Frequently Asked Questions: Using Stencils

Stencils are a useful tool. They are not the answer to making henna designs without doing some free hand drawing or some copying or transferring. But they do have a useful role for people choosing to use them.

There are some great stencils that are ideal as a central focus to a design that you will then elaborate on. Some of the large ones serve this purpose well for upper back, lower back and chest designs. I always then to think some of the stencil designs are incomplete, so while elaboration is not required, it always seems to me that just a bit more working of the design would help.

There are very nice smaller stencils that can be used for the central focus of a hand design, bracelet, cuff anklet and arm band.

Stencils can be used by themselves or elaborated upon. Just view them as a tool that will help you to construct your design.

How to use:

The self-adhesive stencils are very easy to use. Clean the skin area where they will be applied. Rub the skin area with some alcohol. You will want to rid the skin of oils. Then apply your stencil making sure that it adheres to the skin tightly. Any pockets that are not sticking to the skin are going to mess up your design. Then apply your henna paste to the open areas where the skin is exposed within the boundaries of the stencil.

Though most of the directions for use on stencils indicate that you should remove the stencil when the paste dries a bit, this action can actually remove some of the paste important to your design as you are removing the stencil. Whenever possible, treat your stenciled design like any other design. Leave the stencil in place. Apply a sealant when the paste is sufficiently dry. Wrap your design with the stencil still in place. After the required amount of time for your paste to adequately stain the skin, unwrap and remove the stencil when you remove your henna paste. This allows you to retain the sharp crisp edges of the design as they are cut into the stencil.

When using stencils for people other than yourself, this is sometimes difficult and viewed as costly to have people walking away with your stencil still on them. But if you are hennaing the public, you don't want to reuse the stencil anyway. I recommend building the cost of your stencil into the cost of the design and then not worrying about the fact that the stencil walks away with the customer. They paid for it...it is their stencil. This could mean that you need to have a lot of stencils on hand if doing a fair or festival or party etc. But that is a factor when considering the costs and benefits of using such a stencil in your work.

View stencils as a tool and consider how you can get them to work best to serve your needs. Don't become completely reliant on them. Stretching yourself to learn to do some designs free hand or copying from a drawing increases the sort of design options you can offer and render.

Maureen

Copyright 2003. This information is available for your personal use and learning. No permission is granted for copying, reprinting, publishing, linking or any other purpose without written permission from Maureen Jones.

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