When the clock struck midnight on December 31st 2012, I declared to myself that 2013 would be a year of creativity for me. For quite a while I had been longing to express my creativity in different ways but had often put off making a start in favour of focussing on my humanitarian aid work. Now I feel it is important to bring into balance the other facets of my life and personality and make room for them. By this I mean I feel I am more than a humanitarian aid worker - I am a writer, a musician, song-writer, painter and drawer, photographer, energy healer, naturalist (not naturist!) and cook.
I had started this process a little before December 31st 2012 though, having made home-made peppermint creams for my friends and family over Christmas! Yummy! They went down well...And forayed into the realms of producing photobooks through Photobox, which is fun and very satisfying. I made a photobook for mum for Christmas covering many of our day trips to palaces and parks in London and I have just produced another for my boyfriend for Valentine's Day, a little memento of a long weekend in Brisbane when I popped over to Australia on R&R from Papua New Guinea where I was on mission to the United Nations. Ssshhhhhh don't tell him!
In recent weeks I have been fascinated by mandala art. Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning the
container of essence or energy, circle, totality, completion and/or primordial
sound. It is the space where inner and
outer worlds meet, a place that can hold the powerful energy of intention
(creation).
Isn't that wonderful? Mandala's have often been used in spiritual practice for meditation in Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity to name but a few ... think rose windows of cathedrals for example. I find them a celebration of the beauty of form, the splendour of colour and sacred geometry, in which the mysteries of life are held.
I had been yearning to do some drawing and painting for a long time and felt prompted to have a go at drawing a mandala. Where to start? Well, I found many useful 'how to' videos on Youtube. I plucked up the courage to pop into Ryman's to buy a sketch pad, compass and felt tip pens and then sat down to 'have a go'. My first challenge was to overcome the fear of not doing it right! I took a few deep breaths and swirled the pencil and compass around the page. When I relaxed I began to notice energy imprints on the page, which guided me to put down the shapes and I intuitively felt, which colours to place next to each other. See photo on the right for the finished mandala. What do you think?
The experience of drawing the mandala took on a therapeutic, almost trance-like quality as I found myself zoning out and feeling lighter as I put colour to the paper. Today I completed another mandala, this time it is in monochrome - black and white.
Inspired by birds, I call this "soar". I hope you find it as uplifting to look at as I did to draw it! I am interested in your feedback.
I had started this process a little before December 31st 2012 though, having made home-made peppermint creams for my friends and family over Christmas! Yummy! They went down well...And forayed into the realms of producing photobooks through Photobox, which is fun and very satisfying. I made a photobook for mum for Christmas covering many of our day trips to palaces and parks in London and I have just produced another for my boyfriend for Valentine's Day, a little memento of a long weekend in Brisbane when I popped over to Australia on R&R from Papua New Guinea where I was on mission to the United Nations. Ssshhhhhh don't tell him!
In recent weeks I have been fascinated by mandala art. Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning the
container of essence or energy, circle, totality, completion and/or primordial
sound. It is the space where inner and
outer worlds meet, a place that can hold the powerful energy of intention
(creation). Isn't that wonderful? Mandala's have often been used in spiritual practice for meditation in Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity to name but a few ... think rose windows of cathedrals for example. I find them a celebration of the beauty of form, the splendour of colour and sacred geometry, in which the mysteries of life are held.
I had been yearning to do some drawing and painting for a long time and felt prompted to have a go at drawing a mandala. Where to start? Well, I found many useful 'how to' videos on Youtube. I plucked up the courage to pop into Ryman's to buy a sketch pad, compass and felt tip pens and then sat down to 'have a go'. My first challenge was to overcome the fear of not doing it right! I took a few deep breaths and swirled the pencil and compass around the page. When I relaxed I began to notice energy imprints on the page, which guided me to put down the shapes and I intuitively felt, which colours to place next to each other. See photo on the right for the finished mandala. What do you think?The experience of drawing the mandala took on a therapeutic, almost trance-like quality as I found myself zoning out and feeling lighter as I put colour to the paper. Today I completed another mandala, this time it is in monochrome - black and white.
Inspired by birds, I call this "soar". I hope you find it as uplifting to look at as I did to draw it! I am interested in your feedback.
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