was pregnant I messaged Tiffany right away to film my birthing video. I have worked with her before for my business commercial and instantly fell in love with her work." Tiffany's business Tiffany Hudson Films specialises in Birth Videos, documenting the journey. 

Behind the Scenes. Photo: Erin White, Model: Morgan Dodds, Bodypainter: Emma Cammack

Our photographer Erin White works creates beautiful Maternity and newborn photography in her Baltimore Studio. Erin's work with Breast feeding Mothers nursing in nature, "Women in the Wild" went viral last year and she had worked with Morgan and developed a rapport. "I had met Erin a few years back, where I was her personal makeup artist for her photography business. This turned out so beautiful, and I couldn't have asked for a better group of ladies to help me and my son remember such a beautiful time in my life." Erin worked with Morgan and made her feel beautiful, comfortable and relaxed. 

Photo: Erin White, Bodypainter: Emma Cammack, Model: Morgan Dodds

The images and BTS video from the day are gorgeous. I love seeing process images and film and seeing art in development. What is lovely in this video is seeing the response from both Morgan and her baby to being painted. Some of the special moments from the shoot that Tiffany captured; like the baby move and respond to the brush stroked from inside the womb, kicking the brush and Morgan's belly moving with the brushstrokes and seeing the beautiful smile on Morgan's face that really shows how gorgeous she felt in the paint. Beautiful moments captured on film. Scroll to the bottom of this post to view it. 

Photo: Erin White, Bodypainter: Emma Cammack, Model: Morgan Dodds

Moments like this are meaningful for new mothers and can help remember the beauty and elegance of pregnancy. Pregnant women have an amazing aura and glow about them, I feel like Morgan was so serene, beautiful and empowered during this shoot. "Often times when a woman gets pregnant we don't always feel that confident as things are quickly changing inside, and on the outside. I never felt un beautiful, in fact after this day I felt the best I think I had ever felt in my pregnancy." I hope that together we have created memories she can cherish forever, even when this moment in her life is a distant memory. Don't forget to check out the behind the scenes video at the bottom of the post by Tiffany Hudson Films, it really captures the essence of being painted beautifully. 




The creative team on this project are: 

Photography by Erin White,  www.erinwhitephotography.com

Behind the Scenes Footage by Tiffany Hudson, www.tiffanyhudsonfilms.com

Bodypainting by Emma Cammack, www.emmacammack.com

Model and Make-Up Artist, Morgan Dodds, www.instagram.com/makeupbymorgandodds/

Bodypainting BTS from tiffany hudson on Vimeo.

Skin Wars Fresh Paint is now available on Hulu in the USA

Skin Wars Fresh Paint is now available on Hulu. 

Lots of Skin Wars fans have asked me where to see the show. Here is some news for those of you in America. Skin Wars Fresh Paint is now available from Hulu streaming service in the USA. You can check out the full season with your Hulu subscription. 

The show is hosted by the amazing RuPaul and is Skin Wars with a twist, a spin off show from the main Skin Wars Competition. In Skin Wars, Fresh Paint we invite experienced artists from different art mediums to try bodypaint for the first time and tackle some difficult bodypaint challenges.  

  

There are lots of appearances from the stars of Skin Wars seasons one, two and three as mentors, helping the new artists competing to win $10,000 each episode. 

Myself and Mat Gleason lead up the judge's panel to choose the Skin Wars Fresh Paint Champion each week. 

Check the show out and let me know if you enjoy it. 

Skin Wars is now on Netflix

Fans of Skin Wars, the show is now available and currently trending on Netflix in the USA. Don't forget to look out for me as a guest judge, where I get to stand next to one of the most gorgeous women on the planet, Rebecca Romijin and to hang out with the amazing Ru Paul.

For those of you who are new fans of the show you can also catch Instagram Queen Kandee Johnson in the behind the scenes You Tube Show about Skin Wars called "The Naked Truth". Where Kandee finds out the behind the scenes scoop.

I loved working on Skin Wars making this amazing sequence for the opening credits. Love this cute little gif from it!!

No news on when and if it will be available in other regions yet. Keep your fingers crossed! 

Enjoy the show and let me know what you think!

Skin Wars Fresh Paint Season Premiere

Check out the trailer for the season premiere of Skin Wars Fresh Paint on GSN. The season will begin mid June. Look out for me in the trailer. 

Short Film of The Coalescence of Creation Installation Art from WBF

We created a film of my Award Winning Installation at the World Bodypainting Festival. Thank you to Josh Lim and The team at WBF for making this, it captures the experience beautifully. 

The Coalescence of Creation is an Installation compiled of Fibre Art and Body Art. A yarn Bomb created by 87 Fibre Artists from all over the world, inhabited by a rainbow of bodypainted dancers weaving human yarn in interconnectivity. The work by Emma Cammack, won the Special Award for Installation Art at the World Bodypainting Festival 2016, in Carinthia, Austria.