In one day, sophomore Neely Joyce can apply henna on over 30 eager Manhattan High students. Henna is the powdered leaves of a tropical shrub, used as a dye to color the hair and decorate the body, traditionally in Indian cultures. The powder is then turned into a paste with water and once applied to the skin leaves a stain of the intricate designs left.

“Whenever I bring [my henna] to school that’s all I do all day,” Joyce said. “It’s a way to express art on your body for people to see and it’s definitely something I’ll continue to do in the future.”

When she does bring out her henna, Joyce is almost immediately flocked by classmates. However, the crowd of people begging for her attention doesn’t bother her.

“I love it when people ask me to do their henna. It’s really a fun way for me to express my art and great practice as well,” she said.

Though Joyce recently started applying henna regularly, she was introduced to the art when she was around 10 years old.

“I have friends who are missionaries in India, and their daughter and I like to do henna. About two years ago, I picked it back up. I practiced a lot and started doing it all the time for fun; it really has become one of my favorite hobbies,” Joyce said.

With the art of henna comes a lot of cultural history, and Joyce has made the effort to educate herself on it and use it to her advantage.

“I think [the history and culture] is really interesting. My henna doesn’t do justice at all to the culture, but it’s kind of cool that we can bring it to America and do it even though it’s typically done for religious reasons.”