Monday, April 26, 2010

Sweet & Simple - $15 Henna Tattoo

Here you go.. easy to wear, easy to apply.. traditonal henna jewel.

This pattern includes traditional mehndi patterns in an easy to wear design.

Shannon, of Bead Here Now is my lovely model to give you an idea of what a $15 chef's choice henna tattoo looks like.

Click the photo to enlarge. Call for henna - 904-993-7466  which is offered by appointment at The Midnight Sun.

Parties, corporate events.. are possible.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Tribal Henna Patterns for Men

Here is an example of a free hand / free spirit henna tattoo for a man.  Yes, men can get henna tattoo as well!

The same rules apply, you get the best color on the back of the hand,   and inner wrist... places where men feel most comfortable placing their henna tattoo.

It is possible to do henna on the upper arm, to do tribal bands and Kanji tattoos there, however, the finished color will not be as dark and generally will not last as long as henna tattoo put on the hands.

This design is based in part on traditional North African designs.. and we just went from there. Shapes the client like were added.. and so you see, a powerful tribal style design.

Several layers of lemon sugar were applied. Perhaps I will be able to post a photo of the finished color, which appears about 48 hours after the paste is removed. At present, a new mix of henna paste is basking in the morning sun.

Henna tattoo will be offered in the ambient comfort of The Midnight Sun, 1055 Park  Street, Jacksonville, Florida after  2PM this Saturday. Call now to reserve your seat!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Lovely, Easy to Wear, Traditional Henna Tattoo Design

Here is a quick henna tattoo design that makes use of many traditional elements... the flower, the paisley, and of course, the little dot.

To draw this pattern, the larger design areas were created, then filled in with traditional components.

This design is for a customer going right back to work in retail. She needed something that would make it easy to use her hand, leave her finger tips free... and still be lovely.

A henna tattoo like this one costs @$30.00. The black paste you see on the skin is not the finished tattoo. The paste will remain on the skin for three to six hours.

A glaze of lemon, sugar and essential oils was applied to help keep the paste on the skin.. and the enhance the finished color.

After the paste falls off, or in some cases after you scrape it off, apply olive oil to the design area. The application of olive oil keeps water out & helps to keep body heat in.

Henna is a heat activated dye and the color will darken over the next 48 hours with proper care. A few things to avoid are: chlorinated water, American beauty creams, (most contain petroleum - and that fades the color of the henna tattoo) and exfoliating the skin.

Sun and heat are fine! Hot weather and sweating open the pores and help the henna to penetrate the skin.   Henna tattoo is available throughout the summer time by Ann George. Appointments work best! although walk-in henna is often available on Saturdays at The Midnight Sun.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Bridal Style Henna Tattoo - Full Back Hand Henna Pattern

Here is a photo of bridal style henna tattoo. This is a full back hand henna pattern that took about half an hour to finish.

The design actually started above the wrist with the floral cuff, then moved down to the back of the hand, and finally to the fingers.

From this angle, it is easy to see the peacock built into the pattern, so the wearer gets to enjoy the lovely bird.

The viewer will notice the floral cuff first, and then the eye will be drawn down the hand to the tip of the fingers.

This pattern was created by drawing a series of shapes that were then outlined and finally filled in with traditional mehndi components to give a full hand tattoo.

The use of negative space is very important when creating free hand henna designs. A bit of space between design elements catches the eye.

In my experience, when I forget to use negative space, my tattoos seem cluttered, visually busy, or it's just plain hard to see what I drew. I hope you find this little note helpful.

For more information about drawing henna tattoo, there are wonderful live videos on this blog. Check the labels to the right of this post to find one you like. Namaste.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Henna Tattoo at The Midnight Sun • Saturday April 17, 2010

Stop by the shop Noon thirty-ish this Saturday for henna tattoo by Ann George.

Pictured in this blog is a photo of an African tribal style henna which shows henna paste on the back of the hand, and paste and finished color on the inner wrist... notice the inner wrist tattoo is outlined again with henna paste.

Henna can last one week or more, depending on where you put the tattoo, how long you leave the paste on the skin, and other factors.

The Sankofa pattern on the wrist had faded a bit, so we outlined the original design with fresh henna paste to give a two-toned effect.

Once the henna paste is scraped off the skin, the bird will have a darker outline and an inner color.

Please know that all henna pastes are different. At the Midnight Sun you will get an informed consent to sign before you have your henna tattoo. This will tell you all the ingredients in the paste ( made fresh by Ann George! ), as well as how to take care of your body art.

An Spirit Vision, we do not use black henna, and make every effort to ensure that you have a traditional henna experience. Of course there are other artists in town, so please remember that each will have their own paste, pattern sets and aftercare instructions.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Henna Tattoo Today at The MIdnight Sun

Stop by the shop! Henna Tattoo.. great music, good vibes, glorious jewelry!

Why Not? Noon Thirty-ish 'till 5PM for henna.

1055 Park Street, Five Points, Jacksonville, Florida 32204

Namaste.

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Henna Tattoo Design - When Is a Free Hand Pattern "Finished"?

Here is a  photo of a henna tattoo for the arm. The pattern is from the wonderful "Sangeet" pattern book available from Tap Dancing Lizard, and the henna by Ann George of Spirit Vision Henna.

This pattern took only a few minutes to do, as the paste was very moist, also fragrant, and easy to apply using a henna cone.

You will notice the design is eye-catching because both light & heavy lines were used to create the pattern.

This henna tattoo also make use of the shading technique to fill in the petals of the flowers. However, it just didn't feel quite finished.

Now, please notice this second photo:
You will see that by adding just a few lines at the top of the leaf shaped element on this pattern, the design "comes together" and has a very nice finished look.

Sometimes just a few strokes are sufficient to complete a pattern. For those of you new to henna tattoo, these images are photos of the henna paste on the skin, and not black henna tattoo.

Ann George hand blends here paste fresh for every event, and only pure, natural ingredients are used. If you do have allergies to Indian foods or essential oils, please send a note before coming for your henna tattoo appointment.