Caught Red-Handed Podcast

Episode 12 - Bridgette Bartlett of Maple Mehndi

I'm in a rush to get this out so I'll just post Bridgette's bio here and add to this post later, if time permits.

I am native to Vermont, growing up surrounded by mountains and forrest. I have always been artistic,  mostly a photographer before discovering henna in 2011. The soothing flow of henna quickly became the focus of my artistic energy. Instead of trying to capture a moment in time, henna allows me to be present. A quiet creation to celebrate and adorn in any culture or country. I feel blessed to bring this art form to people all over the world.

Episode 11 - Neeta Sharma aka Mehndi Designer

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What a surprising pleasure it was talking to Neeta Sharma for this episode. It really shouldn't be such a surprise because everyone told me how sweet and generous and knowledgeable she is, and she did not disappoint. I don't know if Neeta could hear it but I was smiling on the other end of the line. As always, the interview taught me so much; I continue to think of these interviews as my own private therapy sessions which I decide to share with all of you.   You're most welcome!

I've been keeping an eye on Neeta over the years as I worked to hone my bridal henna skills.  She seems a bit shy about sharing her work and so I kind of lost touch with her.  Then I saw a bunch of her new work as part of a mehndi artist competition and I was blown away all over again by her level of detail, the fineness of her lines and the originality of her layout.  I kind of feel like I discovered a new henna artist but it's just Neeta being excellent!  If you haven't seen her work in a while you're in for a treat.

Knowing Neeta only through her work and her reputation I didn't know how the conversation would go so I had a lot of questions just in case I needed to fill time. Fortunately she is a fount not only of information about henna, but also very interesting insights into creativity and attitude making my job that much easier. I have a sneaking suspicion that I will have more questions for her which will require another Neeta episode.

Episode 10 - Nev Levin of Remarkable Blackbird

Episode 9 - Rebecca Freedner of Heartfire Henna

Episode 8 - Hiral Shah aka Hiral Henna

Hiral and I are fellow wolverines from Michigan..though Hiral’s birth country is India.  I met her about 6 years ago when I was visiting Michigan.  She still saw herself as an inexperienced henna artist.  Fast-forward a few years and Hiral had rocketed to new heights in her henna skills.  She is a model for engaged effort to master an art form and the results were amazingly apparent.  Her path to super-pro included attendance at too many henna conferences to count (I exaggerate only slightly), constant learning and practice, and a trip to India to study with a mehndi master.  She even packed up and moved out West where she could find more mentors, as well as a lot more clients.  I think we can all learn from Hiral and her concerted effort to get from point A to point B, and beyond. I really admire her courage to go to India to study with a master as well as relocate for her art.

I’ve kept in touch with Hiral over the year through social media but we never really talked about the specifics of what she was up to. I was really thrilled that she agreed to let me interview her so I could learn more about her journey and share it all with you.  I hope you enjoy the conversation at least half as much as I did!

Hiral Shah has loved mehndi all her life. She spent the first decade of her life getting henna done every chance possible by her Mom, Bani. At the age of 11, she started taking matters, or mehndi cones rather, in her own hands and doodling over herself. This hobby has stayed with her over the years until she began her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan. While she was studying for her B.S. in Psychology, she founded Hiral Henna, and the rest is history.

Hiral had a knack for mehndi so initially, she did not pursue any formal training for this skill. Once she decided to become a professional henna artist though, she began attending henna conferences in the U.S. and Canada since 2009. At these conferences, she learned how to do different styles of Indian, Arabic, Moroccan, Polynesian, festival, contemporary, and tribal henna. In early 2012, she also trained with Harin Dalal, and as a result, she specializes in dulha-dulhan and Radha-Krishna designs. She also taught at Henna Gathering in 2010, at the Spring Fling in 2011 and 2013, and at the Windy City Mehndi Meetup in 2012.

Episode 7 - Debi Varvi Part 2

Episode 6 - Debi Varvi Part 1

Episode 5 - Nic Cartier Part 2

At long last here is part 2 of my interview with Nic.  Part 1 finished with us discussing how to learn a new tool and this episode starts off with Nic’s advice on how to learn a new style.  Thanks for patiently waiting for each episode. I am trying to get them out regularly and often but it’s hard with a full-time job and my henna work.  I finished editing part 1 right before my trip to Australia so you would have something to tide you over, and then as soon as I returned I started editing part 2.

Antoinette’s x-wing fighter belly!

All my listeners have been really kind with compliments and also with constructive criticism; the latter has been really important because you all alerted me to some technical issues which allowed me to fix them for future episodes. I recently received a really wonderful email from a listener in the Seattle area, Anoinette Hippe, who said that I could post her message wherever I wanted.  I was so happy to receive this message because what she describes feeling while listening to the podcast is exactly what I had intended. I am so gratified that, at the very least, one person got it!  Here is her message (and also a photo of the design of hers I mention in this episode.):

Dear Lisa,

My journey with henna has been a long and generally convoluted one (whose isn’t?) but one thing that has remained a constant is my general underlying desire to make henna more meaningful, both to me and my clients.

When I first started henna, I was given Loretta Roome’s book to read, and my favorite chapter was the one at the back, the one that talks about what it means to be a henna artist. Throughout the years, first as a student of a woman to whom henna is simply a means to support herself and her family, then as my drive to make this art form a viable source of income for myself, I would find myself pulled from the “meaning” of what it means to be a henna artist. When I would sense my disconnect, my lack of interest in doing one more stupid design, I would pull out that book and read the last chapter. And then wonderful things would happen in my soul, and I would want to be…”more.”

Tonight as I was driving home, I had a full hour to listen to the most recent podcast. It was hard, sometimes, to listen, because it was dark, and the tears that pricked at the back of my eyes threatened to blur my vision dangerously. I realized, while listening to Noam talk about his amazing experience in that Toronto festival, and again when he described his role as a ritual organizer, that I had found in audio form another source of inspiration, much like Roome’s book, to go to when I am feeling my least connected to my art form, to re-charge my “good juju” and to become “more.”

Thank you so much for what you are giving to the community with these podcasts. The “storyteller” is a vital role human history, and with so much competition (TV, music, etc) in modern life, it is refreshing to find exactly what we need in something so basic as sitting around a cup of tea and talking. That we are allowed to listen in is a real gift.

I thank you with all my heart,

Antoinette

Episode 4 - Nic Cartier (Part 1) [[updated file]]

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Episode 4 - Nic Cartier (Part 1)

We talk all the time, Nic and I. We've been talking non-stop for 15 years, a lot of it about henna.  When we talk about henna we cover the gamut of topics, from cone material to ingredients, from the meaning of art to the meaning of the khamsa.  Even though we live in different cities we end up having a lot of these conversations over coffee or idlis or red wine somewhere in NYC.  We cooked up our Moroccan book in a corner booth at the Culture espresso bar in midtown Manhattan.  We dreamed of our next book over an incredible beet salad in the Roebling Tea Room in Williamsburg.  Now we've actually recorded a snippet of this fifteen year long conversation for this podcast.  The conversation ran long--as it often does--so it's been split into two parts.  We're already planning future episodes with a different format so watch this space! I have been nagging Nic to send me his bio but then I realized that there is no point. You all know the origin myth of Boy Wonder (now Man Wonder) so why bother even cutting and pasting.  I'm sure you'd rather hear what he has to say and look at the pretty (did I just say that?!) pictures of his work.