BREMERTON — In 2009, when Kristina Kruzan’s friend wanted to get a henna tattoo, and another friend purchased a kit online for that purpose, Kruzan’s path was altered.

“As I was watching that happen, I thought, ‘I need to know how to do that,’“ she said.

Her interest in the art form actually started a lot earlier, though.

“Body art has always been fascinating to me,” she said. “The way that we decorate ourselves and the way other cultures do that and what it means … all of those things have really been so fascinating to me.”

Henna, Kruzan said, is one of those body-decorating art forms that “has always been so stunning and intimate.”

Because the paste takes 24 hours to mix, and it takes time to draw and design a tattoo on someone’s skin, the art requires “intimacy, patience, slowing down, taking your time,” Kruzan said. “It’s more than just getting a Sharpie and drawing on your friend.”

When she first started, it wasn’t easy.

“I don’t draw at all, ever, so it was a really steep learning curve for me to puck up this paste I had to make myself and make these shapes that were pleasing to the eye,” Kruzan said. “I still wouldn’t call myself one of the stronger artists or really amazing.

“The whole experience has been really educational,” she added. “It taught me about persevering for something I really care about.”

She said it was important for her to learn the history and cultural significance of it before she felt comfortable teaching to others.

“I recognized immediately that I’m white, and this isn’t something that belongs in our culture. I wanted to make sure I was being respectful,” Kruzan said.

So she studied. She learned that henna tattoos don’t just come from India, as is most often associated, but from numerous cultures, each with their own history and style. This is now something that she teaches in her introduction to henna class she now teaches in downtown Bremerton.

“I feel like I would be doing the art form a disservice if I didn’t let people know there was a lot more to it than (drawing on each other’s skin),” Kruzan said. “There are thousands of cultures that use henna.”

She added that in the two-hour class, they generalize a lot about the different cultures that use henna, but to her it’s an essential aspect of the class.

The class covers safety as well.

“I’ve been to so many events where artists were using dangerous henna,” Kruzan said. “Black henna is very, very dangerous. The public at large isn’t aware.”

She also talks about the different styles, of which there are many.

“My favorite style is what would be Fesy, Moroccan,” she said. “It’s not commonly seen in the west. It’s something that’s really different, and straddles the lines of masculine and feminine.

“It’s really accessible to most people. The designs can be really complex, but made up of very straight lines.”

She said one of the appealing things about the style is that it’s not supposed to be perfect.

“We have this desire to do it perfectly, and it pushes me out of my comfort zone,” Kruzan said. “If you’re replicating this style, messy is better.”

There’s also a “western style,” she said. When you see henna “being used for sports logos and other funny things,” that’s western henna.

When she saw that, Kruzan said, “I felt like I was missing an opportunity to know something.”

Kristina Kruzan shows off the finished henna tattoo she freehand drew on her friend Cyndi Hawkins. Kruzan began studying henna in 2009 after a lifelong interest in body art and why people from different cultures decorate their bodies the way they do. Kruzan teaches and introduction to henna class, where she educates her students on the historical and cultural significance of the art form. Photo by Michelle Beahm

That’s why in her class, she educates students about histories and cultures, in order “to treat (other cultures) with respect and learn something as much as we can before entering into something, and not just taking it because we feel we have the right,” Kruzan said.

“I want people to feel connected through this art form. There’s a lot of preconceived notions about people from the Middle East,” she said. With henna, a Middle Eastern art form, Kruzan said, it is “getting literally under people’s skin and showing them something beautiful” from Middle Eastern cultures.

The last 45 minutes or so of her class, she said, is decorating and practicing elements of henna. Students can “get their hands messy and go home feeling like they know a lot more than what they came with.”

On her Facebook page, Kruzan said, “It’s important not to take from cultures that are not our own, the pieces that we think are fun, without understanding the depth of the cultures it belongs to. I take this very seriously. If you’ve had henna from me, it’s likely you’ve heard me talk about what henna is, where it comes from, and why it’s important.”

Kruzan teaches introductory classes on a regular basis, tattoos at parties and hosts private appointments. To get information on her next class or to set up other henna tattooing appointments, visit Kruzan’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/kruzanhenna.