A Creative Life: Beautiful Bellies

by Designing Mom Jenn

Pregnancy is tough. Who would debate that! You feel uncomfortable, swollen, dare I say it... F-A-T ! The days crawl by and you get bigger and bigger and your clothes get smaller and smaller. And while you have a glow about you, it's hard not to feel somewhat challenged in the beauty department.

I know, I know... I hear some of you moms screaming at me about "pregnancy being the most beautiful thing in the world" but I'm a realist... and acne, vomiting and gas just don't fall into that category for me!

A few years back, long before these complaints were on my list, I was invited to an Indian wedding. It was by far and away the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The colors of the clothes and saris, the gems, the flowers, the detail that went into every last component of the wedding. The four full days of celebrating included a henna party for the ladies, the night before the wedding. While the bride received her traditional full hand, arm and feet henna, all the guests were also invited to partake and we got smaller, but no less amazing, tattoos of swirly flowers and paisleys... every last inch of our hands were covered with rich, painstakingly detailed designs that left a temporary tan-like tattoo for a few weeks.

This event made me hungry for more, and later that year when I turned 30, I decided to have an Indian-inspired birthday celebration - allowing all of us to dress the part with colorful Indian saris and, of course, henna tattoos.

I searched long and hard, and found a truly incredible local henna artist named Darcy to decorate my hands, and all of my friends too. We went to her loft before the party to get our henna in advance, but I also hired her to attend the party so that all of our guests could enjoy her work as well. There was no one left without her markings... men and women alike all were excited to adorn their body with this colorful, and temporary art!

This was the invite I designed for the party:

Here are a few pics taken that night (me with my dad + some of our henna):

I was on Darcy's site this morning, taking a peek at her latest creations (which I often do for inspiration!) and I saw a new category in her portfolio; Pregnant Bellies! I was floored - and so excited - and it made me want to get pregnant again immediately, just so I could have a new canvas for her work. Darcy's work is so incredible and rich and celebrates all the beauty of your pregnant belly. No matter how uncomfortable you're feeling this is sure to go a long way to making you feel better on the inside and out!

Darcy Vasudev Henna Lounge
www.hennalounge.com
tel: 415.215.6901

Here are some of Darcy's incredible works of henna art: