I’m honored to announce that my geometric mosaic mandala titled  ”Diamond Heart” was selected for the exhibition Art of the Spirit, juried by architect, artist and author, Anthony Lawlor.

Mr. Lawlor has written two books on the home as havens of inspiration and renewal, and maintains an interesting blog exploring how imagination influences what we build in nature.

O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, a magical venue tucked into the redwood forest, hosts the annual show as a celebration of arts in the spiritual world, including spiritual politics, spiritual ecology, or spiritual expression. The idea of spirit can take many forms and Lawlor has selected a broad range of interpretations for the show, which includes around 50 pieces of art, curated from over 80 submissions.

THE DEETS:

exhibition image art by Dick O'Hanlon

Opening Reception Tuesday, Dec. 1, 6 – 8 PM

O’Hanlon Center for the Arts

616 Throckmorton Avenue

Mill Valley, CA 94941

Artists Roundtable Dialogue. Tuesday Dec. 1, 4 – 6 PM

Learn more about the works, exhibiting artists and Tony Lawlor will be present and the discussion is open to the public.

TIP: stop for a little snack after the opening at Small Shed Flatbread in Mill Valley:  Cozy and delicious!

Show runs Dec. 1 – 22, 2009

Gallery hours: Tue. – Sat., 10 am -  2 PM

more info 415-388-4331
megan@ohanloncenter.org
www.ohanloncenter.org

]]> http://bizmiss.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/stickering-on-the-high-seas/ Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:47:32 +0000 bizmiss http://bizmiss.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/stickering-on-the-high-seas/

Last week A. and I got back from our week-long Caribbean Cruise with Sweet Travel.  It wasn’t the ideal trip since both of us had to work, but it was still a lot of fun and we hung out with four of the most amazing women you’ll ever meet.  Also, the comedy shows were really great–Erin Foley and Sandra Valls were my favorites.

I mostly worked on my sticker mandalas while we were on the boat.  I didn’t have time to make all my own stickers, so I just used the Mrs. Grossman’s stickers for these.  I’m hoping to do more in the future with my own stickers.  It took me a few days at sea to not get dizzy staring at them, but by the time we made it home I had five completed. I printed and mounted them on thin plywood and now they are at The Lab gallery here in SF waiting for Postcard Show 13.

If you don’t know anything about The Lab’s Postcard show, you should really come and check it out.  Dozens of artists participate, and all of the work is affordable.  Original works max out at $50 and multiples max out at $20.  Awesome if you’re a collector or you have art lovers on your gift list.  I’ll have the mandalas there for $15 if you want to take one home.  You can also find me volunteering there the night of the 6th, but I recommend going to this show as early as possible.  Most of the best pieces sell out right away.

The term ‘Mandala’ has become a generic term for any plan, chart, or geometric pattern which represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically, a microcosm of the universe from the human perspective. A mandala, especially its center, can be used during meditation as an object for focusing attention. The symmetrical geometric shapes which mandalas tend to have, draw the attention of the eyes towards their center.

http://www.crystalinks.com/mandala.html

Office buildings seen in a different light.

Mushrooms and moss on tree bark

Why is it that we get too old for crayons?  There are a few things I wish were still mandatory in the adult world: recess, naptime, hot lunch and art class.  It seems that the older I get –  and the older my kids get — the further away we grow from these luxuries.  I have decided that the only way to make sure they aren’t gone for good is to create these times in our family life.  Here are some ideas that I have used to keep art class alive and well in our house:

1. Art Free-For-All:  One of my favorite things to do is to have an art free-for-all.  This is when we take all the supplies we have in the house and put them on the dining room table.  Then we each find a place at the table, and sink ourselves into our own projects.  We try not to look at each other’s work, which creates a surprise ending.  We everyone finishes we go around the table, reveal our work, and talk about what we were thinking about or feeling while we were working.  It is amazing how often our pieces have a similar theme.
2. Painting a Masterpiece:  Around our home, I hang a variety of masterpieces that my kids have painted over the years.  When they were very young, I gave each of them a large canvas and a variety of acrylic paints (with supervision, of course).  I then watched as they mixed, dotted, swiped and swirled the paints across the frame.  When they were done, I had them make hand and foot prints across the picture to remember how precious and small they were when they painted their first work of art!
3. Relaxing With Circle:  Have you ever heard off or seen Mandalas?  They are drawings in circles and are a very clever way to relax the mind (kind of like doodling).  I have taught my kids how to make these drawings and often find them on a desk or in a notebook.  Using art to calm the mind is a valuable life skill.
4. Sign up for a Class:  Our favorite art instructor in South Minneapolis is Karron Nottingham at Off The Wall Studios.  She is a working artist that has taught my kids the joy and possibility of art as a career.

Keep art class alive, followed by a nap, a warm meal, and a hearty recess!

Kalendern för 2010 är färdig nu. 100 kr/st. kostar den i år. Beställ på: info@mandala-art.se. Formatet är A4, med ett mandala för varje månad. Beskrivning av varje mandala på svenska, engelska och tyska.

Hello Everyone!  Congratulations you have completed your first quarter of your tenth grade!  Before we move onto to learning new and exciting things take a deep breath!  Next, click on the word Mandalas.  Print a Mandala out and color it!  Yeah…relaxing coloring.  Here is why!

“Mandalas are entering medicine as a healing tool. An increasing body of clinical trials suggests that meditation can boost the immune system, reduce stress, combat depression, reduce pain, lower blood pressure, and stimulate the release of melatonin, a hormone believed to slow cell aging and promote restful sleep.”
From an article on About.com by Cathy Wong

So choose one that you fancy, print it out, color it, and bring it to class.  This will hopefully reduce that bottled up stress and lower your blood pressure.

Gothic Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 2008, photo © 2008-2009 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.

ONE: Crystallization, Stage 9 of The Great Round, creates the opening in which seeds planted in earlier stages bloom into full flowers. The first mandala alludes to the rose windows in Gothic cathedrals, designs that continually pull the gaze back to the center.  

Medium: Crayola markers, Portfolio Brand Water-Soluble Oil Pastels, and Rainbow Magic pens that erase and change color

Rule Of 8’s, Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 2008, photo © 2008-2009 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.

TWO: The underlying structure of this Stage 9 mandala is based on the number 8 which imparts order to the complex design (when you begin this mandala, give yourself plenty of time for the details). Derived from a Turkish design, it communicates the Islamic belief that all is held within the One, or Allah. 

Medium: Crayola markers, Portfolio Brand Water-Soluble Oil Pastels, and Reeves Water Colour Pencils

Sri Yantra, Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 2008, photo © 2008-2009 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.

THREE: In this mandala based on the Sri Yantra, a sacred Hindu design used for meditation, the single downward-pointing triangle in the center is a symbol of divine feminine energy, the source of all creation. Expanding outward from the center, upward-and-downward-pointing triangles signify all male and female creatures coming into being. Lotus petals enclose the field of emanation; lines that represent the 4 directions, the 4 elements, and other ordering principles border the whole. 

Medium: Crayola markers, Portfolio Brand Water-Soluble Oil Pastels, and Reeves Water Colour Pencils

Rule Of 6’s, Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 2008, photo © 2008-2009 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.

FOUR: The overall pattern of this mandala is based on a Hindu design signifying creation. Based on the number 6, the interplay of lines brings one circle after another dancing into view.   

Medium: Colored exclusively with Rainbow Magic pens that erase and change color, experimenting with color subtraction and complements

September Mandalas — Stage 9 -Crystallization
 
 
When you reach Stage 9 of The Great Round, it is time to pause and take a moment to stop and smell the roses. The Crystallization of Stage 9 is a time of fulfillment, satisfaction, and completion. It is opened by the adult experience of finishing a project or fulfilling an important commitment (such as raising a family) which creates a natural pause to experience delight and joy in what you have accomplished.

These mandalas are from the 9th month of a year-long mandala practice that began with the post Coloring Mandalas. Early in 2008, I made the decision to follow the twelve passages of Joan Kellogg’s The Great Round. According to Susanne F. Fincher, the healing benefits of The Great Round: Stage 9 – Crystallization are:
 
 

• a slowing of creative activity followed by a sense of balance and relaxed enjoyment
• completing tasks and finding deep satisfaction in what you have accomplished
• scattered puzzle pieces come together in harmony; seeds planted come to full bloom
• seeing through appearances to grasp fundamental structures of reality
• reviewing each facet of what you have created, you survey your labor of love, and conclude “this is good”

In later cycles, Crystallization is a time when you achieve mastery of a spiritual practice. It’s a sweet time, a moment of joy. I think that’s why many of the mandalas in Suzanne F. Fincher’s Coloring Mandalas 2 are based on the Crystallization phase. I was going to do another elaborate essay about color systems at the end of this post. But it’s been over a year since I posted Stage 8, Functioning Ego — August Mandalas (Goethe & Color) (my apologies). So I decided the most important thing I could do for our readers is to complete the publishing of the entire Great Round I completed in 2008.

I’ve learned a lot from the practice of mandalas. It’s moved out into my photography practice. I’ve continued on to Coloring Mandalas 2 and hope to start posting them in 2010. Anything we take on as a practice — writing, haiku, photography, doodling — takes us where we need to go. Whether we decide to take a practice to the next level, or abandon it altogether because it has run its course, the structure, repetition, and dedication prove to be excellent teachers. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to color a few mandalas while Liz watches the Vikings game!

-posted on red Ravine, Sunday, November 15th, 2009

-related to posts: The Void – January Mandalas, Dragon Fight – June Mandalas, Winding Down – July 4th Mandalas, and WRITING TOPIC – CIRCLES

Jag har påbörjat en större omstrukturering av hemsidan. Jag måste skapa en tydligare profil och bli tydligare i vad jag menar med min konst. För det är konst jag skapar – varken mer eller mindre. Jag vill skapa, visa och sälja mina alster fristående från allt vad livsåskådning heter. Det är helt och hållet upp till betraktaren att tolka in esoteriska aspekter i mina mandalas och fraktaler – själv ser jag ingenting annat än en kreativ lek med naturens egna fantastiska former, färger och strukturer.

Jag var ute och jagade i dag. Den ohängda björnhunden ångade iväg efter en älg, och pejlen tappade tillfälligt kontakten. Jag stannade till i myrkanten och rensade ut snön ur gevärspipan. Jag tittar ut över ett mulet vinterlandskap, som tycks närmast svartvitt. Blicken fastnar på en grupp alkottar. En obeskrivlig känsla av lugn och verklighetsförankring går genom mig tillsammans med tanken att allting är vad det ser ut att vara; att det inte finns några långsökt konstruerade högre meningar, dolda budskap och tecken.

Tankeprocessen som ledde hit inleddes i fredags kväll, då ”meningen” med att få astma kom upp på tapeten vid ett samtal med en vän. Enligt min fasta övertygelse finns det ingen som helst högre mening med att få astma, och inte någon annan sjukdom heller för den delen. Man får astma för att man får astma; för att människokroppen är en undermålig konstruktion som blir sjuk av vilken anledning som helst och ingen anledning alls. Helt utan någon inblandning av karma eller felaktiga tankemönster. För mig, som för övrigt inte har astma, så är tron att sjukdomar och lidande drabbar vem som helst, när som helst, utan någon som helst högre mening mycket mera uthärdlig och trösterik än tron på att någon högre nyckfull makt försöker lära människorna en läxa. Eller ännu värre – att man själv skapar sina sjukdomar genom att ”tänka fel”. En fullständigt grotesk människosyn, enligt min humanistiska mening. Vi lever i undermåliga kroppar i en livsfarlig, giftig värld. Och förr eller senare dör vi. Så har det alltid varit, och det går inte att skydda sig mot det. Oavsett vad man äter och hur positiv inställning man än har till livet.

Jag lämnar definitivt alternativvärlden nu. Jag har i studiesyfte deltagit i några möten hos Livets Ord, och likheterna är slående. Samma anekdoter om mystiska helanden som aldrig går att verifiera. Samma paranoida teorier om vad ”samhället” eller ”världen” gör för att skada eller ta kål på medborgarna. Eller för all del ”mörka sanningen” som endast finns i rörelsens egna overifierade källor. Jag orkar bara inte med det.

Jag tycker om myter, sagor och teologi. Kyrkofäderna, Eddan, Bhagavad-Gita och Kalevala trivs utmärkt tillsammans i min bokhylla. Religion och mytologi är inspirationskällor i mitt skapande. Men där stannar det. Jag skapar inte min konst som uttryck för någon livsåskådning. Min konst är en manifestation av, och hyllning till naturens kraft och skönhet – varken mer eller mindre.

Sink Mandala II – Dragon Claw, Kohler Design Center, Kohler,
Wisconsin, October 2009, all photos © 2009 by QuoinMonkey.
All rights reserved.

fierce constellation
one dragon, many faces
all run down the drain

water covers fire
ouroboros alchemy
swallows no desire

shadow eats itself
raw prima materia
circle is complete

-posted on red Ravine, Thursday, November 12th, 2009

-related to posts: haiku 2 (one-a-day), haiku for Kohler Arts, Dragon Fight — June Mandalas

I höst summerar jag 3 år med mandalas. Mänskligt sett en kort tidsrymd, men i mitt eget medvetande känns det som om det ligger eoner mellan hösten 2006 och nuet.

Hösten 2006 bodde jag i Övertorneå. Finskans diftonger låg illa i min tröga mun. Jag var trött. En septemberdag hade jag farit till Överkalix, och började fotografera asplöv vid Kalixälven.  Jag började experimentera. Hemma i lägenheten låg höstmörkret som sopsäckar tejpade för fönsterrutorna, precis som jag minns att det mer eller mindre alltid gjorde då jag var barn. I datorn började nya former växa fram.

Höstmandala 2009

Sedan dess har jag fortsatt att skapa mandalas, och efterhand också fraktaler. Jag vet inte varför, jag bara måste öppna dessa fönster mot andra verkligheter bortom tid och rum.

Mina senaste fraktaler, på temat ”Kraftfält” finns att se här: http://www.mandala-art.se/fraktaler.htm Bland dessa ingår fraktalen ”Okänt mål” som i storformat är helt överväldigande.  I form av fototapet passar den utmärkt som fondvägg. Kontakta mig för prisuppgift, om någon som läser detta är intresserad av fraktaler och/eller mandalas i storformat.

Okänt Mål - fraktalkonst a Viktoria Persdotter

Återhämtning - fraktalkonst av Viktoria Persdotter

Kraftfält - fraktalkonst av Viktoria Persdotter

Photo by H. Koppdelaney

I was recently asked to participate in a grassroots initiative called LASS (Ladies Attaining Self-Sufficiency). The mission of LASS is to model, teach, and support young ladies (sixth grade city school girls) in attaining self-sufficiency. The program’s goal is to increase positive identity, break down social barriers and define personal values at this impressionable time of these girl’s lives.

The program includes a variety of after school activities that were chosen to help foster relationships and thoughtful decision-making.

I am so honored to be included in this pilot program. Yoga has the ability to transform a person both internally and externally.

Yoga can help change lives in many ways:

• Learning different yoga breathing techniques can help guide a person through many different challenging circumstances. Learning that you are in control of your actions by taking the time to stop and breathe before reacting is empowering. Being able to calm oneself down during a conflict or before an important test can alter the direction of a given situation. Learning breathing techniques and poses that energize one’s body can help eliminate the need or use of less healthy food or chemical choices.

• Through yoga asanas, one is made aware of individual differences and personal strengths. With so many forces in a young girl’s life that are out of their control, it is so vital to for them to find the internal strength that they possess to make the right choices. Through asana a person develops the ability to listen to what one’s body is saying. A pose might generate a feeling of fear (getting up in crow or a headstand) or tension in a certain body part which releases when breath is directed to that area. A warrior series may evoke a sense of strength which is felt from the inside out. This strength can be carried forth throughout one’s day easing one through tough situations.

• Learning relaxation techniques during savasana can help relieve tension and stress that accumulates throughout the day. Practiced before bed, relaxation techniques can release the pressures of the day allowing for a fully rejuvinating sleep that all teens need. When rested, being mindful and aware is easier which leads to better choices.

I am planning on working on breathing techniques, sun salutations, group and partner poses and relaxation techniques. I hope to ignite an interest in yoga, but more importantly, an awareness of personal strength in which each girl holds ready to tap.

Serendipity is defined as ‘a seeming gift for finding something good accidentally’. That’s how I found  Sarah Ann Greene.

I’m not surprised. Those of us on the mandalic path are bound to intersect like a good Vesica Piscis.  I was attending a yoga teacher training, and one of my fellow yoginis laid Sarah’s 2009 Calendar on me. Nice! Every month is a visual treat.

But when I read about her PROCESS, things got even more interesting.

The drawings and paintings are all done completely free hand, using no compass, rulers, or aids of any kind. There is no plan regarding shape, symmetry or color.  They all start with a dot on the center of a blank page and a creative impulse. She may work anywhere from 3 days to 5 months on a mandala. She explains:

” I don’t have visions beforehand, they simply spill from my pencil tip.  As they come forth, each layer has a deeper meditative effect on me. I spend most of my time not actually drawing, but learning what each layer has to teach me until it is time to move on to the next one.”

I find this small but incredibly important detail one that is often disregarded in the Creative Process.

The WAITING, the LISTENING, the WATCHING.

Often, art is valued as a commodity. Judged with linear thoughts such as “How long did it take her to do that?” or “My kid could do that.”  Certainly in Sarah’s case, one can easily witness the intricate work and understand how it could take  months to complete a drawing. But the point is that the creative process, no matter what the medium, will require this meditative frame of mind of the artist. This critical aspect of the creative flow is quite difficult to quantify or measure. In yogic terms, this SPACIOUS GAZE is known as Drishti (pronounced: drish-ty). This is a point from where your concentration is directed inward.

Sarah Greene had a deep connection with mandalas when they spontaneously started to emerge as freehand drawings during a difficult and confusing time as a teenager. Without knowing how to draw them, she put the pen to the paper and invited them. They showed her an order and intelligence that lived inside of her that she hadn’t been aware of, and of inner capacities and beauty she hadn’t known. They also helped still the noise in her mind.

Sarah’s experience is a Divine Intervention with Art – Mandalas as Medicine. I truly believe working with the circular form can heal us in so many ways. And even if we are feeling great, they will just make us feel greater!

Everyone can benefit from stilling the mind, playing with color and envisioning their own inner beauty in sync with life’s resonant geometry.

“My hope is that the mandalas bring you some of the joy and benefit they have brought me: knowing that there is a center of stillness inside no matter what is occurring in life, knowing that when you get a big enough perspective there is an intricate order governing even the most seemingly chaotic situations, and realizing that we all have great beauty and untapped capacities dwelling within us waiting to be expressed when we begin to trust our own feelings and creative impulse.”

So, Serendipity brought mandalas to Sarah, and her to me, and now, dear reader, perhaps something is clicking for you?

Art Saves Lives. I’m just sayin’…

Visit Sarah’s Website and Store: 2010 calendars now available.

www.ordered-chaos.com

ordered-chaos.ourinternet.us/store/