Sharpies, Small Steps, and Setbacks (3)

Sharpie Practice

Alright, so I've finally completed a few more designs with my henna paste. But before that, I realized a few major downfalls to all my previous "practices" on paper hands. 1) They were all done in pencil or pen, neither of which are wide enough to properly represent the gooey mehndi paste, and 2) they didn't fill up all the available space like true henna would. To compensate, I grabbed a few sheets of scrap paper and some sharpies and got to work. I did my best to fill the entire page, corner to corner, just like Assar told me she had done as a child. The results?

     I don't think they're half-bad, but I'm prejudiced.

     In addition to my Sharpie drawings, I've also done a bit more real henna on some classmates. (Thanks for letting this amateur tattoo you!) From a simple smiley face to altered replicas of former sketches, I got a bit more comfortable working with the gel. My main issue at the moment is that the first time I cut open the cone, I made the opening too large, so I can't do any truly intricate designs. Fortunately, I'm almost done with my first cone, so I'll be able to cut a smaller opening in my next one (hopefully!).

Practical Setbacks

     Unfortunately, I haven't had a lot of time to be working on my henna (studying for my permit test!!!!!), so my progress has been fairly slow this week. I'm also still kind of bad at manipulating the gel on skin, and my hand is always shaking because I'm trying to squeeze out the paste while moving it. I hope to get some real henna when I've run out of the stuff I bought on Amazon, but given my current rate, that won't be for a few months. The stuff I have stains and smells nothing like real henna (I've been told), and I would like the full experience of mixing the powder and using the true plant for the designs. This blog, however, will probably not see that come to pass.

     I've also been unable to film more of my tattooing and drawing because of my lack of a tripod. My previous video was recorded via camera, chair, and lots of Scotch tape, which is a method I find time-consuming and wasteful. I'll be looking for a better solution over this week.

Research

     My research this week focused mainly on the different styles of henna. I started to get curious after answering a question from Naomi on my previous post about the origins of henna. I knew what it was used for, but it must have varied from place to place, as it was found and used in a wide span of countries. Several websites have helped me clear up the different kinds of henna. Here's what I found: 

Indian

• Very little space in between designs
• Intricate flower-, leaf-, curl-, and feather-type designs
• Dots and curvy lines
• Fills the entire area

Arabic 

• Thick lines with more space between designs
• Decorative, doesn't completely fill a space
• Outlines of flowers, leaves, and some swirls
• Dark and simplistic

Pakistani

• More geometric designs than Indian and Arabic henna (a pleasant surprise: it fits my doodling style closer to other henna I'd seen)
• Also includes flowers and paisley designs
• Mix of more intricate designs and thicker lines

Indo-Arabic

• Thick Arabic-styled lines are filled in with intricate Indian-styled designs
• Could fill in an entire space or just a portion 
• Very popular at Indian weddings 

Moroccan 

• Very geometrically based 
• Almost no flowers / vines / leaves / animals 
• Dark, solid prints that cover large areas 

Mughlai 

• Very thin, detailed lines with a lot of shading 
• Space left in between designs accents dots and curls 
• Covers larger areas 
• Uses flower and vine patterns 
• Oldest form of henna 

Western Fashion 

• Uses a combination of the above styles, mostly Mughlai, Indian, and Arabic 
• May incorporate different colors of mehndi (artificially colored) 
• May incorporate glitter or sequins into the design 

     Main source (includes pictures of all styles): indiaopines.com/mehendi-designs/ 

Time Log: (I'm sorry, it's so pathetic this week...) 

Time spent practicing: 2 hours 
Time spent researching: 45 minutes

Total time: 2 hours 45 minutes