Sharing The Love: A Look at Paisleys, Hennas & Line Illusion Drawings and How These Relate to Faith by S.K
Hello All,
Today we’ll be looking at paisleys, hennas, and Line Illusion drawings. Specifically, we’ll explore how these connect to different aspects of faith.
Paisleys
The paisley pattern came from the regions of Persia and India. The word “paisley’’ originated in Persia where the word “boteh” means flower. The motif is characterized by a teardrop or mango shape” riddled with other internal patterns, like flowers. These motifs were first introduced in Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion that espouses monotheism, the belief in Heaven and Hell, and messianism (Jacques Duchesne Guillemin, 2020). Zoroastrians have symbols like the cypress tree, where the paisley pattern comes from, is a representation of life and fertility (Cultural Elements, 2020).
However, unlike Christianity, Zoroastrianism has a different founder, whereas Christians and/or Jesus followers generally believe that Jesus is the only way to Heaven and that the Bible is the sufficient and inspired word of God.
So, why does this matter? What do paisleys and Zoroastrianism and faith in Jesus have to do with one another? I’m glad you asked!
I believe that like paisleys, our lives are intricate and uniquely designed, but unlike Zoroastrianism, when we follow Jesus, we are following someone who cared so much about us that he as a deity left what was rightfully his to experience life as a full human and then paid for, suffered for, the wrongdoings that we have committed, and those we could possibly commit. Still, the miracle does not end there, because Jesus defeated death, three days after being crucified on a tree and buried in a tomb, He shows us humans what love looks like and proves that he is both loving and a powerful God He came back to life, mind intact and now invites us to join his family.
Hennas & Mehndi
Now what about hennas? Hennas are actually plants that are grown in India, Egypt and Morocco, and other hot climates while Mehndi is the practice of painting the body with hennas. The Mendhi paint is created by crushing henna leaves, adding oils, spices and water and then mixing them together. If applied properly the pigment will not wash off, but rather stain the top layer of the skin. (Henna King, 2021).
In a similar way, when we live our lives for Jesus and when we spend time in conversation with God, and learning from his Bible, those practices change our hearts and the words we read stain our hearts in a good way.We become more like Jesus and we can share our lives and kindness with others around us.
Line Illusion Drawings
Lastly, line illusion drawings, which I’m rather fond of, are art techniques that involve repeating lines. These are used somewhat like busy work, one does not have to think too hard to complete one of these, therefore it can be a relaxing art form. However, if continued, the line illusion drawing can be quite complex. “Leda and the Swan” by Leonardo Da Vinci is an example of this (Stewart, Jessica, 2021). .
Like these line illusions, faith in Christ Jesus is about staying connected- the lines in an illusion connect to one another to create something bigger, and when we are connected to Jesus,His Word, and other followers of Christ, then our lives are more meaningful.
Some keys I have found to displaying Godly love and friendship, are to:
Reach out to others, even if your nervous about it : Hebrews 10:25
Let go of perfectionism: God’s grace is made perfect in our weakness 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Embrace vulnerability: 1 John 4:7-8 & Colossians 3:12
Be authentic: James 5:16 & 1 John 3:18
Now, let us see some examples of paisleys:
And these are examples of line illusion drawings,
All concepts that relate to sharing love,
Thank you!
References
Baker, Lindsey.(2017, November 6). “Paisley: The story of a classic bohemian print”. BBC, 2021.Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20151021-paisley-behind-rocks-favourite-fashion on 19 June 2021.
Bing, “Free Paisley Images, (Bing, 2021). Retrieved froom https://wallpapertag.com/wallpaper/full/0/2/1/123833-paisley-background-1920x1280-for-iphone-6.jpg on 21 June 2021.
Cultural Elements. (2015, October 21). “A Brief History of Paisley”. Cultural Elements, 2020.Retrieved from https://blog.culturalelements.com/a-brief-history-of-paisley/ on 19 June 2020.
Duchesne-Guillemin, J. (2020, November 13). Zoroastrianism. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zoroastrianism on 19 June 2021.
(Henna King, n.d) )”History of Henna”. Henna King, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.hennaking.com/history-of-henna/#:~:text=History%20of%20Henna%20The%20art%20of%20Mehndi%20%28Henna%29,they%27ve%20been%20around%20for%20over%20five%20thousand%20years on 19 June 2021.
Shutterstock, “Easy Beautiful Mehendi Design”. Shutterstock, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/easy-beautiful-mehendi-design-1911318058
Shutterstock, “Teal to Orange Paisley” Shutterstock, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/360000/velka/paisley-pattern-teal-orange.jpg on 21 June 2021
Stewart, Jessica, (2021 August 26) .“Unwinding the Long History of Line Art “Melancolia” by Albrecht Durer (My Modern Met, 2021). Retrieved from https://mymodernmet.com/line-art-history/ on 20 June 2021.
