Loretta
Roome: Mehndi: The Timeless Art of Henna Painting
Having
purchased this book, I recommend it for anyone interested in mehndi. Not only does
Roome have useful information about mehndi (including history, symbolism, recipes, directions,
sample designs, explanations of the types and uses of
mehndi, and MORE), but she also includes a myriad photographs
of mehndi on many parts of the body. Roome's diagrams assist the
reader well, along with 14 pages of color photographs. Roome also includes
a supplier list and recommendations for suppliers. This book is beautifully written, nicely bound, and has a very
smooth cover, as shown on the left.
Carine Fabius: The Art
of Henna Body Painting
This book comes highly recommended from its purchasers.
Carine Fabius provides readers with step-by-step
instructions for various designs, as well as a great deal of information on
history and symbolism of henna designs. The book features many black-and white pictures, sample patterns (30),
and suppliers
and other information. Carine Fabius is the artist from the Galerie Lakaye, and
therefore proves to be a highly experienced specialist in the art of mehndi.
Sumita
Batra: The Art of Mehndi
The book actually does not look like the cover shown
here: This is the picture of the inside cover. In any case, Ms.
Batra has created a wonderful, beautiful book on mehndi that is very
different from her contemporaries. Please note that she focuses on the popular
aspects of henna and its role in modern culture. The pictures are
quite beautiful and feature famous Hollywood personalities
and models as well as various designs with detailed, written
instructions for completing each design. She also gives recipe
ideas. The book concentrates less on historical background than
other selections, but is a
highly recommended addition to any collection! What I personally like
about the book is its focus on symbols and how to construct henna designs,
which many artists new to the field may find difficult.
Norma Pasekoff
Weinberg:
Henna from Head to Toe : Body Decorating, Hair Coloring, Medicinal Use
This book was illustrated by Catherine Cartwright Jones, who
is an Ohio mehndi
artist listed on my site and who has her own mehndi-based business in
addition to knowing her other crafts.
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Karen English and Jonathan
Weiner (ill.): Nadia's Hands
Reading level
4-8. This book is great for people who want to teach the
significance of mehndi art to their children. Highly acclaimed by many
book critics for its artwork, Nadia's Hands would be a cute addition to a
children's book collection! I thought the book was pretty good when I
browsed the bookstore, but the Amazon reviewer featured disliked it. (Hardcover)
Jane
Glicksman: The Art of Mehndi : Learn the Ancient Art of Painting Hands,
Ankles, and More
Renee
Tractenberg (Illustrator), Renee
Trachtenberg (Illustrator). This book was just published
recently, and it looks like a fine publication through which children can
be introduced to the medium of henna. Written for children ages
9-12, Glicksman's book has an easy to use format according to one Amazon
reviewer, and with an Amazon price of less than $5.00 is well worth the
purchase.
Mehndi kits are useful for beginners, but I would not recommend them for an experienced artist. I have Amazon kits listed here.
Zaynab Mirza: The Mehndi Kit; Learn
the Traditional Art of Henna Body Decoration . . .
I don't know if this kit is the best value for the money
which you pay for it. It costs around $25 and includes only a small amount of henna
(2 ounces), a small amount of oil, and a small amount of citric acid solution.
Because the item is packaged as a kit, I have not been able to look at the book so I
cannot give a good rating on that. Overall, I would recommend Roome's book the most to the
henna artist or enthusiast. But, if you want a kit-book combination all at once, this is
the way to go.
Aileen Marron, Halawa Henna: The
Henna Body Art Kit : Everything You Need to Create Stunning Temporary Tatoos
This mehndi kit includes a 96 page illustrated book, 10 grams
of henna powder, 2 cones, mehlabiya oil, transfer designs, and a catalyst solution.
Halawa Henna is a educator about mehndi internationally, and holds many schools around the
world. She has created her official mehndi artist's license, although these types of
licenses are not required to be a professional mehndi artist.
5,000 Designs and Motifs from India; Ajit Mookerjee
(Editor); Paperback
Beautiful and inexpensive
book; Great for ideas for small motifs
you may include in your henna design;
recommended
Dorine Van Den
Beukel: Traditional Mehndi Designs : A Treasury of Henna Body Art;
This book is an excellent introduction to mehndi designs in general. This book repeats mehndi designs that you may see in other publications, such as Gala Mehndi books; for this reason I would not recommend this book for experts in mehndi. However, I feel that a review of Traditional Mehndi Designs need not be too harsh. Beginners who do not have access to imported henna books from India would do well to try out this beautiful publication. Using design books like these helps to give you ideas and motifs upon which you can base your own designs.
Celtic
Design : Knotwork : The Secret Method of the Scribes (Celtic Design); by Aidan Meehan;
Paperback
I was able to see this book in a
bookstore, and any book by Aidan Meehan has wonderful step-by-step instructions
elucidating the actual simplicity of Celtic Knotwork and other Celtic design
strategies. Well-bound and with a nice cover as well as easy-to-follow directions,
this book is a good value.
Persian Designs and Motifs
for Artists and Craftsmen; Ali Dowlatshahi; Paperback
Celtic
Alphabets; Aidan Meehan; Paperback; Aiden Meehan; Paperback
The Dover Pictorial Archive:
Any book in the Dover Pictorial Archive Series is
inexpensive and contains useful pictures for you to reference. I have looked through
this series in bookstores, and each book offers various designs from a particular culture,
affording artists and enthusiasts multiple ideas for mehndi/other artwork. These
books are a great value overall.
Authentic
Folk Designs from India in Full Color (Dover Pictorial Archives); K. Prakash;
Paperback
Paisleys and Other Textile Designs from India (Dover Pictorial Archive Series); K. Prakash; Paperback
Traditional Stencil Designs from India (Dover Pictorial Archive Series); Pradumna Tana, et al; Paperback
250 Stencil Designs from India (Dover Design Library); K. Prakash; Paperback
159 Celtic Designs (Dover Pictorial Archive); Amy L. Lusebrink; Paperback
Arabic
Geometrical Pattern and Design (Dover Pictorial Archive Series); Jules Bourgoin;
Paperback
Dictionary of Symbolism : Cultural Icons and the Meanings Behind
Them; Hans Biedermann, et al; Paperback. If you want the meanings of all
sorts of cultural icons, be sure to get this book. It comes highly recommended from
reviewers, and if you are interested in creating a mehndi design that has high symbolic
meaning, you will probably find this selection very helpful!
Dictionary of Symbols : An Illustrated Guide to Traditional Images,
Icons, and Emblems; Jack Tresidder;Paperback or Hardcover . This
book comes highly recommended by readers as well -- a great addition to your
collection! Please read all of the reviews about this selection!
Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization
(Bollingen Series,
6); Heinrich Zimmer, Joseph Campbell (Editor); Paperback.
I read this book for a course on Hindu Myth, Image, and Pilgrimage.
It is absolutely wonderful and is a 
very interesting read. Zimmer is
a wonderful storyteller, and he presents readers with a great picture of
the role of myth in the Hindu religion. It is all quite interesting
I think! Don't expect too many pictures or any mehndi design ideas,
but expect a good author who teaches you a lot. The book contains
detailed information about symbols and the role of the image in the Hindu
context.Designs from other countries
My favorite India Books right now:
-
Midnight's Children - a classic by Salman Rushdie - read it read it read it. It will tell you an excellent history of India post-Independence and gives you a great impression of the magnitude of hero Saleem Sinai's life.
Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahiri. One of the best books I've read. A fabulous short story collection for anyone who wants to learn more about Indian American culture, or about themselves.
A Passage to India - E. M. Forster knew about the Independence movement long before Britain did.
The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy.Other fascinating authors you can look into include Mark Tully, R.K. Narayan, V.S. Naipaul, and Arundhati Roy. Search their work below!