Being able to express myself creatively is one of life's essentials to me and even if I only had my finger and a patch of sand, I would feel the need to create something there.
If you are a "My Sacred Life" participant, you may have seen Cheryl's blog Art In Every Day where she has been posting some amazingly colourful and creative mandalas and listing some interesting links to mandala sites. As you can probably tell, mandalas have captured my imagination. Here are a few of mine.
About Mandalas;
"Mandala is a Sanskrit word, meaning circle. It represents wholeness and is described as a cosmic diagram that reminds us of our relation to the infinite, the world that extends both beyond and within our bodies"
"A mandala is an integrated structure, organised around a unifying centre"
"Tibetan monks considered that mandalas should consist of five excellences:
the teacher; the message; the audience; the site; the time".
Mine shown here are pretty basic, but I am working on some more meaningful ones. Mandalas are incredibly satisfying to make as well as look at and they exude loads of energy. To see some gorgeous and intricate examples of mandalas from around the world, take a look at the Mandala Project, where you can join in and post your own creations.
Oh My Gosh Patti!! These are fabulous! When I saw them I was just blown away at the energy, the color, and the beauty! Yay...looks like you might be hooked (me too!). They're all incredible! Love the sunburst, I resonate to them; the middle one..firey and intriguing...it has such movement! and the last one, rich, yummy, beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to hear what insights you glean from them. You'll look up oneday and all of a sudden an insight will arrest you, it's a marvelous thing.
Enjoy..and I'm so glad you've been inspired! Please keep me posted when you make more.
Hello Patti,
ReplyDeletevery inspiring, your mandalas! Strong colours and shapes. I have been intrigued by mandalas for some time but found those I saw too complicated. Thanks for explaining what it is. I wonder about the 5 excellences...?
How do you depict them in the mandala?
Have a great day,
Andrea
Patti...
ReplyDeleteCheryl from Art In Every Day sent me a link to your beautiful and inspirational blog!
Mandalas have such spiritual, psychic and creative power. You may know that they have been used for hundreds of years by the Native American Indians in their Medicine Wheels. My grandmother, a Cherokee, taught me about their power when I was a child.
A while back I shared a quote with Cheryl from Carl Jung. I thought you might like it as well,
"Only gradually did I discover what the mandala really is:
'Formation, Transformation, Eternal Mind's Eternal Recreation'
and that is the Self, the wholeness of the personality, which if all goes well is harmonious, but which cannot tolerate self-deceptions...The Self is our life's goal for it is the completest expression of that fateful combination we call individuality...all the paths I had been following, all the steps I had taken, were leading back to a single point - namely, to the mid-point. It became increasingly plain to me that the mandala is the center. It is the exponent of all paths. It is the path to the center, to individuation."
I look forward to returning to see your work and I promise not to leave such a LONG message!
oh, i love your mandalas! especially the firey one. beautiful!
ReplyDeletePatti, my colorful friend-
ReplyDeleteThere are fabulous and vibrant! I really like all three! Hey, by the way, the fish is living happily ever after.
I am back to pen & ink work these days - large - and taking much time. I have to remember to slow down, be patient, and enjoy the process. It has been a llllong time.
Just love these Patti, the colours and the patterns are so vibrant. I also found your description interesting.
ReplyDeletePatti,
ReplyDeleteThese mandalas are wonderful! I love them too. I like the process of picking the colors and the mesmerized feeling I get when I start to color them in. I was just in New Hampshire on vacation where I got a new book of intricate geometrical mandalas.
Happy coloring!
these are absolutely GORGEOUS! I love your use of colour, these are so alive. Can't wait to see more of your work...
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how things happen all together and work in cycles. All of a sudden people are posting their mandalas. I posted some of mine yesterday!
ReplyDeleteOf course, mine don't have your creativity as they aren't hand drawn. I'm not too good at that. But I love using the templates and playing with colour.
These are fantastic! I particularly like the first one.
Annie
xxx