A Work Of Art..

Henna is really cool. The designs, the colors, close attention to detail, and history makes it such a special art. In the indian faith, its a tradition to have a tattoo to symbolize the eternal love with your partner. I wonder if i'd ever commit to getting a real tattoo though. for now, i can indulge on henna :)
Henna is a small shrub called Hawsonia inermis, and is found in Iran, India, Pakistan, Egypt, and North Africa. The young leaves and twigs are ground into fine powder, then mixed with water and applied on the hands and feet. Henna/Mehndi is a decorative art form used for ceremonies and different rituals for centuries among these areas. Henna is used to stain then skin w/ beautiful designs or dyeing the hair. Henna designs are usually drawn on hands and feet, which are the area henna stains darker than the other areas of body. In India henna is used in important ritual for wedding, dark stain on bride’s henna is believed to be long lasting love between the husband and wife. In northern Africa henna is believed to bring good luck, and protect from black magic. Pregnant women get hennaed in their 7th month of pregnancy to protect them from bad spirit.

NOTE: If you ever plan to get Henna work done, make sure you ask your Henna Artist first which products will be used, as "black henna" can contain para-phenylenediamine (PPD) which can cause allergic reactions and even scarring.

Don't know if I've told you guys this before, but over the past 3 months I have been going through many new experiences in my life, or as my professor calls them, "Immersion Experiences". My experiences are to help fortify my awareness as a future 'Counselor' to varied cultures, groups, and organizations. In just 2 weeks, I will be presenting my "Immersion Experience Project" in class and I am so..so..nervous. But still through these experiences I have learned so much about things that otherwise I wouldn't have known about, and I truly have gained beautiful insight into so many cultures. So I'm really glad I took this class.

Here's some pics from today's visit with Akiyo. Her work is absolutely amazing, she's super talented and very sweet. Akiyo is of Japanese descent and has been doing Henna Art for over 8 yrs now. She works from home, and has a great understanding of the Henna Artistry. FYI: Akiyo also does Parties, Weddings, and many other special requests. She is located in Astoria Queens.
You can learn more about Akiyo and her work by visiting her website: Akiyo Henna Studio

My Co-worker/Classmate & I have had the privilege to work together on our projects. Here's us getting our Henna Tats done. So Exciting! And of course none of my experiences would have been possible without the help of my dearest hubby :)). So a BIG..BIG..THANK-YOU to him for all of his help.

Well as my mother always said to me..
"Cada nueva experiencia trae una nueva leccion."
(With every new experience comes a lesson learned.)