HARVESTING OUR BLESSINGS - MANDALA completed...

I have finally completed my mandala that I began at the Summer Solstice workshop.  It has become something else altogether, and really speaks of opening to the blessings of life as well as offering blessings for the earth.  I wonder what others might think it alludes to.  If you have any thoughts and want to share your sense of this mandala, please let me know.  

It is interesting that now that it is complete it is also time to focus on promoting the Fall Harvest Mandala workshop that Patricia and I are doing on September 20, th. .  After searching all over Sonoma County for the perfect, charming country retreat space, we have decided to offer it at my studio, and harvest the blessings of the space once again.  

We were seeking another space because we wanted a large enough space for 20 people, but realize that my space will work with 12-14 at the max...including the two of us, so until another space presents itself, we will have to limit how many people can attend.  Please get in touch if you are in the Northern California area and want to attend.  Or for that matter if you live in Sonoma County and know of a reasonably priced, art workshop space with good lighting, in a lovely environment, also let me know.  Ask and ye shall receive.  

Compassionate Peace Mandala Workshop

This weekend I attended a Compassionate Peace Mandala painting workshop, led by Lama Prema Tenzin.  It was a lovely, deepening experience in the process of creating mandalas.  Lama Prema is a national treasure from Bhutan, where he has been studying the creation of mandala's since the age of 6 years old.  He is a master Mandala  and Thangka painter, as well as sand mandala's, stuppa's  and prayer wheels.  I was honored to be a participant in this day long experience.  

Lama Prema Tenzin in standing in front of one of the thangka's that he has painted.


Here is a photo of his students in Bhutan learning the process of  thangka painting.
Here other students  are painting a large mandala.
This is the painting of the Compassionate Peace Mandala that we created smaller, condensed versions of in the workshop.  It took him three months to paint this mandala.  The colors are exquisite. All the symbols are very specific as well as the colors and placement of the symbols. 
Here is the beginning of my mandala in pencil
After the whole structure of the mandal was complete we went over it in fine line black pen.
The painting not quite complete.
Here is the  completed mandala. that I did.   The process was very slow, and deeply moving.  Having the structure already prescribed, made the experience mindless, and the day moved both quickly and slowly, as each person was lost in the process of moving from outer to inner, inner to outer and then painting each shape in a prescribed manner step by step.   I truely loved the experience and opportunity.  I hope to study with him again as he offers another workshop in another mandala later in the fall.  This has inspired me to go back to the mandala I started at the summer solstice and complete it.  What a lovely, experience and an honor to be with his energy and way of sharing.