It might have worked- she's forwarding it to the head of the arts council for decision! n/t
Posted by Lauren on July 31, 2003 at 09:37:53:
In reply to: I think that's a very even-tempered and fair response! (n/t) posted by Rachael on July 31, 2003 at 09:16:25:
: : Hi,: : I wrote to you about having a booth doing henna at the arts
event.
: I
: : seem to have deleted your reply, but I did want to respond to
it.
: I
: : think you have the wrong idea about what I do.
: : It is true that some people use henna as a fake tattoo at
carnivals
: : and other venues. On the other hand, some people use standard
: : watercolors to do face painting at the same events. Please don't
: : judge the entire medium by its lowest common denominator examples.
: : Henna as an art form goes back documentably to around 2100 BC in
: : modern-day Turkey. It quickly spread to the Levant, northern and
: : central Africa, Italy, Arabia, Greece, and even southern Spain,
: : Malayssia, and Indonesia. It was used as a bridal tradition and
at
: : celebrations by people of all religions which existed in the area
: it
: : could grow, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam,
Zoroastrianism,
: : and Greek, Roman, and Cretan religions.Originally, mostly women
: used
: : it, but in medieval to 19th-century Persia the art on both men
and
: : women reached its highest levels. The use of patterned henna in
: : India is much more recent, within the last fwe hundred years, and
: : it's taken in the cultural iconography of the people who used it
: : while becoming an integral part of that culture. You can
identify
: : where a design is from by the pattern. Indian is dense floral
and
: : vine work, preferably bright red. Egyptian and Sudanese art is
: : boldly floral, sometimes with words written in it. Persian art
is
: : extremely delicate and features knotwork similar to that found in
: : Celtic works. Moroccan work is entirely linear and is usually
: heated
: : to give a color as close to black as possible.
: : Basically, henna is an artistic tradition with at least 4000
years
: of
: : rich cultural background. I don't do the fake tattoo stuff.
Part
: of
: : the reason I want to be at an art festival is to raise awareness
of
: : henna as an art form, which it truly is. I would have a
: professional
: : booth with photographs of my work available for sale, and
possibly
: : other hennaed items such as lamps and drums. I am starting to do
: : henna designs on paper, and that would be available also. I
would
: : have display books with examples of various classical henna
styles
: : which a buyer could choose from, then get an original piece of
art
: : done for them. Nothing here would be cheesy or unprofessional,
and
: : we'd be educating people as they come by.
: : Another reason I want to start changing people's minds about
henna
: is
: : that with the "fake tattoo" mindset comes the idea that henna can
: be
: : in multiple colors, especially black. The stuff commonly used
: : called "black henna" is actually concentrated chemcial hair dye,
: and
: : it's causing nasty chemcial burns, permanent bubbling scars,
: bladder
: : cancer and damage to other internal organs, even death in some
: cases,
: : at resorts and beaches all over the world. there are also
lasting
: : ide effects, such as sensitivity to other chemicals and dyes,
which
: : can make life miserable. For more information, go here:
: : http://www.hennapage.com/henna/ppd/index.html. Even if I don't
: sell
: : anything, if I can help people avoid this poisonous stuff, it
will
: be
: : worth the trip.
: : I would be glad to talk to you more about henna, "black henna",
or
: : the festival. Please email me back with any questions, or call
(my
: : phone number). I hope you will change your mind about allowing
: henna
: : art at your event.
: : Lauren Grover
: :
: : I should note that I spellchecked the email, so any errors in
this
: : didn't get through. It's a lot, but I think it explains what we
do
: a
: : little more. I'll let you know what happens.
: : Lauren
Follow Ups
- Re: It might have worked- she's forwarding it to the head of the arts council for decision! n/t
theadora 19:52:33 7/31/2003
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