I'm In!!

I know I've shown this before but, it was just accepted in the Dupage County Forest Preserve's Centennial celebration art exhibit and I am so pleased!  I haven't been in much of a mandala making mood recently.   At least not larger ones like this.  I have done a few small ones. But this is one of my all-time favorites and, as I've looked at it quite a few times today, I'm starting to feel the urge to get back to work on some larger ones.  All of my mandalas are generally made with thoughts of life and growth and nature.  This one is absolutely filled with nature symbolism.  From the center, where there is water, without which life can't exist, we move to the dark blue band with stars suggesting the night sky and the universe.  Then the small plants that sprout on the forest floor and on to the petals of flowers and symbolic rays of sunshine.  The white swirls suggest the winds and clouds and, finally, the wild flowers and unfurling leaves that I love so much!  They always make me think of the way that life unfurls and we continue to grow (hopefully!). So, now you know!  It's not just a pretty mandala!  At least, not to me!

Two Blue Bears

As some of you may already know, I was given Flora Bowley's 5 week painting e-course, "Bloom True" as a thank you gift from Flora herself and I am sooooooo grateful for this opportunity! The 5 weeks are done and I have several large canvases that are "in progress". This was the first one I started on. Flora teaches "Brave, Intuitive Painting" and this is a real change from the very precise mandalas I have spent so much time on in recent years. I was really looking forward to the chance to loosen up and play and just see what happened! This blue bear wandered into my painting, painted almost entirely with my fingers! I didn't plan for him but once he was there I fell in love with him and decided he needed to stay. A few days after painting him I suddenly realized where my inspiration may have unconsciously come from! I HAVE a blue bear that sits on my bed everyday (along with other furry friends!). He thinks I painted his portrait and he is gloating! Sshhhh! Don't tell the others!! I think he may have popped up to remind me of an inspiration I have had for awhile to write and illustrate a children's book. It's percolating in my brain for now. In the meantime, I am looking forward to much more Brave, Intuitive Painting! Flora's class is WONDERFUL! So packed with content and inspiration and tips for letting go of fears and expectations. I highly recommend it to anyone....experienced painter or beginner!

Art With Heart

This is my most recent mandala-making effort. I made it specifically to donate to an auction to benefit the camp scholarship fund at The Center in Palos Park, IL. This is the third year that I have made something for their annual fundraiser and it's really a privilege to have the chance to help out by doing what I love! All of the money raised on this one evening will be used for scholarships for kids who wouldn't be able to go to camp otherwise. The Center is a most wonderful and unique place offering many programs in a wide variety of areas....everything from art classes to spirituality classes to a children's farm and nature based pre-school! And it seems very fitting that the woman who purchased this artwork is a member of the Sanders family----the family of the man who began to realize his dream of building a place like this over 75 years ago. She is going to give it to her grand-daughter whom I have been told is a really great person, goes to graduate school out in Wyoming and is studying Environmental Science. This all a bit synchronistic for me as I happen to LOVE Wyoming and I was once a college student studying Environmental Science! It all makes me feel as though this mandala is going to end up exactly where it is meant to be!

Getting Back in the Groove

I realized recently that I haven't made a mandala in quite awhile. Way toooo long! I want to do a somewhat larger one to donate to the annual fundraising auction at The Center so I thought I had better get "warmed up" a bit before I start on that one! I had no plan for this one. I just wanted to get used to the feel of the colored pencils and the gel pens and try and remember what color looks good as shading on another color. One of these days perhaps I should take some notes! Or not. It's kind of fun to have to experiment. I love blue, have a blue bedroom and I think that's where this one needs to end up. It's not very large....maybe 8" across. But it sure felt good to be creating this!