Finished color 2007 Jamila Harvest

As promised here are photos of the 2oo7 Jamila Henna Powder harvest. I am very pleased with the dark, rich color, consistent to the knee.

To purchase your 100 gram box, just click the title of this post.

Tattoosday #1: Introducing Tattoosday

Hello BillyBlog readers!

Behold a new feature that may or may not be a regular feature here....I'm calling it "Tattoosday". And I'm not saying I coined the phrase, others have done so elsewhere.

Here's the goal.....every Tuesday I'll post a tattoo or two, along with some or a lot of back story.

The exercise is interesting on many fronts....I hope the casual reader will find it brain-tingling and entertaining. Similarly, I hope to have fun producing the weekly post dedicated to body art. But not just any body art. I aim to photograph, with the permission of the inked, of course, tattoos that I find cool, and give a little story behind them.

I hope to meet some interesting people, perhaps boost a little readership, and ultimately entertain the readers.

However, I have to start out with a little bit of cheating. The first tat belongs to a co-worker, Sephora Uddin (the one that gave me the CBGB book for my birthday).

Here it is:


What is it?

A Hindu om symbol.

Is this her first tattoo?

Nah. It's her third of five. Her first is a lotus blossom on lower back. Her second is an angel on her shoulder. Her third is a Hindu swastika on the back of her neck.



Her fifth, and latest, but probably not her last, is on her second toe (the one next to the "big" toe, or hallux) on her left foot, three lines representing the Aquarius symbol.

For the record, I have only seen this one and the swastika.

When and where did you get it?


New York Hardcore Tattoos, October 2005

Why?

"The aum or om symbol is sacred in Hinduism and Buddhism, and I find it comforting. It reminds me that I am aspiring to wisdom even if I don't succeed."

So, there you have it. The inaugural tattoo on Tattoosday here at BillyBlog. It should be interesting to see what else I can come up with from strangers, or if I have to revert to friends to help me in this project.

Big Bold Henna Tattoos

Inspired by Neeta's book, "Sangeet". I am thinking differently. It's great fun.

If all goes well, I should have finished color on line by Wednesday.

From start to peaceful finish each design took about 45 minutes to complete. All told, we had two hours of fun.

Shannon's Gilded Peacock - Henna Tattoo

I have started working with a more liquid paste mix. I use Jamila henna, the 2007 harvest now, which is very gummy and stringy and workable. I am very pleased with my quick color test results, and will have full hand color on line soon.

In the mean time, please enjoy a photo of Shannon's gilded peacock design. I am still inspired by Neeta's book "Sangeet" as you will see from this photo. The gilding colors are purple glitter & jade green matte gels.

The more liquid texture of the paste made it possible for me to work more quickly than I have in the past, as the paste just flows right out of the henna cone. I am still using my "plastic bag cone" with rubber band closure. It has a carrot bag look, but is soft & easy to use so my hand doesn't get tired at all.

I am convinced that the little bit of pomegranate juice concentrate I am adding at the start of the mix (lemon juice, spiced tea, henna powder, pomegranate juice) really helps keep the henna on the skin, and makes it easier to work.

Lower Back Tattoo in Henna

Here is another wonderful henna tattoo pattern from Sangeet (applied by Ann George of Spirit Vision Henna in Jacksonville, Flordia).

My client said she got very good color with her last henna tattoo. Although the back is not usually a place to get the best color, she took great care of her henna tattoo. She left the paste on a good while, and got the design area warm for the first day and applied olive oil regularly after the paste was removed. I hope to post a photo of the finished color.

If you have had a henna tattoo & would like to send your photo of the finished color, please mail it to me.

Wrist Jewel Henna Tattoo

I remain thankful to Kimberlee, a henna artist in Jupiter Florida for recommending Sangeet's design book. Click the title of this post to visit Kimberlee's "space".

This fine line henna tattoo was made possible in part by mixing the paste to be rather liquid, sticky and stringy.

The addition of fenugreek seeds in the tea mix which I add when first mixing the paste helps create a stringy mix. Adding a bit of pomegranate juice just before putting the paste in the cone ensured the paste would be sticky and liquid. To get the fine line, I cut just a bit off the tip of a plain old plastic cone... and voila!

Henna Tattoo: Lower Back Henna Pattern

Here is another great henna pattern from Sangeet. Of course I modified it a bit so that there would be enough paste to give good color on the lower back. I like the way elements in the henna pattern compliment the design elements in the woman's belt.

If you come for a lower back tattoo, be sure to wear a low cut pant & a midriff top. It's best to come early for a lower back tattoo so you can browse all the great Five Points shops, sun your henna & get the best color possible.

(Click the photo for the full sized image.)