1. What are the biggest influences for you musically?
For
a while I thought R & B, Blues, and Classic Rock, but I really
don’t know any more. I’ve never studied any particular
style of music. The list of my favorite artists is too long. Classical
music, Japanese folk and pop music, Jazz, my grandfather’s
Buddhist chants, The Beatles...It’s hard to tell which is
the biggest influence. Natasha Shneider of Eleven, Ani Difranco,
and Jeff Buckley are a few of my recent favorites.
2.
What is your process when you do henna? Eg. How do you come up
with your designs, how do you translate them from paper to skin,
etc.
Henna
is what I do for a living, my business and my day job. We have
design books, which have many ancient or traditional designs from
different regions of the world, as well as modern, and more tattoo-like
designs. Most of the time, the customers choose something from
one of the books and I draw it by looking at the design. We don’t
use stencils or tattoo transfers. Other times, people would tell
me their ideas, but broader, for example, someone might say “I
want something flowery and viney around my ankle”, and I
draw. It is more fun that way. When I do Mehndi, which is the
East Indian style of henna, traditionally done to decorate hands
and feet as a part of wedding rituals, I really like to have the
freedom to create the designs as I go, rather than copying a sample.
Even though I know so little about the person receiving the mehndi,
I try to pay attention to little details in the way they speak,
or smile, or the way they are dressed and try to figure out the
looks that suit them. I’m not really thinking this in my
head when I’m working on someone though, doing mehndi seems
to take me to a different place, and most of the time, designs
come naturally to me. Yes, there is a lot of guesswork involved;
in a way, it is a passive kind of art, trying to suit people’s
liking with what I do. But I find that even though everyone’s
taste is different and unique, I can relate or connect in one
way or another with most people that I come across doing henna,
and I really enjoy that. It helps me understand what people view
as ‘beautiful’ and makes me feel good knowing that people
do have great ideas about what beauty is.
3.
What was the best project/event you have been able to work on,
and the worst project/event you have had to work on? Why?
A
little girl about 6 years old wanted henna, but her parents were
not willing to spend any more money after all the Christmas shopping
they had done that day. The girl did not cry or continue to demand,
but stood in our booth quietly just watching for a long time.
So finally, my friend Carly and I asked the girl’s parents
if it was ok to give her little something free of charge, and
we sat on each side of her and we drew a little flower on each
hand. The girl was real still and quiet, and when we were done,
she said, “I am never washing my hands ever again!”
On an occasion like this, I am reminded to give my best every
time.
Now
here is a bit more childish one; While on Tattoo The Earth Tour
2000, which featured Slipknot, Slayer and various heavy metal
bands, and Celebrities of the Tattoo world, Atsushi, the guitarist
of o.h.m, and I, the only henna artists on tour were handing out
our demos and flyers to promote the band. On a particularly hot,
humid and nasty day in Chicago, the business was slow due to the
terrible heat. And then, right before Slipknot went on, we heard
“Become The King”, one of our songs blasting through
the PA. It totally made my day.
The worst experience was when I had to write “EXIT”
and “ONLY” on each of the butt cheeks of a 40 year old
male stripper, and had to stay in a room until the henna dried!
4.
If you could paint henna on any person in the world, who would
it be?
Yoko
Ono, Madonna, the Dalai Lama, and Major Tom.
5. What would you like to accomplish in the next 3 years?
As
much as I can.
6.
If you could give advice to other aspiring musicians and henna
artists,
what would it be?
Don’t
forget to pay attention to your health.
