Corny the Clown has deep rosy circles of makeup on each cheek; her nose is a pert, red circle dusted with gold and silver glitter and her hair is a halo of golden spirals. Bright red lips accentuate a huge smile and her hat is perched precariously atop her head.
She is instantly funny and friendly, attractive and alluring all at once.
Meet Sandra Sells aka Corny the Clown. She loves making people laugh and sharing her laughter with others.
“About 11 years ago, I went to “clown school” and it revolutionized my life,” she said. “I just wish I had done it earlier.”
Sells said many people think of clowns as scary old men at the circus wearing curly wigs and red noses chasing and throwing custard pies at each other.
“Not so,” she said. “My clowning is because I love working with children, adults, hospital patients and I especially love dressing up and working with a variety of props to make people smile.”
Sells is a professional clown. She has supported herself over the years by working as a clown at various events in Hernando and Pasco counties and beyond.
Asked how she chose “Corny” as her clown name, Sells said she originally came from a small farm in Iowa. “And no state grows more corn than Iowa,” she said, “so that’s how I chose my name.”
Corny’s costumes therefore invariably represent her name. Her first clown costume consisted of the classic baggy pants and top all made from fabric imprinted with corn on the cob.
“The materials clowns use depend on what kind of clown you want to be,” said Sells, “and I like to use unique corn related fabrics for my costumes.” Although you can buy authentic clown costumes from clown supply stores, they can be a bit pricey, so Sells makes all her own costumes.
“Shoes are the most expensive items to buy and can be as much as $250,” she said.
So Sells improvises. She sources extra large golf shoes or other overly big shoes and then stuffs them with paper towels and paints them bright colors to accentuate her costumes.
A talented seamstress, when she’s not entertaining as a clown, she is busy in her sewing room making more clown costumes, memory quilts, children’s frilly aprons or tooth fairy pillows.
“When someone has lost a loved one, they bring me some items belonging to the loved one and I make a quilt from them,” she said.
Apart from the costumes, another very important part of the process of being a clown is the application of the stylistic makeup. While every clown’s face is unique, there is a unified and specific way they put on the face paint.
Most clown make up is grease and cream based and application can take as long as 2 hours to complete. Once set with powder, Sells said it is waterproof and can withstand any amount of sweating during performances in sunny Florida.
The classic white clown face has large domes over the eyes and huge red lips.
“I like to exaggerate my eyes, mouth and nose by using a black grease pencil ,” she said. “When I get to the part where I rouge my cheeks, lips and nose, then I know I’m nearly finished,” she said. “I use red paint or lipstick to make my lips red as cherries.”
Other props that are generally used by clowns include balls for juggling, balloons for making balloon animals, magic trick props if you’re doing tricks, and any other silly props you can think of.
“I started off with the more traditional tools and then become more original as I found my inner clown self,” said Sells.
She explained that she always carries a bag of goodies such as little toys for children and a huge toothbrush to remind the kids to brush their teeth every day.
“My favorite prop is those little tiny cocktail umbrellas,” she said. “I tell the children ‘I heard we might have a little rain today, so I brought you an umbrella’ ”, she said.
Sells said it has taken her years to perfect her repertoire.
“Dirt poor or wealthy, I can always find something that makes them laugh,” she said.
Sells rehearses regularly and includes singing and dancing as part of her act and sometimes she includes face painting.
Occasionally, Sells can be found in full clown costume dropping in the local Dollar Stores to see what she can find.
“It’s so much fun,” she said, “even when I’m in the car going to a gig, children — and their parents — or people in cars and on the street are waving at me and happy to see a clown.”
“I enjoy a well rounded life through my grandson and baseball and family,” said Sells. “I’m busy, busy, busy — and being a clown is the cherry on the top,” she said.