ART BY DRAX
Henna Paintings and the Fine Art of Potato Mischief

If you've been keeping up, you know I've been having lots of fun with my potato prints. They've really helped to coax my creativity out from under the bed, as well as being envoronmentally friendly- all the embarrassments and leftover bits go straight into the compost heap! I've been exploring some of my henna designs as potato prints and have been pretty happy with the results. I've suffered enough to prove that they're Real Art and actually sold some!

But I miss the FEEL of doing henna, the actual flowing motion of creating a design with a henna cone. The way an image just materializes out of nothing, going directly from a thought in the mind to a design on the skin by just flowing down my arm and coming out my fingertips. I regularly draw on my henna-modeling-sidekick Pat and I even had a buddy come all the way from Virginia to get covered in henna last month, which was really fun. But I miss all the henna-slinging fun of summertime, the acres of bare skin just waiting for fresh designs.

So as I was perched there on the Stool of Sulking, missing my henna, a voice whispered in my ear. "So quit whining and do henna already", it said. Ah. That would be my muse. Have you met my muse? Drunken little piss-ant of a. . .

"How can I do henna", I asked, "when I have no customers?"

"So. . . do henna on something else", the voice whispered.

"On something else?? Like what, the cat?"

The voice sighed and rolled its eyes. "No, like paper".

"Ah, I see. Paper. Hmmm. . . Should I do them in actual henna or some sort of paint?"

"You will find the way. . . " the voice whispered, as it slowly faded away.

"Oh great, this again. What, do you have a hot date or something, you can't help me work this out? Hello?? Dammit, I'm on my own again."

So I got out my henna and started to play. It didn't make me happy. It felt right, but the henna itself wasn't a good match with the paper. Too wet, and it started to bleed into the paper. Too dry, and it flaked right off when it was dry. I'm sure the henna could be sealed with something to keep it in place, but that seems less than perfect. I could let the henna stain the paper then brush it off, like I do on skin, but I have no idea how lightfast the stain is or how long it will last on paper. So I would actually be better off using a henna-colored archival pen. Which would put me right back where I started. So I thought what the hell, filled a small henna cone with brown acrylic paint and went to town. It looked and handled just like henna, it stayed right there on the paper, it didn't bleed into the fibers, and it will last forever. Ladies and Gentlemen, Drax has a winner!

 I was so happy with my new toy, I spent the next 2 days playing with it. The ACEO collector card size (2.5 x 3.5) seems to work well for now. Easy to handle, easy to ship, and the finished pieces don't even have to be framed- they can be displayed in an acrylic sleeve. I was having a lot of fun with the roses and vines, which you'll see if you take a look at the collection! I have a few listed and I'm working on getting some more up in the next day or two. I'd appreciate some feedback, since I'm still feeling around in the dark here. At least it feels like familiar territory now. :)