Henna

Doing henna is one of the most fun things to do when you have a lot of time on your hands. When I was little I really enjoyed getting my henna done but I never tried doing it myself before. It’s a part of my culture and in my opinion, something unique to do the book project on. I thought it was something that defined me because I also enjoy doing art. 

When introduced the book project, I thought of doing a topic that I really wanted to learn more about and didn’t have much experience in already. One of the first ideas that came to my mind was doing henna. I thought it was really complicated to do so I started out with a simple design. In the book on page 32 it says, “It is important that the lines remain as consistent as possible,” (Abdoyan 32). It also says that connecting lines will help create a design.

When I started out with the design I was struggling using the cone in which the paste was in therefore, my lines were not as straight but squiggly at first. As I got to finishing the design more and my hand got more used to using the cone and my lines got straighter and more clean but still not perfect. I started at my wrist and slowly made my way to the palm and later to the fingers. 

Do you have any specific techniques that could help improve making straighter lines?

This image is right after I finished applying all of the henna. The henna will slowly harden after a few hours.

 After you think the henna is hardened, you take your hand and remove it. The henna peels off easily and after removed it turns a bright orange. 

The henna stain becomes darker the next day. The stain turned from a dark orange to a shade of brown. The henna will usually last about a week and later wear off by itself.

           Abdoyan, Brenda. Teach Yourself Henna Tattoo: Making Mehndi Art with Easy-to-follow Instructions, Patterns, and Projects. East Petersburg, PA: Design Originals, 2012. Print.