By Afsha Sadiq
For the past year, I have been practising henna designs and I have always wondered how these amazing professional henna artists make each and every one of their designs the best I have ever seen! After months of guessing and giving up on myself I am finally able to see that indeed, it is all in the mind. There is no wrong or right way.
I am no expert at henna- I do it because I enjoy being imaginative and it gives me the chance to develop my artistic skills. So, after months of not touching a henna cone, to making my own henna cone and doing my first ever heavy bridal design on myself all in one day- how did I find my motivation to begin? The answer is simple, it is all in the mind. If I did not encourage myself to continue practising, I would have continued admiring other artists work whilst giving my Instagram followers the chance to unfollow me because I hadn’t been posting anything to keep them engaged. I thought why not spend some time on the things I love doing- baking, henna and reading.
So, yesterday I prayed and had dinner then I made my henna paste. Whilst I waited for it to mature, I looked at some cake recipes for an upcoming charity event. After some mouth-watering research, I went into the kitchen with my cone, a pair of scissors and sellotape and made my own henna cone. Initially, I felt a bit nervous- I hadn’t thought of a design and I didn’t want to completely copy someone else’s work. There was a thought of procrastination- to do it tomorrow because I didn’t have enough time until I was going to bed but I quickly shooed this thought from my mind.
I took a deep breath and said to myself “slow and easy- you can do it!” And so, I began- I started off with a flower on my feet with a trail of leaves. Once I completed that I felt at ease, I had stepped over the obstacle of not starting at all and giving up straight away. My next hurdle was a bridal design: but before diving into it, I took a few minutes figuring out what to do, so I got some inspiration from Instagram henna artists and I went for it. Two anxious hours later, I had something I thought I could never do & that was to think that everything does not have to be done a certain way. I can do whatever flower I like or start anywhere on the hand- whatever suits me I can do! I do not need to follow other people or believe that what others say is the only way forward.
Improvise- there is no right or wrong, and in the end, people will love your work just the way my parents liked mine, especially my loving father who thought I used a stencil to create the design!
You can see more of my work on Instagram and Facebook: @hennabyafsha and I hope you all have a start to an incredible week of achieving something great!
Muslim Women Connect 