Natasha Monahan Papousek
My ethnic roots are Irish, English, Norwegian and Czechoslovakian, but I grew up next in a melting pot neighborhood where people played congo drums in the hot summer evenings and potlucks were always an exotic feast of colors and flavors. I’ve always appreciated the music (and especially the food) of the Middle East and India, but it was not until I moved to Austin, Texas and began taking bellydance lessons that I began to really notice henna as an artform.
The year was 1997: Henna…I was fascinated. I was entranced. I had to learn more. An internet search led me to The Henna Pageand I eagerly read whatever was posted.But I still hadn’t tried henna. Then my husband gave me a kit for my birthday and I was hooked. That was July 1997 and I’ve been henna-ing ever since. In March 1998, my friends began insisting on paying me for doodling on them and Crescent Moon Designs was born.
Now that I live in San Diego, henna has become an intrinsic way of life. I continue to learn and meet fascinating people, and the more I learn the more there is to learn — the journey has just begun…
When I’m not doing henna, you can find me making bread, painting on silk, or being the receptionist at Top Hat Catering Service in Lemon Grove. And whenever I can I attend henna conferences and gatherings… the more I learn, the more there is to learn!!
Natasha draws a dragon at the Malcolm X Library
In addition to private and corporate clients I’ve:
Provided henna art at Tesoros, a totally cool shop in Austin, TX, for their summer event, August 1998
Provided henna art at Tesoros, a totally cool shop in Austin, TX, for their summer event, August 1998
•Hennaed customers at the Austin Spamarama (yes, a festival that celebrates Spam!) in late May 1999
•Hennaed customers at the Austin Blues Festival in June 1999
• Participated in the 1st International Henna Conference at Sirius Rising, Brushwood Camp near Jamestown, NY in early July 1999
•Hennaed customers at WOMAD (World Music And Dance festival) in Seattle in late July 1999
•Provided henna services at the San Diego Children’s Museum Inner Child Fundraiser, Dec. 2001
•Created an exhibit on henna in India for the Children’s Museum, March 2002
• Provided henna services for Best Buddies charitable event, April 2003 and 2004
•Provided henna at Reebok Triathalon, October 2003
• Provided henna services to patrons as a park artist of Balboa Park, summer 2004
•Held a Tsunami Fundraiser as part of the Hennatribe Alliance, January 2005
•Provided henna services for Best Buddies Bowl-a-thon and Dance, March 2005
•Provided henna art at Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Arts Festival, May and September 2005 and May 2006
•Give presentations at San Diego county libraries as part of the teen reading program since 2002
• Provided henna services for the USO’s day of pampering for military wives, July 2005, 2010
• Became a juried member of the artist community of Spanish Village in Spanish Village, 2006
•Juried in as member of the Henna Guild of Southern California, 2007
•Presentation in SDSU’s residence hall, Villa Alvarado on henna’s usage in the Middle East won best Residential Education Program, 2009
•Given a presentation and hands-on workshop as part of the Mingei Museum’s Family Sunday series, February 2012
