Artist designs henna pieces for cancer patients

Cancer treatment is exhausting and painful, but a local artist has found a way to restore the dignity and beauty that women going through chemotherapy sometimes feel that they have lost.

Jeena Kar, a West Orange native and current student at University of Florida, creates “henna crowns” for women who have lost their hair from chemo. The artwork serves as a head covering that is less conventional than hats or scarves but no less decorative.

Kar now lives in Gainesville, but she will be back home from July 18 to Aug. 1 and is looking for cancer patients in the area who believe they could benefit emotionally from receiving a henna crown. She is ready to start making appointments.

“Between that time, I want to give 100% to doing henna crowns,” Kar said.

Kar took a course last year called “Spirituality and Creativity in Healthcare.” At the end of the course, the students had to complete a project through which they connected art and healing.

Kar said she does not have close friends or family members who have ever suffered from cancer. But she has worked extensively with Relay for Life, which inspired her to work with cancer patients for her project.

As for the art form that Kar would use, the decision wasn’t difficult.

“I really believe that everyone is an artist, and you just have to put the time into doing it and practicing it, and find a niche,” Kar said. “For me, henna is just something that I grew up with, and it’s the art form that I have the most practice in.”

Kar learned how to design and apply henna when she was young. She started by watching experienced artists at cultural festivals and events, and she practiced on her friends and family.

The ideas for Kar’s designs come naturally — she doesn’t use a template or try to copy other artists’ work. It is therapeutic for both the artist and the person who is receiving the design.

“It’s almost like a meditative practice,” Kar said, comparing henna to the idea of drawing a mandala. “You just kind of empty your mind and don’t think about things that are stressing you out. You just go and let your creativity flow.”

The professor of the course connected a personal friend who was going through chemo at the time with Kar. The woman had had henna once before, so she was comfortable with the idea.

Kar’s course ended, but she had found a new passion that she wanted to continue. She contacted some hospitals and clinics in Gainesville and Orlando to offer her service, but most of them were hesitant to invite her in as a volunteer because the nature of her art required direct contact with the patients’ skin.

A family friend of Kar, Dr. Sarah Katta, works with cancer patients at Southwest Cancer Center in Orlando. She was familiar and comfortable with the idea of henna for her patients because of her Indian heritage.

“(Katta) was the one who supported me and was willing to take that chance,” Kar said. “She invited me to a support group meeting, and I spoke to the patients there.”

Kar designed henna crowns for some of the patients at Southwest Cancer Center. Other women, some of whom already had wigs that they liked to wear, preferred to have designs applied to their hands or feet.

“I do think that even doing it for women on their hands and on their feet has a similar therapeutic effect,” Kar said. “You’re being present with the patients, and you’re letting them indulge in this new art form.”

Kar also creates paintings to be used for the greater good. She recently donated a series of paintings that generated about $2,000 for a Gainesville nonprofit organization called Project Downtown.

In addition to her visit to West Orange County this summer, Kar will be available to come back to the area to design henna crowns for cancer patients during the school year on certain weekends.

To learn more and to contact Kar, email her at [email protected] or go to her Facebook page, Design by Jeena.

Contact Catherine Sinclair at [email protected].

WHAT IS HENNA?

Henna dye is made from the leaves of a tropical shrub, mixed with water. It is applied to the skin to leave an orange or maroon stain that usually fades away in one or two weeks. This art is commonly seen in South Asia, usually on women, for special occasions such as weddings.

Black henna can contain unsafe additives, but Kar uses all-natural henna that has no toxic effects.