About My Style

I’ve had people ask me if what I do is Zentangle, which has become really popular in recent years. I feel that it is important to distinguish the difference here between Zentangle and the henna style that I have developed. First of all, henna has been around for thousands of years, and Zentangle only a few. Are they similar? Yes, in some respects. Does henna use repetitive patterns? Yes. Is it relaxing, meditative, even? I find it to be, yes. Is henna Zentangle? No. At least, I don’t think so. I feel like, if you take a class to learn Zentangle (yes there are such things) and if you take a class to learn henna, you are going to be learning two different things. For one thing, the realm of henna has a multitude of differing styles that are characteristic of different regions. A Moroccan style henna, for example, will have a different look than a style that originates out of Pakistan. Zentangle, on the other hand, may teach a few basic patterns, but the trademark of Zentangle is about being a fluid, abstract pattern that you create as a way of meditation. There is no style, really, it is all supposed to come from within. Which is cool, I mean, it sounds like something I would even like to do, but I just feel like there’s a difference between it and henna. You know what I mean?

If you’re interested in knowing more about Zentangle, you can check out their website here.

 

I’ve been drawing henna-like designs for a long time- I fell in love with henna as a shy, awkward, middle school-aged girl. Unfortunately, it wasn’t often that I could get my hands on actual henna paste, so I spent many hours throughout my school years drawing henna on my arms in Sharpie! Yes, Sharpie! There are still people to this day who remember me from high school strictly because of my arms being covered in Sharpie henna designs! So, that’s how I developed my style. I still don’t often use henna paste, and I never had the chance to get used to the henna cone, which is the traditional way of applying henna. But because I loved henna so much, my style is almost purely henna inspired. I have since moved on from painting myself to painting objects around me. Pretty much anything I can get my hands on! 

There was a good chunk of time when I was in college that my art was just on a back burner somewhere. I decided, at some point, that I wanted to bring my art back to the forefront of my life and after I started drawing more I got inspired by this bottle I found while browsing through Pinterest. which led me to the artist's shop on Etsy called Lucent Jane and I just loved everything about it. I said to myself, this is cool, I want to do this too! I had no idea at the time that it would turn into my passion, or that it would grow into what it is today. I absolutely love what I do and I wouldn’t be where I am today without that initial inspiration and without the support of my business partner, Andrea, whom I will talk about more in the future.

See you guys next week!

written by:

Alana