Henna 101 club members stain skin

In the front room of the Asian Culture Center, junior Hallie Baumann shared her passion for henna with members of the Henna club, Henna 101. 

“I got started on my own,” Baumann said. “I actually had it done at a festival, and I thought it was really cool but really overpriced. So I got it from E-bay and started doing it on my own.”

Henna itself is a staining paste made from a Henna plant that dries over the course of about four hours, Baumann said.

Henna 101 meets 5 to 6 p.m. every Monday in the Asian Culture Center.

Baumann said she linked up with the ACC because it was looking for a henna artist and she was more than happy to do it.

“I just so happened to be what they needed,” Baumann said.

Long-time member of the Henna 101 junior Maddie Jeffers said she heard about it through a friend and has since come as often as possible to meetings.

“I heard about it freshman year, and ever since I’ve been here,” Jeffers said.

Since Jeffers has been practicing henna with Baumann for a while, she is sometimes invited to work events such as CultureFest.

Baumann said most of the designs they practice are of Indian or North African descent, but Jeffers said she likes to be creative with her designs.

“I think doodling is fun,” Jeffers said. “I like to do words inside of vines and leaves and flowers.”

At the club meeting, Jeffers was working on a dragon design, another example of her creative take on Henna.

Newcomers to Henna 101, freshmen Lindsey Catinella, Clarissa Tokash and Cassandra Stinson said they heard about Henna 101 through events at their dorm, Collins.

“It’s great stress relief,” Stinson said.

Baumann said her meetings are open to everyone in the community, not just students. Once people come often enough, she likes to give them a call to make them feel welcome.

“I like calling them my henna-prentices,” Baumann said.

Follow reporter Janica Kaneshiro on Twitter @janicakaneshiro.