A Million Mandalas For Peace Project

This week saw me make a contribution to A Million Mandalas For Peace, an inspiring project from Melody Cummons, who is a great artist and peace ambassador. The project brings together a diverse array of artists and is 'Sacred Space, where creative individuals unite in sharing their art in the intention and awareness of peace'. I enjoyed being able to make a small contribution, and am looking forward to posting there again. It is well worth a visit to see the great array of contributors work.

I will leave you today with one of nature's mandalas from my garden. Peace.

Gratitude mandala

Today I noticed that yesterday's 'Top Ten' list could also be read as a gratitude list. Life gives us so many blessings when we start to add them up. I could have added so much more to that list that it really makes me appreciate how wonderful life is. No wonder I woke up this morning with a burning desire to create a gratitude piece, and the words thank you repeating again and again in my mind.

When the call is this loud, it is hard to ignore, and I have learnt to just go with it when I feel a kind of compulsion to create, or express something. I usually find it difficult to concentrate on anything else until I get it out of my system anyway. Hence, this blog project and the ongoing mandala series which started over a year ago with the urge to keep making mandalas until I had made sixty-four of them! This soon expanded to me wanting to make a hundred and eight, and I am by no means near that goal, but the fact that I take steps towards this goal regularly helps free me up so I can actually do other things in life. And, for now, it's not just mandalas, but gratitude mandalas. I can only hope that they are to be included in the hundred and eight, and not the start of another separate series!

I wanted to do this digitally for a couple of reasons. The first, not so noble one, is that I seriously convinced myself that it would be really, really quick and easy. Ha! And the second was that I wanted to use previous mandalas and combine elements from them to form one piece because I felt it reflected the spirit of gratitude which, to me, is all about making the best of what you have, stopping to notice how blessed you are once in a while, and then sharing that.

Well, it was not so 'quick and easy' and I suspect that my kinked neck may well decide to stay this way henceforth. Perhaps if I had taken the time to learn how to use my software properly before now (I have had it for nearly eight years!) it might have been easier.

But I did learn a lot in a relatively short space of time, and I am grateful for that, no seriously, and it did capture the essence of what I was trying to express. Perhaps a little inelegantly, but the sentiment remains nonetheless. And now comes the fun part of mandala making, which is letting it go and putting it out there.

It is with much thanks to everyone who has supported and encouraged my creativity - you know who you are- that I offer this piece. Thank you.

Finding Fire Mandala

Finding Fire, Acrylic and mixed media on board, approx 40x40cm

This new mandala is about finding your inner 'fire', your personal power, strength and optimism. It's about being connected to your inner sun and overcoming challenges using your own resources, staying positive and not letting external or internal 'darkness' get you down.



It was also a way to introduce re-cycling and a more textured, three dimensional approach to my mandalas; I've always loved the dimensionality of the Tibetan monks sand mandalas. I built up the textured areas using paper maiche made from old newspapers, and the sequins were left over from a previous project. I can't wait to print this one onto a bag!

Co-incidentally, as I was finishing off this piece I saw an interview with Australian artist Tim Storrier, who is best known for depicting - you guessed it - fire, in his canvasses. The synchronicity of life never ceases to awe me.

My First Blog!

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I have promised myself for what seems like the longest time that I would start my very own blog, but somehow managed to keep putting it off, until now. I had lots of excuses for this, not enough time, not enough skills....and the list goes on. I guess the main reason was my fear of 'exposing' myself publicly. However in the interests of reaching out, sharing and connecting I have decided to cast aside all of my fears and just give it a go. And truth be told I have been so inspired by the amazing blogs that are out there on the internet that I could not resist being a part of it. It's with a deep calming breath that I begin this, my latest project, and hope you forgive me for any 'newbie' breaches of etiquette as I navigate this unfamiliar, yet exhilarating territory. And also my not so flash photography, as I try to befriend my new digital camera :).

So, this is me, letting it all hang out; I guess I should introduce myself. I am passionate about art making, and trying to make a living from my art. I mostly make mandalas and still lifes, though love to try any and all arts and crafts, and lately have taken to printing my creations onto cotton bags, which I sell locally to shops, markets and anyone else who is interested in what I do. It brings me great joy to share my creations with others, and I am always happy when people seem to appreciate my creations as much as I enjoy making them. Making art keeps me sane, grounded and inspired and I love sharing that with others.

As time rolls on you will get to know more about me, and I look forward to comments and feedback. For now I say welcome fellow travelers, thanks for dropping by and I look forward to sharing this incredible journey with you.