Establishing Goals (1)

The Beginning: 

     When I decided that I was going to learn how to do henna, I knew next to nothing about it. I'd seen it on my friend's hand once, and thought it was interesting. I've always been artistic, but not in the "painting realistic people and landscapes" kind of way. I'm artistic in that I can fill in space with complex patterns and designs with a pen and some time. I've used this ability to make bookmarks and keep my hands busy, even after I stopped taking art classes (my last one was in elementary school). When I chose to learn how to do henna, I thought that it would be exactly the same: mindlessly filling in patterns.

     When I finally sat down and started to try to learn henna, I quickly figured out that it was much harder. Since I don't have any mehndi paste on hand, I traced my hand on a piece of scrap paper and picked up a pencil. Suddenly, a blank canvas was much more intimidating. I Googled "simple henna designs" and was met by an onslaught of intricate flowers, spirals, and lacy curves. My traditional, calculated, graph paper doodles weren't going to help me here. I spent a solid hour that week trying to freehand my own (malformed) henna designs, before resigning myself to a simple fact: I would have to familiarize myself with the style before I could produce anything vaguely graceful. So I pulled up some basic designs that still looked interesting and detailed on my computer and copied them onto my paper hands in pen. Now, a week and a half after I first decided to tackle this art, my original work is looking more and more like henna and less like a math notebook.

The Questions: 

     As I was working, it occurred to me that real henna paste would be necessary later on, and I had no idea what I was doing. Where could I get it? What if I'm allergic? How long does it last? Sudden questions with no clear answers lead me where they lead most teenagers: the magical world of YouTube. There, some teenagers and young adults with real world experience with henna gave me the important piece of information that black henna is NOT FOR HANDS. This type of henna should, apparently, only be used for hair dye because it contains PPD, a chemical that can permanently scar your skin and burn horribly. I also watched some people work with henna paste and got an idea of its viscosity. My favorite video, while not the most directly informative, was this one from BuzzFeed India:

Researching 

     But practice isn't all that it takes. I, a German-descended American, am trying to learn a traditional South Asian / Middle Eastern art. I haven't been exposed to the patterns and culture like most henna artists have, so I had some research to do. Over a convenient snow day, I spent an hour reading a detailed article about the history and tradition of henna tattoos and sorting the information into a Microsoft Word document. Here's the gist of it:

     Henna or mehndi refers to a tree that grows in warm climates and dry soil. Its leaves can be ground up and turned into a paste that blocks damaging sunlight and leaves a cooling, safe stain on the surface of the skin due to a chemical that binds to the keratin in skin cells. Its been used as a sunblock in Asia and the Middle East for over 5000 years. At some point, people decided to use the stains to decorate their skin. It was a practice for both the rich and the poor, who couldn't afford jewels. Women traditionally have henna done on special occasions like birthdays, celebrations, and, most importantly, weddings. A full wedding henna will cover a bride from her toes to her knees and her fingertips to her biceps. The process can sometimes take over 9 hours. Guests to the wedding will usually get small designs as well. In western culture, henna can be worn whenever you feel like it, though it is still worn in South Asian weddings. It is also no longer confined just to women.

     In learning the history of henna, I have a new respect for the women who do it. I can't imagine spending 9 hours just sitting and drawing on a person! And they have to be incredibly careful to not smudge anything. I thought this was just a fancy design, but I have so much more respect for it as a cultural tradition and as a practical sunscreen.

Link to Article: http://silknstone.com/About-Henna.html

The Plan 

     For the first few weeks, I'll be free-handing and copying designs onto paper with a pen or a pencil. I've already ordered a red henna paste from Amazon.com. It will arrive, hopefully, on March 8, when I will begin tattooing my friends and family (whether they want me to or not!) with some of my favorite designs from the paper. After I get comfortable working with the paste, I'll start to work on my goals. I'll probably do each one over a few times until I get a favorite, then post it as a goal completed. 

Goals

     By March 27, I intend to have created satisfactory henna designs (on skin, with henna paste) in the following styles.

     1. a design that is focused on the fingers (like tattooed rings) 

     2. a design on the palm of the hand 

     3. a design that covers / utilizes the forearm 

     4. one other favorite design on any part of the body 

Time Log

Time Spent Practicing: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Time Spent Researching: 1 hour
Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes