Contact Kara via email or 206-251-6706
c/o KotaPress, PO Box 514, Vashon, WA 98070

Kara L.C. Jones is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University where she studied Literary & Cultural Theory and Poetics. When at CMU, Kara had the opportunity to intern for three years under the mentorship of Hedda Sharapan at Family Communications, Inc., producers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, where she studied the uses of language and its powerful effect in offering support via mass markets in written and visual media.

With her partner Hawk, Kara co-founded KotaPress (www.KotaPress.com) as an expressive arts outreach to other bereaved parents in 1999 after the death of their son Dakota. She has written many articles and offered various workshops exploring Healing Arts. This press released several of her collections including Flash of Life; the grief support book Mrs. Duck and the Woman (now in Spanish language also); the Loss Journal as well as zine A Different Kind of Parenting. Kara and Hawk are also HOPE mentors for MISS Foundation.

Kara is also a visual artist. She had been drawing, bookmaking, and painting since the 1980s, and then in 2003, she founded Henna Healing, through which she is offering henna art as well as researching the vast 9,000 year history of henna.

In working with private clients, Kara discovered the powerful effects of henna body art or other visual art as part of memorials or remembrance rituals. This discovery led her to seek more experience and knowledge about a direct healing method that could be used before, during, or after ritual sessions. She has since completed her Reiki Master-Teacher certification with Masters Jeanne Robinson and Jane Valencia.

At the beginning of 2007, Kara began the 1,000 Faces of Mother Henna (www.MotherHenna.com) project as personal and spiritual commitment to her art. She began publishing a combination of the visual art along with written content and news in the Mother Henna blog at www.motherhenna.blogspot.com. The “Seek Peace” face was one of the first creations in the 1,000 Faces project. Kara published this piece with Creative Commons copyright in the hope that others would be inspired in their own exploration of peace. From the seed of that idea, she and Hawk then launched a larger endeavor "A Peace Of..." to curate two exhibits of peace-inspired art. One exhibit is on-going, online at the blog www.APeaceOf.blogspot.com. The second exhibit is a physical show which will take place on Vashon Island in late 2008. Artists around the world are invited to visit the blog and to submit works for consideration!

Photo (right) is from the gathering my friends held for me - described below!

In the Artist's Words
My interest in doing intentional henna came after some friends had a small gathering for me over Day of the Dead. As we created an intention of healing for the day, we then set about making art and doing henna. One of them henna'd a blossoming lotus flower over my heart as a symbol of my intention to begin living what I love. It was a powerful day. And within one week, I had people asking me to do henna for them, as part of their intentional journeys. Though their reasons for wanting the henna designs varied, I found that as I talked with each person, there was a specific intention for them. It may have been to just have fun. It may have been a dream they had and a physical expression of that dream. It may have been to celebrate the body. Whatever their personal intentions, I found that by vocalizing that intention, the henna session was enriched and all the more powerful for them -- and for me! So here we are.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Email: kara@hennahealing.com

Phone: 206-251-6706
(If you get voice mail, please leave a message)

Mailing Addy:
HennaHealing.com, c/o KotaPress, PO Box 514, Vashon Island, WA 98070

Physical Location: We're on Vashon. When you make your appointment, we'll give you specifics!

Updated Feb 08