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.   

Mandala ...and the Spiral Process

As I spent time working on this mandala during the week, I reflected on my last post here, where I was a bit discouraged about flitting around from one art project to another and not losing myself deeply into one experience.  I realized ...or rather had a rather large epiphany that like the center of this mandala, I was deeply into the Spiral Process at this point in my life.  When one is in the spiral process, they are engaged in experimentation, moving from experience to experience,  seemingly going around in circles, but actually moving into different levels of awareness.  Change is the constant and is what is needed for growth and healing.   

So in my Friday Medicine Art group this week, I shared this awareness as well as Angeles Arrien's 5 Universal Shapes Experiential, which is explained in depth in her beautiful book The Signs of Life.  Realizing this changed my perspective around how I spend my time these days, and shifted me from judgement to joy. This mandala is still not complete, but its getting closer to the essence of where it wants to be.  I will post it once again when it is truely complete.  

For those who do not know of Angeles Arrien, she is well worth finding out about.  She is a cross cultural anthropologist, Basque Mystic storyteller.  She has written many wonderful books on myth and symbol as well as researching rites of passage and tying them into contemporary life.  She is an inspiration to hear speak and is truly a wise woman teacher.  More information can be found on the link to her website.  

Mandala Emerges as I flit from project to process

The Mandala that I began on the solstice slowly emerges as I flit like a butterfly from thing to thing. Without a structure of consistent work in my life, one would think I would be more productive. In many senses I am accomplishing alot creatively, but it is in a scattered way. More like a butterfly flitting from flower to flower.   Drawing Mandalas is centering and focusing, but only if one spends a bit of engaged time doing it.  I go from drawing, to making jewelery, to photographing items to sell on my new etsy store....and then do a bit of carving on my encaustics,  some collageing in one of the 3 journals I have going and then dash out to the Y for a swim.  Ahhh, life in the scattered lane.  I am loving it, but feel I need to focus on just one thing. Or do I?

So far, so good...more to come, maybe..

Here is my encaustic challenge piece with a bit more detail, some collage elements and lots more copper.  It is begining to get there...maybe it is done, or maybe not.  But the articulation of the archway is a bit more honoring of the playful and happy young women they were at that time in their lives.  I will post a more completed version when its done, but I must sit with it a bit and  see what calls to me...and what the piece seems to be asking of me.  I really enjoyed working with the nylon and pattern piece.  Nylons actually are a very good sculptural element for encautic...who would have guessed.  

Encaustic Challenge Process

Where to begin....what to do?  Here is what happened

As part of the etsy encaustic artist "Beeswaxteam Challenge"  I received a panties pattern and a nylon stocking in the mail from another encaustic artist on etsy.  The challenge and it was one to start with, was to create an encaustic painting incorporating any part of the items received.

At first I really had no idea where to go with these seemingly random but connected items.
Then I started going through some vintage family photos thinking something might click and I came across several of mother as a young woman with her friends.  I vacillated between two photos then decided I like this one of my mom and my "aunt Margie"  under an arbor.  These two were life long friends. 
The other image I considered was one of my mom and her friends actually in their panties outside probably on vacation somewhere.  I saturated the cradled hardboard with encaustic medium and dipped the nylon in it as well.  The nylon began to form a sculptural frame for the image...hmmm,
I began to apply some transparent colors of encaustic paint....ie R&F paints very diluted with encaustic medium.
I wanted the words from the pattern piece to show through.  However I wasn't really enthralled by the colors at this point.

The center where I was planning on tranfering a copy of one of the photos was too lumpy over the pattern so I scraped it down to the medium.
Placing the copy onto the board I burnished and then peeled away the layer rubbing it with water.
Here is Addie and Marguerite peering through...I love the mystery of photo transfer.

From this point on I kept adding color and playing with possiblities
Hmmm, not sure about the gold rickrack but it needs something...
Its a bit dull and needs more contrast and something more done to it
Taking it another step with more color and starting to carve into the wax a bit here and there.
Then I decided to darken the blue a bit...This is where I left it after the first day of working on it. One thing is for sure, this challenge has challenged and inspired me.  It has been a while since I heated up my hot plates and worked at it again, and this really got me engaged and excited.  More to come..

My Slowly Evolving Mandala

I have been slowly working on the Mandala I started at the last Illuminated Mandala summer retreat day.  My focus was creating a visual prayer for the earth.. It has changed a bit and will continue to evolve over time.

As color has come in, the central focus has been come a spiral at the center of the earth rather than the earth itself.   It always amazes me how images have a life of their own and take form of their own accord.  I just follow the inner prompts and see where it takes me.   I have to remember to stay out of judgement and into the witness.  I guess just getting out of the way.
I will post more images of this mandala as it evolves.