Mendhi is a temporary type of body art, using a reddish-brown dye created from Henna leaves. It is very popular in South Asia for weddings and festivals and traditionally used to create intricate designs on hands and feet. This art project is a great way to introduce young students to art motifs in South Asian culture!
This project requires simple materials and is an easy prep! Materials include: 9″ x 12″ construction paper in a variety of bright colors; 6″ x 12″ construction paper in skin tone colors; pencil; black permanent marker; reddish brown color pencil/pen/or marker (if you have it); scissors; glue.
Start by having students trace their hand and arm (in pencil first, then traced in black marker) on the 6″ x 12″ skin tone paper of their choice. Remind students to keep their fingers spread apart as they are tracing and to include their arm all the way to the bottom edge of the paper.
After going over some common Indian motifs and photos of Mendhi examples with students, they can begin decorating their traced hand with designs. I like to provide some reference sheets with design ideas. To match the reddish-brown color of henna, I like to have them use a reddish-brown color pencil, pen, or marker but this is optional. In the past, I have had students use black marker and the results were still beautiful!
When designs have been completed, students can cut out and glue onto a bright colored construction paper of their choice. Demonstrate that the bottom of the arm should line up with the bottom edge of their paper.
Add a decorative border as a final touch to help make their work look complete! Encourage students to continue to use Indian design and motif in their borders and maintain balance (either all sides or top/bottom, left/right “match”).
