AREEFA ANULA

Henna

Bachelor of Architecture ‘20 at The City College of New York

Inspiration

What inspired you to pursue Henna?

Henna is relevant to both parts of my identity, as an Indian Guyanese, as well as a Muslim. I have fond memories of seeing bridal henna on my family members and having henna nights before Eid. Henna art is often used for celebration of special occasions but has also evolved into mainstream media and western culture as a form of temporary tattoo. The cultural significance of this age-old practice caught my attention.

Despite henna art being apart of my culture since I was young, I only started practicing the designs when I was around 12. At the time I was starting architectural high school and was delving deeper into an interest of drawing and art. I also came to the realization that henna designs are just another form of drawing, but instead of a pencil you would use a sort of piping cone.

Henna became one of my interest like many of my other hobbies because of its hands-on factor. I love being able to create things with my hands. The rhythm, patterns, and soothing qualities of henna art kept me interested.

Final Product of 12 Hour Stain - Courtesy of Areefa Anula

Uncured Henna Paste (In Progress) - Courtesy of Areefa Anula

Time Management

How did you manage to maintain your time?

I managed to maintain practicing henna art through architecture school by pure determination. Whenever a special occasion or holiday like Eid would come around, despite how busy or tired I was, I would set aside free time to do a henna design. I remember a lot of nights of even losing sleep just so I could do henna for Eid, so that I would feel in a festive mood.

One thing I would do during college, was that I would only do a henna design on one hand because I needed to use the other hand complete my architectural work. I did this because despite a generally fast application time, the curing of the henna paste to allow it for a deeper color, takes a lot of time. Typically, henna paste should be left on the hand for 6-8 hours but overnight is preferred.

Want to try #Henna?

I recommend practicing henna designs on paper first or on your hands with nontoxic pens or markers. Henna art at its essence is another form of drawing so practicing those motions before actually staining your hands can be helpful as beginners.

The henna cones are a little harder to find. I usually buy them from a local Indian store who have henna artists who supply them. If you don’t have a local Indian store around there are many henna artists who make their own henna pastes and cones and sell them. The two Instagram henna artists @sarahziadesign and @hennabyinder also sell their own henna cones. It’s quite easy to contact them and request to buy a henna cone from them or even book an appointment for a henna design if you are curious before starting.

Materials for Henna - Courtesy of Areefa Anula