Renewal Mandala

Renewal Mandala

Signs of spring are regularly showing up now on my walks and field trips around the North Coast of California. I spotted this candytuft at a local nursery, and the vibrant magenta daisies were blooming proudly in a neighborhood garden. How can you not feel excited by that gorgeousness?

I love how well the two sources played together. Spring colors honoring Oester came through, pale and hot pinks, soft blue and electric aqua, hints of lavendar. The symmetry of 6 speaks of balance, harmony and compassion. Spring is a time of renewal, of course, after those winter months devoid of color. Inhale deeply and soak it in.

Mandala blessings,

Sue O'Kieffe

Sacred Circle Mandalas

Joy in the Morning Mandala

Joy in the Morning

I'm not sure how it got to be February already.  I've been busy with a 48 day creativity challenge on Facebook. I've also been having  some computer problems that prohibited me from posting. I'm glad to be back.

Over the weekend I went to one of our local garden centers for a photoshoot. I discovered these charming blue double primula. The color really lifted me up. I had found the yellow yarrow in bloom earlier, and I wondered how they would blend together for a new mandala.

I felt my mood lift as the mandala came through, and I hope it brings you joy as well. For those of you in the dreary grips of winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, may it remind you that spring will soon be on the way.

Mandala blessings,
Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

THE WHEEL KEEPS ON TURNIN'

Revelations Mandala -(Reflection Series) - © Sue O'Kieffe 2008
source image: agapanthus (Queen of the Nile)

This mandala speaks to me on a very personal level, an unexpected result from when I began creating it. A couple of weeks ago I was listening to an interview with Bonnie Bell, one of the first artists I discovered making digital mandalas from nature imagery. If you are at all interested in this topic, the interview is well worth the listening time.

Anyway, Bonnie said something about how the nature images almost always pick her instead of her setting out to make mandalas from them. In my own work, I find that to be true. In the analog(handmade) realm of mandala making, I most usually have some goal in mind and I still tend to be more critical of the results (though that is easing up and I am allowing myself more room for play). When going through recently photographed flowers, there was something about the soft blue of the agapanthus that really spoke to me. Blue, the color of the 5th chakra, throat, speaking, finding one's voice..speaking up, speaking truth.

I have set an intention of going deeper within myself to grow deeper as an artist. Within I am also finding those places of blockage. I am looking without for more skill and looking within for courage and strength.

When I looked at the finished image I was reminded of the tarot card Wheel of Fortune. Angeles Arrien writes about this card: Wheel of Fortune (enhancing creativity and fortune) - It is the archetype that can allow your life to turn in more fortunate positive directions if you are willing to grow and expand. (TarotHandbook, pg 64-65)

I would love to hear about your own process of growth as an artist. How do you know when it is time to go past where you have been in the past with your art? How do you feel during this period?

Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas