Well, there were a total of 8 of us, drawing in the heat of the approaching summer this past Sunday, in my studio in Santa Rosa CA. As the weather heated up, so did the vibrancy of color that emerged in everyone's mandalas.
In the beginning stages of creating mandala's, drawing with white prismacolor pencils on the black paper, using the scale of light to illuminate the essence of the image,
out from the dark ground of the paper. Always so, powerful!
In the afternoon, we began to add color, and our images heated up
along with the temperature of the room.
Often times it takes an act of bravery to add color to the already developed black and white mandala, which is always so stunning.
But it is always worth the risk, and takes everyone to a new level of engagement and satisfaction.
I love watching the image and colors emerge and how excited everyone becomes as their mandala's come to life. Here they are in the beginning stages of emergence, as color starts to blossom. We place them on the wall periodically, to stand back and view them, giving our eyes, hands and bodies a chance to rest from this very detailed work.
This is a small Virgin of Guadalupe mandala, that Sue, drew along side her larger one, to honor an image that she photographed recently.
Almost complete.
Working with the color wheel is a simple yet powerful way to create a beautiful mandala, that allows spirit to come through in a striking way.
This is Patricia's mandala with all the color down, now she will develop it more fully.
This is my mandala, I didn't get too far on the day of the workshop, I was feeling under the weather, and worked slow and since the workshop was at my studio, I had the luxury of taking an extra long lunch break and a nap that day. I will post its development in later posts.
This is Lake's mandala, also still in process, I am so drawn to the quality of energy and movement in it. I look forward to seeing it as she puts more time into it.
Yes! So powerful and with such a wonderful sense of movement.
I love how this process, transcends peoples early art woundings, and allows people to see their creative potential. This mandala was done by Rusty, who didn't think she could create something new. What a stunning and expressive mandala. She left feeling renewed and ecstatic about her creative possibilities.
And lastly Sue's mandala, I love how the energy emits from the hand, radiating out in all directions. After initial hesitations about the hand, it worked out so perfectly.
So thats it for now. If I get images back of completed mandala's I will post them here, as well as my mandala as it progresses. Blessings to all.
The walls show off the paintings of many Cosmic Cowgirls...our altar is in the center of the space, surrounded by tables forming a circle, so we all can sit and view each other as we drew.
Getting ready in the morning as participants arrived.
Here is Patricia and Diana Rose. Patricia and I have been facilitating the Illuminated Mandala Retreat days for over 10 years. We are both Certified Facilitators of Judith Cornell's Healing Mandala Process.
We begin with small black and white mandala's practicing the scale of light, imagining our pencils to be light wands that connect with the divine light within and bringing it into form on the procreative dark ground of the womb of the paper.
Here is a small mandala done as a Healing Mandala for Harriet Wadeson, one of the grandmother mentors of the field of art therapy, with color added.
In the afternoon we began our larger pieces, focusing on the Four Elements and our associations with them as well as how the elements of earth, water, fire and air resonate in our bodies and our lives.
We always give participants permission to do whatever they are impelled to these workshops, and it is always a gift to witness what evolves and the personal healing the occurs as a result of the drawing process, meditations, visualizations and personal intentions for the day.
Each mandala is as unique as the individual who creates them. At the end of the day we share the inner stories that unfolded as a result of the process. It is such a blessing to do this work.
Unfortunately, I did not take photos of many of the completed mandalas. By the end of the day I was a bit exhausted and since our timing went over a bit, everyone was ready to move into the rest of their evening. But these images give a sense of the ongoing process and the day. I have begun a mandala and will post it's progress on later blog posts. Most people don't complete in the day. Drawing mandalas and working with prismacolor pencils is a slow and meditative, dreamlike experience that often take a while to unfold into completion. The next Mandala Retreat Day will be in September right around the Autumal Equinox, I will post the dates here, when we have settled on exactly where and when we will facilitate it. Blessings to All . Enjoy the Summer!!!!
