Monday, June 25, 2007

A comment was left on my blog asking, besides a circle, what is a mandala? The circle itself is the essence of the mandala, because it is used as a device to bring attention inward, as in prayer or meditation. The circle is represented in nature in the sun, the moon, in the rings of a tree, the opening of a flower, and in a piece of fruit such as an orange or apple. The circle also represents the cycle of life, with no beginning or end. To me, the circle also represents continuity, that life flows in its own way, and that there is no right or wrong, just being. I use the mandala as a symbol that centers me.

In Beading for the Soul (ed. by Deborah Cannarella), Mary Tafoya has a design for a mandala, and an explanation of what they mean to her. I think that if you were to ask 10 different people, you would get 10 different explanations of what a mandala is, and that's one of the things that makes them so cool, that their meaning is personal to each individual.

One unexpected benefit that has happened since I beaded my first mandala for my June page is that I have started drawing them again. I drew them for years and then kind of stopped. It feels like being welcomed home to draw again.

Susan

3 comments:

M.J. Mullins said...

It's surprising (to me anyway) that when we open ourselves to one kind of creative challenge - like this project - we find all sorts of lost, forgotten or dusty and neglected paths to other parts of our creative lives suddenly emerge. I found myself writing poetry again after almost ten years! And you are so right - it does feel like coming home.

Timaree said...

Thanks a2susan. I appreciate your answering my question. And, this is a really good place since, hopefully, I may not be the last person to not know what one was!!

Quilter Kathy said...

Beautiful piece! I also appreciate your photography skills because I can see every bead in the close up view and admire each one. Thanks for sharing your work.