Skin canvas comes to life

More than 60 artists put paintbrush to body for the 2017 Australian Body Art Festival held for the first time in Cooroy over the weekend.
Some of the nation’s best body artists, face painters, visual artists and wearable art designers embraced the Wonderland theme as they create and paraded their masterpieces that were viewed by more than 7000 visitors.
Event manager Danielle Taylor said the theme of Wonderland drew a wide range of interpretations across all competition categories and some truly incredible art emerged.
“Some artists focused on Alice in Wonderland, others on Winter Wonderland and many on what their own personal Wonderland was, but they were all spectacular,” she said.
“It truly is phenomenal to watch the artists come together from near and far to create something special.”
The 2017 Australian Body Art Festival was a new festival to Cooroy and it was run as a community event by a team of more than 100 volunteers funded through donations, crowd funding and support from local businesses.
The winner of the brush and sponge body art was Kristy O’Neil, Janie Fearon took out the award for the best in the airbrush body art, Holly Hughes won the award for the best special effects body art and Kristy O’Neil won the award for face painting.
When it came to fabulous fashion made from recycled treasures, Jules McCrae won the award for wearable art. The best model for the weekend went to Simon Lyell on Saturday and Kristin Moss on Sunday.
A photo exhibition will now be held at the Cooroy Butter Factory Arts Centre from 3 to 16 May to showcase all the highlights of the festival. The winners of the photography competition will also be announced at the exhibition.
Turn to pages 18 and 19 for a sneak peek at all the action from the Australian Body Art Festival.