Multi-talented, multi-skilled, permanent make-up and tattoo artist
Interview by: Luz Bergersen
I first saw Judith performing on stage, playing the guitar and singing her self-composed songs. I thought, wow, here is another awesome Filipino musician!
Then I found out that she is also a registered nurse, an excellent and busy permanent make-up artist specializing in eyebrow microblading, eyebrow microblading, eyeliner and lips, and with many satisfied and happy customers. In addition, Judith is an artist (she paints) and bakes wonderful goodies and themed cakes.
Judith never stops growing and creating. Indeed, she lives true to her motto:
learn, create, grow!
Judith Fernandez Dumale was born in Villamor Airbase Hospital, Pasay City and grew up in BF Sucat, Paranaque City. She studied at St. Rita College of Paranaque from elementary to high school and finished her bachelor in nursing at Remedios T Romualdez Makati Medical Center School for Nursing in 1997.
RW: Can you share with our readers how you came to Norway?
Judith: I was raised by my grandparents and aunts in Paranaque when my parents separated when I was 8 years old. When I graduated in nursing, I reunited with my sisters, mother and Danish step father in Aalborg, Denmark in 1998. From Denmark, fate took me to Norway in June 2002. I met Ms. Rizalina Jense, who owned and ran ASOR, a company providing health care. Ms. Jensen helped me to apply for a job-seeker visa here and provided assistance with language and employment in a nursing home.
On the private side, I have a partner, also a Filipino nurse, and we are blessed with two teens: 17-year old Jisselle and 13-yeard old Samuel.
MICROBLADING & TATTOOING
After shifting as a night nurse, I wanted to do more with my spare time and took a leap to take a course in microblading in June 2022 with Master Tatjana Dedrik of PhiAcademy, which is known to be the largest academy for microblading internationally. After months of training and follow-ups, I became certified and then registered a home-based salon, JBrows, in Decemebr 2002. I then pursued to be a full complete permanent make up artist, which means I tattoo not only brows, but eyeliner and lips as well, with the guidance of Frøken Bryn of Kompetanse Klinikken-Anette Djuvstad in Jessheim, a few miles outside Oslo. I have also recently completed advanced courses to keep myself update in new techniques in the fast growing world of PMU.
I was not expecting that flow of clients only in a few months time and really am thankful for friends who trusted and referred me to their family and friends as well. As I was already getting comfortable working with machines, I knew I can do more, so I then started learning small tattoos. I learned the basics with guidance from a professional Norwegian tattoo artist and since then added it to my services.
Many of my clients are friends and acquaintances who know that I am inclined to arts from before, and also being a nurse, made them feel extra safe. Following the strict standards for a salon in accordance with Norwegian regulations and standards is a lot of work. There are inspections, reports, sales and tax declarations necessary to operate accordingly and legitimately. This is first and foremost for the safety of the clients who trust me and my services.
THE SINGING NURSE
Like many Filipinos, I love music as well. I learned to play the guitar when I was 16 years old, most of the time during barkada jamming. When I came to Norway, I played in the church choir and with the group, 'Singles for Christ. I participated in singing and playing on several occasions when I was invited. At work, though, the 'singing nurse' has been quite an image. Music is a universal language, and I have used it as tool to connect with patients when playing the guitar. I once attempted in 2018 to go to a university in Oslo to become a music therapist, but I did not qualify because I do not have a formal basic studies in music. I've played in a band as well for just a short time. We were called De-Anonyme.
BAKE TO ORDER CAKES
Becoming a mother; that was when my love for baking came. Kids wanted a themed cake for their birthdays, and I looked forward to their birthdays every year. There was a time when a colleague, who was the son of the governing mayor in Oslo, asked me to bake a funny wedding cake and made his father pick it up at home. I have accepted orders for made-to-order cakes for quite some time. Hosting dinners for friends, family and colleagues has always been fun for me. I grew up with a grandmother and aunts who are always busy in the kitchen and getting compliments on how good they are at cooking, and that love for cooking influenced me too.
THE ARTS: AS A PAINTER
As much as I love my profession as a nurse, art still is the closest to my heart. I thought that I would be pursuing fine arts then but ended up in a nursing school. A big break came in September 2005, when I became acquainted with someone who knew the owner of the restaurant San Marco owner in Lillestrøm, who was remodeling the place and needed several paintings to hang on their new walls. The theme was the popular sites in Venice, Italy. I was referred and asked to do one first, which later became seven paintings; four of those are almost wall sized. It took me four months to finish as I was also working full time as a nurse that time. I was overwhelmed being professionally paid for a work I really poured my heart into. Unfortunately, the restaurant closed in 2010 and I have no information as to where the restaurant moved. I have had paintings donated to charities before, and some of them were given as gifts to family and friends, and some still hang on my wall at home. I love to paint whatever comes in my mind but am often fascinated with both realism and abstractism.
THE FUTURE
I have been working as a night-shift nurse these last few years, which gives me time and opportunity to combine working as a permanent make up and tattoo artist. I am currently working on planning to cater my services in a salon in Lørenskog and partner with a cosmetic nurse in her salon in Bislett in the city center of Oslo.
MESSAGE TO EURO PINOY YOUTH:
Never stop challenging yourselves. Accept that you have to fall several times before you can achieve your goals. Be the voice that motivates and inspires and pulls others towards your positive energy. Be proud of being a Filipino; we are multi-talented, versatile, warm, generous and God-fearing people!
Facebook: JBrows PMU & Tattoo
For free consultation and other inquiries, contact:
+47 99528893 and jdumale76@gmail.com