Henna is the link that connects me to the land of my ancestors and my traditions. As a young girl in Kenya I can remember all the neighborhood girls gathering up in one house the day before Eid ; we would all eagerly wait for our turn to be Hennaed, we would discuss what outfits we were going to wear the next day and what sort of designs we wanted on our hands. The Henna artist never failed to impress us with her captivating talent, she would begin with a line and from that one line an intricate design composed of multiple flowers would appear. The Henna artist always amazed us with her level of patience and her ability to multitask, she would tattoo about 50 to 60 girls in one day while displaying a constant, pleasant countenance. To the Swahili …show more content…
As a result I began to slowly practice henna artwork, I began with my family members and continued to practice henna on other people. When it comes to this form of art one can never stop learning about the modern designs it is like being a doctor, as a doctor you must continue to educate yourself in medicine while continuing to practicing so that you can remain up to date with the latest scientific discoveries. Henna allows me to express my thoughts and ideas through my own designs. Traditionally unmarried girls are forbidden to get henna done on them past the halfway mark of their arms. Henna is meant for married women, it's the symbol of the married women to represent her major milestone from girlhood to womanhood. When my mother got married in 1996 she had to sit down for about fifteen hours while two women worked on her henna designs using a stick and a bowl of henna. The henna Cone was not introduced as a tool until the early 2000's; the henna cone allows the artist to create a more detailed design in a reduced amount of