MANDALAS
I make mandalas of flowers, leaves, and other natural materials as an aspect of my Zen and artistic practices. Each mandala is made for a specific purpose: a blessing for a wedding, memorials to ones who have passed, going-away mandalas for friends, birthdays, loves lost, the passing of a beloved dog, as well as mandalas for strength and guidance.
I begin the ritual by selecting the component parts in accordance to color, textural, and sensory associations that I have with my subject. I sort the parts as my palette of color, begin in the middle, and work out and around in concentric circles until I have
used all of my materials.
In the tradition of Tibetan sand mandalas, I sweep up the mandala and release it into a body of water - pond, stream, river or ocean. From the water's edge, I witness transformation and ephemerality as what was tangible joins a greater ebb and flow until it disappears entirely.
