Narissa Shawh has been creating henna designs for brides and women attending special occasions for the past three years. And though it has only been a short time, she’s renowned all around Guyana for her beautiful mehndi designs. But she also paints lovely designs on candles, glassware, tokens and such like.
Narissa’s work has taken her to places such as Berbice, Timehri and Bartica. She comes across as a simple and modest young woman but her designs speak volumes of her talent.
Speaking to The Scene at her Enmore home, the owner of Narissa’s Henna Designs revealed that while she was a business student at the ISA Islamic School, it never crossed her mind to work after graduation. She knew she wanted to be a wife and mother and has since fulfilled that goal.
But Narissa became interested in henna designs quite by chance. “One day, I saw henna on the hands of a good friend and I was never impressed by stencil design. It is not really a skill to do henna by stencil. So I asked her if it was stencil designed. She said no, it was free hand henna and she designed my hand. As she did it, I said to myself; I could do this,” Narissa said. “I started practicing on myself and friends and family. As I got better they told me that I should start charging for my work. I was skeptical at first.” She said she wondered if clients would like her designs and if they’d be satisfied.
“But after hearing comments such as, ‘Oh she does really nice designs,’ those words encouraged me to keep going,” the artist said. Without any formal art training, and using online research, Narissa creates Arabic, Gulf, Traditional Indian, Tribal and Somali designs. She’s done hundreds, so many she has lost count.
Her creativity likely came from her mother, Shireen Esau, a cake decorator, hair dresser, and seamstress. Shireen also makes