Lisa Butterworth
henna artist, teacher and supplier

Websites:

• kenzi.com

I draw gorgeous henna designs on the skin of people all over the New York City area. South Asian, Arab and Jewish brides come to me to have henna done for their big day but I also do bridal and baby showers, birthday parties, bat mitzvahs and any special occasion where the guests want something exquisite and a little different from the normal party fare.

For anyone who wants to learn the art of henna, I teach private classes and workshops, and I sell all the supplies you will need to teach yourself henna. I also design tattoos, murals and pretty much any object that can be decorated with the motifs of henna. I do henna and body art for photo shoots and movies.

I am president of HennaTribe which is an artist owned collective of international, professional mehndi artists and suppliers promoting natural henna, started in September 2004 whose mission is to provide an online community, informational resource, and professional network for anyone interested in the ancient art of applying henna to skin.

I am currently working on a book about henna designs in Morocco.

I love to collaborate on art projects, providing not only my henna body art but also styling photo shoots/videos. I can bring other talent to the project to make the final product greater than the sum of its parts.

In my art, I am very good at taking the traditional and making something original, transforming the known into something new and beautiful.

On a more practical side, having been a small business owner in NYC, I know a lot of the tricks for marketing myself without spending a lot of money. I am driven by the desire for efficiency and integration of technology; I'm the go-to gal if you need to find a quicker and more efficient way to do something especially involving technology.

I really want collaboration with other artists and other business owners. I am always looking for photographers or artists who want to integrate my work into theirs, and I would like to work with businesses to create events that promote all of us and give our clients/customers something beautiful and memorable.

Like everyone, I need new contacts (especially ideas for new places to look for clients) and marketing ideas.

I have a Masters in Political Science but I am a self-taught artist.

I have been working as a professional henna artist since 1998. I am self-taught in the art, having seen it done once when I was living in Morocco. My experience as a henna artist is as vast as my influences. Perhaps you have seen my work in the movies (Spike Lee's "The 25th Hour" and Jonathan Demme's "The Manchurian Candidate) or on MTV (Erykah Badu's video for "Love of my Life"). I have also created original pieces for photo shoots and fashion shows. I work at large-scale corporate events and festivals (such as Bulgari, HBO and Le Tigre), as well as intimate weddings, parties and private consultations. I have been teaching the art of henna in workshops around New York City since 1998 and have run HennaTribe since 2004.