Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bhavna Naik. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Bhavna, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I learned my art by trial and error and many hours of practice. I am a self taught artist and it took me quite a long time to reach a level of being able to create professional artwork.

And I say this because when I teach my students now I see that they can achieve that level of perfection sooner than I did is because they have the guidance that I didn’t have.

I didn’t have anyone to guide me to tell me where I could improve and how and that I think is the most important thing. If you’re trying to get better at a skill, You do need an outside perspective of someone who has been there, done that and can guide you to avoid the missteps and bypass some mistakes and get better faster. Many people think that to learn to be a good henna artist you need to be able to draw, but I think that to be able to create great art. You need to be a really good observer. And you need to have a lot of patience and perseverance. These qualities will take you far and will help you succeed beyond your dreams.

The obstacles that I had were time, I always felt that I needed more time in a day to keep practicing and access to available skin so that I can practice on it. Because as much as I practice on paper it still is so different when actually doing on skin. Since this is an art primarily for skin, it is important to also practice on it.

Bhavna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Bhavna Naik and I am a professional henna artist. I mostly provide Henna for South Asian brides and their families and guests who come to the wedding. When I started my business 12 years ago I had only one goal in mind to do one bride a week. Now I do 3 to 4 brides a week.

I usually provide henna for brides two to three days before their big day and also adorn their family members and their guest closer to the wedding day. No wedding is complete in the South Asian community without the inclusion of henna and also it is the starting point of any wedding event.

So I am the first vendor that the bride experiences when the wedding week starts.

I am very proud to be the only henna artist who started the custom of giving a free customized design to every bride based on their love story and including special elements for them. I’m also the first henna artist who created a proper henna application setup so that it’s easy on the bride and the artist to sit for so many hours, as henna application takes approximately 7 hrs for the bride, after which I get to do the mom, the sister and any other important family members. So my usual days are 10 to 12 hours long so having the right setup really helps in maintaining good posture and being able to do a great job with micro-precision.

I’m also proud to be teaching my skills and my knowledge of the business at Henna conferences and also host a two-day workshop myself once a year.

Teaching this art form is another pride and joy for me as I want this artform to be taught in the right way and with the right attitude so that it grows and evolves into something even more beautiful.

I also provide lessons via zoom and in person for private students as well.

I have also started selling customized sketches for my brides as memories for them to keep.

The one thing that sets me apart from any other henna artist is that I create unique custom designs and truly care about my art form and my client. I want them to have the best experience ,feel connected to their design and be satisfied with my art as well.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

In my view, what society can do to support artists is to create a narrative from childhood for their children that art can also be a profession and not think of artists as non-achievers or people who didn’t succeed or cannot succeed because that is the fear that people who are creative grow up with and do not pursue art as a profession because they have been told since childhood that art can be secondary. Parents say, “Find yourself a job that pays you a steady income” and I think that mentality needs to change for the future generation so that they grow up feeling empowered with art on their side and not against them.

Also, for people who are already artists and are in need of support, I would recommend people to understand that artist have bills as well and to pay them what they ask for. Do not ask for discounts and if the experience was exceptional then tip your artist. Appreciate your artist. Leave a review. Make that person feel appreciated. Two kind words goes a long way in uplifting the spirits of an artist who is already being bashed around just for being one.

And for the artists who are currently thriving, my recommendation is uplift new upcoming artists. Teach your skills, share your knowledge. Be more giving and grow with your community which just makes you a better leader and supports the entire artist community.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think the most important lesson in the journey of learning and getting better at any skill, especially a skill that needs a lot of practice and patience like henna is not to give up. But instead sometimes learning to step back reevaluate give some time and space to your mind and body and then come back rejuvenated to practice and get better at your skills.

We as artists are our own worst critics and also sometimes doubt our skills and if they would improve. So the mere fact that we are our own cheerleaders and critics. I would say resilience in this journey, is the fight between the balance that we can try and keep between, Yes I’m doing great Be a cheerleader for yourself and when it comes to critiquing yourself, critique where you can improve instead of just giving up and letting go because it’s taking too long to get there.

In this world of instant gratification it is very difficult for artists to realize that skills cannot be rushed and there is no instant gratification. When you are trying to learn a skill it does take time. It does take patience and it is the journey that is there to enjoy rather than just the result.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bhavnashenna.com
• Instagram: @bhavnashenna
• Facebook: @BhavnaHennaArts

Image Credits
I have taken these photos myself