Mandala Day

"Spider making a mandala"

Our first day at camp, I decided the easiest thing to do was color and decided to have Mandala Day! I found some great tracers and gave the kids a blank circle. Depending on the grade, we talked about mandalas and just let them express themselves.....
Some were pretty intense... even first graders understood and made some really beautiful ones.
I clipped them to the fence to display them and we had a mandala exhibit.

It turned out to be a really nice, relaxing day and the weather was great, too!

Even I made one :-)

Art Reception

We had the art reception yesterday. Exhibiting the children's art from Alla's classes and from my teen/adult class. During the reception, I met Hannah, an extremely talented musician. I asked her to point out her art and she showed me several pieces, one being this mandala!

We began to discuss mandalas as sacred circles and I had then wished I had brought my mandala book with me!
This little girl was enthralled by the altered book. I'm offering classes in September for an altered book / art journal class.... I'll have to throw some mandala classes in there as well :-)

Rainbow OM

Forgot to scan this one yesterday... it might expand :-) Just feeling it wants more.

Mandala Rising

Rise and shine :-)

Over or Through

As I was working on this mandala, John looked over and said, "going through a tunnel". I shifted my perspective of it. Actually, I was seeing it as a mandala rising behind the mountain... this all before it was colored in.

Now I see it both ways. As I was coloring it, my mind played with this idea of going over it or going through it. When confronted with an obstacle, what do we tend to do more often. It may appear to be hard to climb over something mountainous, but we may be just climbing over the surface and not truely going to the source of the problem.

Instead what appears to be easier, taking the road through, it actually brings us deeper into the real issue and sometimes can be quite painful. Going deep into the heart of the matter, getting in touch with the pain, really looking at it, rather than walking over it or keeping it beneath us, creates some very enlightening moments indeed.

Now, my mind shifts with this... going through... or seeing what's behind!

Mandalas can be so thought provoking and revealing ...........

Inward Path

Sitting in the waiting room......... television is on - divorce court - I wish I had a clicker to shut this off, but instead it becomes background to my going within... waiting... I brought my book and markers with me... I'm using this mandala to center myself. Go within. Be still. Pray.
John is in consultation with Dr. Wolf, a liver transplant specialist.
I continue to walk this path of going within to my heart, connecting to love, my love for him, and allow it to spiral outwards, sending healing prayers, thoughts of love...
What is the matter with these people on tv... but I notice it is all around me... pain and sorrow.. as I sit and wait, lifting my head every so often to see others in pain of some sort. I send out healing thoughts to everyone.
From my heart to your heart, may ALL Beings be at peace and may ALL Beings be free from suffering.
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti......................

Connect/Disconnect

This seems to be all over the place for me..... Connection. Good. It's good to be connected, sharing our life with those we love, giving of our time, our service to the greater good. Connecting to others fuels the soul, brings inspirational moments... fills the heart up with joy and gratitude. Yes, it feels good when we are connected..............and then.............
We must learn to disconnect.. just for awhile. Pull the plug so to speak on all those devices that keep us connected... find that disconnect button and go within. Go to that still place to replenish the well.
For me, it is art, reading, taking a walk in nature, just being still......
I need to disconnect for my sanity, to rebalance myself.
But I can also get lost there. Being disconnected for too long and I go to a very weird space indeed, so I need to reconnect again. It is maintaining this balance - connecting to others and connecting to the deeper self, higher Self, that keeps us healthy, in harmony.
When we are full, we can reach out to others and give of ourselves. But we must come back to fill the well before it is depleted.
Knowing when to disconnect and connect... that is key.

For today......

Practice of the Day
How to be an artist: Stay loose. Learn to watch snails. Plant impossible gardens. Make little signs that say ""yes"" and post them all over your house. Make friends with uncertainty. — Henry Miller quoted in Sacred Journeys in a Modern World by Roger Housden
To Practice This Thought: Permission granted: be an artist.

I'm not sure I'll watch snails today, but to stay loose, I'll begin with doing yoga with a group of 4 year olds... Working with preschoolers, one must stay loose and open. I learn just as much from them as they learn from me (maybe more :-)
Then I will most likely continue painting at the restuarant and maybe even finish.... if not, so be it... and then yoga for adults.
Yeah, it should be a pretty loose day, as they should be.

more mandalas :-)

Crystal Lotus
Cross roads. The center is empty, for "possibilities". I found some markers that I had forgotten about and played with the large variety of colors. It made me think about decision making. I've had this toothach and according to Louis Hay, teeth have to do with just that. decisions and indecisiveness. Decision-making is not my strongest asset... the more I think, the more muddled my mind becomes. I need spontaneity, decide from my gut, on instinct. This mandala made me think of this, crossroads being a time when I have to make a decision on which way to go. Which path I should take. The affirmation for myself is to feel confident that whatever path I do take, will be the right one and will take me to a wonderous adventure, no matter where I am.
I started with the two moon shapes mirroring each other, divided the circle in both directions and put a dot in the middle. from there the hearts and eye appeared and radiated outward. I had fun with the patterning of colors... light and dark.. but the result of the hearts and eye shape, the leaves representing life, seeing a world with love, I thought of John and called it, "I love my life with you"
Reaching towards Summer

Summer Solstice... things in bloom, reaching for the coolness of shade.

Photo Exhibit

The Harrison Council for the Arts is holding their first amature photo contest and will be displayed this evening... being a member, I didn't enter the contest, but I am exhibiting non-cometition display boards of my Peru pictures. I have been printing out photos in between working on menu boards for Powells... work space now includes the living room :-)
So, if you're in the area, stop by Masterpiece Frame and Gallery to see the work. Tonight is the reception, but I'm sure it'll be up for a bit. I'm just thrilled I can exhibit them!

Four Directions

Altered photos of me at Machu Picchu and the water lily I took at Pepsico. Inspired by my trip and the beauty that surrounds me...... I give homage to the four directions.

Mandalas at Mom's

Being in the NOW, spending time doing that which I love to do, see.
Ribbon Dance
In the mandala yahoo group, we had a "prompt" of what calms us...

Doing mandalas definitely calms me. This week, I took notice of when I was calm, centered and most peaceful.
My brother was away and my husband and I stayed at my moms these past two weekends. I took my sketchbook and twinkling H2O's along with my pigma pen and water brush. oh yes, definitely a wise decision...............
Besides creating mandalas, then next on the list is doing any art work... although painting more so. Then, meditating and doing yoga definitely brings me to that peaceful place. Reading. Listening to the birds and even the rain (as long as it isn't raining really hard).
I played a bit altering photos and another mandals not posted.
More later.........

Journal pages

Intending to come to the page to work on a mandala, this came up instead. Inka Dreams kept repeating in my mind. I have been focused on bringing balance into my life and this turned out to be a top. When the top can spin and be in balance... all around us moving, but we remain centered. It is like being in the center of the wheel.

Centered. Balanced.

I started out scribbling with watercolor crayons, blocking in some color. Later I pulled things out, adding line. "Sometimes we need to create our own path by walking it." On the bottom it says, You have a choice. Follow the path that is already there or create your own path. As with everything, I have always strived for being original... walking a path that was true to myself.
Keeping on the theme of paths... First chakra. Foundation. Home. No matter where we go in life, it is good to come home.

Journal pages vs. the canvas

I've been journaling with pigma pens and twinkling H2O's and a gel pen here and there. I'm looking at this as warm-ups for getting back to the canvas. The canvas for some reason is harder for me... takes up more room, paints and canvas are a lot more expensive and therefore, unless I have something in mind, I don't like the idea of wasting paint.
This is something I would like to over come.
I recently saw a painting that had a background of color, the artist pretty much just smearing color on the background and then pulling out what they saw. It reminded me of a conversation I had with Jake about being spontaneous in painting. Just throwing paint on the canvas and see where it goes..........
I'll get there, but first I have to clean my room up... and then make some space to paint... and maybe....
yeah. not very spontaneous at all.
Not sure where that comes from, this being safe. It's only paint and can be painted over I know. BUT, It becomes another painting that sits around as well. This place is small. I have canvases stored all over the place... under beds and in closets... some hang... others collect dust.
So I paint small or on a wall, which is already there and not taking up any space.
God, there is this part of me that wants to explode on a canvas... and then there is the critic, the one who just voiced all the reasons not to.

Sunday Stroll in the Park

We took our walk at Pepsico today. Nice day. Breezy....... I was happy to find the water lilies and the frogs. Later we went to the Neuberger for an amazing exhibit. Just the inspiration I needed.