History tells of Celtic warriors painting themselves blue before battle. We see these images on the screen in such as Braveheart and King Arthur. In the television show, American Gods, based on the book by Neil Gaiman, the character Mad Sweeney appears with shining blue streaks across his face and chest– clearly a brighter, more stylistic homage to the traditional body art called woading.
Mad Sweeney appears with blue markings in this short video shared on Twitter.
Woad was made from the isatis tinctoria plant, a relative of the indigofera tinctoria that is used to dye fabrics and to create vashma, which is used in the hair in conjunction with henna. Both plants create indigo dye which stains the skin when prepared into a vat. Painting the skin with an isatis tinctoria woad vat involves a rather tedious and odoriferous process. Becoming Moonlight® has developed a product called Ancient Blue® made from the indigofera tinctoria plant, which is much better suited for today’s body artists. To learn more about the history and use of traditional woad, visit these books on The Henna Page. To Purchase Ancient Blue® Indigo crystals, click here.
Learn the history of woading and Ancient Blue® technique here.
For those who wish to recreate the woad look with a glowing shimmer, another technique works stunningly well. By creating a design with Temptu® Dura body paint and dusting it with a shimmery blue Becoming Moonlight® Gilding Powder, an artist can create Celtic designs in with a contemporary twist. Temptu® Dura body paint has been widely used by professionals to simulate tattoos because of its opacity, high pigmentation, and staying power. The paint is water-resistant and dries slightly tacky. It is normally dusted with a translucent powder to seal the design and to make it appear more like a true tattoo. By replacing the translucent powder with a pigmented mica powder, an artist can achieve a long-lasting glowing effect that really grabs the eye. The design can last up to a week with careful maintenance.
Body art by Alexander Limbach; inspired by patterns by Alex Morgan.
Shimmery, water-resistant designs would be great for a festival or faire, to show your Celtic pride, or simply to add a little sparkle and beauty to your everyday life. Remove the design with isopropyl alcohol or mineral oil. For free patterns and inspiration, click here.
To learn the technique, watch the video below.