Long fascinated with the Middle East, in 1994 I saw my first henna - lacy patterns on the hands of a Bedouin lady at the market in Beer Sheva, Israel.  Later I also saw henna on the hands of women in the Sinai.  I returned to Seattle curious about what I had seen, but it took me a couple of years to start experimenting with recipes.  I began doing henna on my daughter and her friends sometime in the early spring of 1996.  Demand arose, and Gilded Lilies was 'official' in May of that year.  I was excited to find a (tiny) internet community which over the years has surged into an international henna network.

At first I was all alone in the northwest, exploring new henna techniques, discovering the parallel Indian tradition of mehndi and  immersing myself in henna history, figuring out customer service and marketing – all new to me.

Soon my efforts attracted a number of very talented artists who have this in common:  we are devotees of the art of henna.

I feel happy that I have created a business that respects many cultural traditions.  We have veered away from doing westernized (and cheapened) tattoo flash style henna.  Although I have the deepest respect for good tattoo artistry, henna is not a tattoo and was never meant to be.   I believe that copying tattoo flash with henna does a disservice to both crafts.   

Gilded Lilies has  been a part of the fair and festival circuit for years, we rarely do fairs anymore.  Without a sympathetic promoter running the fair, the emphasis becomes one of "speed slinging" - or what we like to call "McMehndi's"!  We do not have the opportunity to spend time with each customer, familiarizing them with henna's 9,000 year old background.  We have been shifting our focus to more artistic pursuits and working on expanding our working definition of henna as an art form, not solely body art

Events, moods and seasons pass.  Henna celebrates the moment and also passes.  There is an element of the sacred in something transitory--just as a Navajo or Tibetan sand painting represents communication with the divine in us and dissipates, sending prayerful energy out to the universe, so too does henna fade, making way for regeneration and renewal. Henna creation can be a mystical process--intuition plays an important role in our design. An artist must acknowledge the shape and texture of the body being adorned, as well as the purpose of the ritual.

All of us at Gilded Lilies Henna Arts conscientiously apply  the principle of "right mindedness" to our work.  Our integrity, respect for the needs of our clients and desire to create truly custom art is established with each customer anew.

In a similar manner, I prepare and teach private and public classes with honesty and without hype.  My goal with Gilded Lilies is to provide an authentic henna experience with every customer!

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