The winner of the Hairworld 2020 World Championship in body art Irina Besedina on the path to gold

Irina Besedina , master of body art with more than seven years of experience, teacher for more than three years, winner and prize-winner of numerous championships and competitions

What prompted you to take part in the Hairworld OMC World Championship from the ABC team ?

Before OMC, I trained my wonderful colleague and good friend Olya Pisarenko before the Ukrainian Body Art Championship, and she took first place there! This was one of my first such serious mentoring, and my student took the “gold” - this is pride, of course! She's smart!

And after that, Olya was offered to participate in the OMS World Championship. She asked me what I thought about this. But since I was not very aware of this particular championship, we turned to Natalya Naida . Instead of connecting only Olya with Taisiya Grigorievna and the Ukrainian ABC team, she said that there would be another girl with her (that is, me). And that’s how it all started! We submitted our resumes to the team, we were accepted - and we brought “gold” and “silver” to Ukraine in body art! My Olechka took second place, so this is double pride for me!

What inspired you to create body art for the World Cup?

In short, these are dreams and favorite books and films! Among them are “Avatar”, “Harry Potter”, “Ocean”, etc.

I always have colorful dreams and often something unusual. And since there was no theme, and I really wanted to show more colors, I decided that this was the ideal opportunity to bring some ideas that never left my head to life, specifically for OMC Hairworld!

Next, I sketched out the main concept, then a sketch, and set off to turn it all into reality. As a result, I ended up with a kind of Lady of Dreams!

The winning work in the "Body Art" category of the OMS World Championship Hairworld 2020

Share your personal secrets and life hacks that help you get the job done efficiently and beautifully.

The most important thing is practice, timing and thinking bigger!

There are no secrets in body art, just like in any other field or business. The more you work on it, the better you will get at it, and you will take your skills to the next level. Therefore, practice, practice and practice again!

But what should I say: there are, of course, enough life hacks and certain rules in body art. Now I would like to focus on the step-by-step approach to creating an image with body art for such a global competition.

1. Idea.
2. Analysis of ideas into details and identification of the main elements in the composition and secondary ones.
3. How can you complement the image (what props or special effects can be added).
4. Full development of the sketch with props in color on paper.
5. Working on a model, perfecting everything in terms of color and details. At least five workouts, if time allows. If not, draw on yourself/girlfriend/husband/sister to practice the drawing.
6. In parallel with training, we create props and all the necessary accessories.

Who was your coach and how did the preparation stage go?

Complex issue. Since there was quarantine, my coaches and I communicated online. She worked out and prepared everything for the most part herself, but for advice she turned to Vasilyeva Taisiya Grigorievna and Natalya Naida.

I admit here that it was important for me to work out the image as independently as possible: I wanted to test my strength. But since this was my first time on the world stage, I, of course, consulted with the best mentors who know competitive cuisine and are among the best in their field! The main route was supervised by Taisiya Grigorievna. Sincere gratitude to her, she answered my questions even at night!

Natalya is my professional Mom, with whom I have a lot in common. Thanks to her, I took part in OMC and received invaluable advice!

What would you highlight as the main taboos, what should not be done in body art, but this may be the fault of beginners?

For me personally, the main taboo is when a master believes (whether he is a beginner or a master with 10 years of experience) that he is “the navel of the earth, and the rest here are no one and don’t call them anything.” Every self-respecting body art artist (and just a creative person) will never stop developing himself and will not waste time humiliating his colleagues.

Beginners often sin with poor time management, do not go into details where it should be done, create a messy combination of colors, and want to implement 1001 ideas at the same time in one body art. Much of the above can be avoided by taking a few training sessions or consultations. There are a lot of talented body art masters in Ukraine who will be happy to share the necessary life hacks so that a beginner will make fewer mistakes.

How to choose a model for the competition? After all, this is extremely important in body art.

Oh yeah! The model, especially for the competition and in particular for the World Cup, should be a part of you! Yes Yes! You must be like two halves and breathe the idea in unison - this is the first thing.

The second and most important thing is endurance and a small chest. Girls who want to become models for body art must be extremely resilient, as they have to stand statically most of the time on straight legs for 5-6 hours or more. It’s difficult, but after bringing the drawing to life, the model is transformed and receives an incredible charge from the image!

And not just the model. Everyone who is on your team to create and bring your idea to life are puzzle pieces, without which you will not be able to piece together the whole picture. This is a team and it needs to be important to everyone!

What advice would you give to artists who are just starting to master the art of body art?

Don’t be afraid and have a sincere desire for this type of art. Believe me, learning to work with such a canvas as a model’s body is a real thrill. It is an art form of its own that you will truly enjoy and can make good money with once you learn to think outside the box. And if possible, to understand whether you need it, go to MK or take a lesson. Then you will understand if it is yours.