As a henna artist, I choose to wear henna for special occasions - like my birthday and Mother's Day. That way having henna is a special treat for me. While my dear husband made dinner, I sat down and painted my arm, took a break to eat, and then sat down to paint some more while our kids cleaned up. The painting took about 2 hours. 

The next morning, when I peeled off the henna paste, my tattoo was bright orange.

The henna continued to darken and after 2 days it had reached a lovely dark brown color:

The palm is always the darkest spot because the layers of skin are thicker there and can soak up more henna. My fingers are orange with henna because I have painters hands - they are pretty much always stained with henna.

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be a momma! I have learned how capable I am, and how much I have to give - and how much I have to learn! Our daughters have taught me so much. 

All these photos are by my wonderful husband Rob! 

The peacock - the symbol of love, luck and prosperity - blesses this mama's pregnancy.

  Cherry blossoms were the image that came to Ashlee's mind when I asked her about any visions she might have for her body art. A blossoming cherry tree emerged on her belly as I painted in our home studio. 

A few days later we went out for photographs to capture the henna belly in it's peaking state. We stood among the cottonwoods by Boulder Creek and suddenly Ashlee said, "Eagle!" and we looked up to see a glorious bald eagle fly nearly right above us. So majestic! 

  This design is based on an original drawing I did of a family of owls in a tree, I really enjoy painting owls! 

  Even though most models come prepared to be blank canvas, I love to hear any ideas they have for a design. This mama had an amazing sense of the energies within her, and I loved hearing her vision and intention. I focused on the part of her vision that was an owl in a pine tree and painted this on her pregnant belly:

Then a few days later she returned for more photos. It was a beautiful spring day, and as we walked on the path together we came upon a young owl sitting high in a cotton wood tree. Mama owl landed on a branch close by for a moment to check us out, then flew off. It was such a special moment! Liz had brought along some owl wings and a pine bough, which we incorporated into this next photo. I loved that she brought props! 

Back in the studio, mama receives a big hug from her son. 

4 days later my dear husband and I went walking on this same path. We've seen eagles, herons, and red tailed hawks on our walks but never an owl - until today. The mama owl flew up and landed on a branch, and Rob captured this photo of me looking at her - she's high up in the tree right in front of me. Can you believe how much snow there is just 4 days later! 

I love it when a pregnant mama looks through my design books, closes them and says, "I trust you." This floral design spontaneously came through my henna tip, an original delight. What a joy to create art this way and also connect and hear the stories of each pregnant mama. 

A beautiful mandala to honor this pregnancy.

This dear one is just under 1 month old, surrounded by 3 older siblings and his mama. These kids filled our home studio with such laughter and love. Shonda, you are an amazing mama! 

  It is truly an honor to get to witness and create art for new mothers and their babies! This dear little one is just 1 week old. Henna is traditionally applied in the first 9 days after birth to bless and protect the baby and mother from evil spirits. The symbol in this tattoo and Fiona's pregnancy art is the Manaia: a messenger between the spirit world and mortals, as well as a powerful protector against evil. 

One of the more interesting things about creating art to honor pregnancy is the privilege of hearing so many stories of how women came to be pregnant. Each woman's path is so different, each woman's body is unique in pregnancy. I love to bear witness to this.

It was good to see Lisa again - the last time I saw her she was pregnant! This week we got together for henna with the intention of blessing her journey forward as a mother. Lisa is the last model I'm photographing for Volume 3, which will be printed in time for Mother's Day 2013. I am really excited to create this next Volume in the series on Honoring Motherhood with Henna Tattoos. 

  I love to paint butterflies and flowers, especially in celebration of pregnancy. 

  I love doing a family henna party! This dear little baby boy is surrounded by his mama, older sisters and brother, who all picked out henna designs. Postpartum henna is actually a tradition that I've read about from north Africa - so fun! 

My weekends now often include a baby shower / blessing way and I have to say, I'm absolutely loving it! Yesterday was the first time I hosted one in my home studio and it was wonderful to have a group of women laughing and sharing birth stories. This blessing was a powerful one - with both grandmothers present to celebrate the first grandchild. Susan has been doing a lot of hot yoga and I was seriously impressed with her flexibility! Gorgeous!  This first photo is a behind the scenes look at our home studio with the friends and family gathered. There is a lot of photo taking that happens during a session like this. 

Here we have Susan's mother holding onto her daughter's belly. Within kicks the unborn first grandchild. 

This henna is in celebration of this baby boy as well as Valentine's Day. How many hearts can you find?

The north African tradition I've read about involves adorning a new mama within the first 9 days. I'm happy to celebrate birth any time with mamas and their babies - this dear one is just 6 weeks old.

This dear one had the fortune to be born in the year of the dragon.

I am so grateful to get to spend my 'work' time gazing into the faces of freshly born angels.... what a blessing! This dear one is only 5 weeks old. 

I love that my work involves hanging out laughing with lots of fabulous mamas at Blessing Ways. I love gathering to celebrate new life, new beginnings. 

  This mama is an talented dancer, and at her blessing way, where I adorned her belly, she had the most amazing pregnant mama dance I've ever witnessed. Her baby boy was full of smiles and laughs.

I love painting flowers! A garden of blooming delights to cherish this pregnancy.

Above: Anna's first pregnancy in 2008 was full of a Irish roses and clovers to honor her ancestry.

Below: Anna's 2nd pregnancy. It was close to Haloween 2010 and there were owls in the nursery, so ... this beautiful tree emerged. 

And her latest pregnancy, with a due date of the Solstice and art to honor that timing. 

Everyone's hands on the belly - Mom, Dad, big sister and big brother. 

I met Jolee in December of 2010 to honor her first pregnancy with this henna peacock. For her 2nd pregnancy, I asked her if she had any ideas for her design. I've painted a fox, a monkey, whales and all sorts of animals and I had a feeling she'd want another creature. I had to smile when she wrote back asking for a rising phoenix, risign out of water instead of fire. I love it when I get asked to paint things I never would  have thought to do myself. 

Here we are with the blooming cat tails in the Cottonwood Marsh in Boulder, Colorado. I've loved exploring these trails and capturing gorgeous mamas surrounded by Colorado's natural beauty.