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Many years ago in Germany I attended a mandala workshop, not really
knowing what the day would entail. The facilitator showed us some
fascinating books with photographs of mandalas, inspiring us to
create our own personal mandala as a ‘barometer’ of
our current state of being. My first attempt emerged as a beautiful,
delicate coloured pencil drawing in pastel shades. It depicted me
at the centre of my universe, surrounded by my family, embedded
in concentric circles of flowers and spirals. Unknown to me at that
time, this was the beginning of a long journey of artistic exploration,
creating many mandalas in different media. It wasn’t until
1999 that I painted my first large mandala on silk. I meticulously
marked out my design using a ruler, compasses and set square, creating
an amazingly geometric image. My artwork up until this point had
always been very spontaneous and ‘wild’ free-hand expression,
so this was a very new experience for me. I was delighted with the
outcome and went on to paint a few more, smaller mandalas, albeit
less structured. This was when I began to work with really vibrant
colours such as orange, purple and turquoise, incorporating a myriad
of symbols from nature. Silk dyes applied undiluted have such a
magnificent intensity and luminocity. Shortly afterwards a complete
stranger unexpectedly bought one of my paintings unbacked or framed,
for a very good price. She urged me to sell more of my work and
told me how beautiful she found the paintings. The rest is history.
I now have a large collection of amazing mandalas. Some of these
have found lovely homes, and others are reproduced as cards and
prints. I call them amazing because I don’t intentionally
sit down and paint. These mandalas let me know when they are ready
to come and I allow the process to unfold. Often afterwards, I have
little recollection of actually painting the picture. So I am very
blessed by this beautiful manifestation.
I wanted to share with you some information about what mandalas
mean to me. When I first heard of them, I was told that mandala
was a Sanskrit word which meant ‘mystical circle’. You
have most probably seen mandalas in Tibetan, Hindu and Native American
art, I have felt strongly drawn to the Tibetan mandalas, which have
a very structured form incorporating squares and circles. A monk
receives long, intensive training and must commit the symbols to
memory before beginning the painting. Extreme meticulousness and
purity of intent are called for, as the mandala embodies the teachings
of the Buddha. Tibetan sand mandalas are often created in public
by a group of highly trained monks. Each mandala is dedicated to
a particular deity. On completion of the work, they then destroy
it to demonstrate the intranscience of material life.
I began to do some research and was interested to find out that
there are very many meanings for ‘mandala’ including
sacred space, concentric energy circle, whole world and healing
circle. The one that I particularly resonate with is ‘the
container of essence’. Seemingly the root ‘manda’
means essence and the ‘la’ part means the container
around it. This is evident in traditional Tibetan mandalas, with
the deity, the essence, depicted in the centre, surrounded by the
consciousness of the initiated, the container.
Mandalas are described as geometric designs which represent the
universe and are used as tools for personal transformation. The
central point, the bindu, is the seed, infinite potential, the void
with no dimension. The journey outwards begins as a line forms,
carrying you outwards into the first dimension. As these lines radiate
out, they intersect, creating forms, manifesting the second dimension.
When you reach the outer periphery, reaching a new level of awareness,
the journey draws you in once more to the centre, back to the source,
to begin your experiences again on a new level. This brings you
into the third dimension as the design slowly and lovingly encompasses
you, then transports you into the fourth dimension of time(lessness),
deepening your contemplation and allowing you to access your inner
wisdom. The symbols in a mandala help you to access your own healing.
The longer you stand and contemplate a mandala, the more you change
your state of being.
My mandalas are very much about continuous motion, the ebb and
flow of life. The inward breath and the outward breath. The interplay
of light and colour carries your eye inwards and outwards, bringing
you deeper into the sacred space. These paintings resonate with
you on a subconscious level, filling you with light and inspiration,
empowering you to find clarity and make self-enhancing choices.
The space beyond the outer periphery is an integral part of the
experience, subtly pulsing and vibrating, beckoning you to explore
it. You are invited to step through the portal into the shimmering
light.
©Fiona Stolze
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