Floating Mandalas

Fuchsia bougainvilla bracts, aloe

vera seed pods, and honeysuckle

leaves.

This weekend I offered an ongoing workshop for the Whitewater Preserve's  2nd Annul Water Celebration, where participants created beautiful floating mandalas made with natural items. Using stems, sticks, leaves, petals, and blossoms visitors arranged these colorful plant elements in a variety of patterns and designs to create their own, wonderful floating mandalas. Mandala creators of all ages enjoyed this relaxing activity throughout the day.

A traditional mandala is an ancient circular design which typically represents the universe. It can also be a symbolic expression to connect with the self. For our mandalas, we were hoping participants would connect with their creative self through nature.

Definitely try this at home! All you need is a bowl of water, small dish towel for clean up, plant clippers or scissors, and some plant material from your yard like: flowers (to keep whole or for petals), leaves, sticks, seed pods, lightweight bark, etc. Experiment with different ways to use your materials, some of our participants ripped up petals into tiny pieces of "floral confetti" that added a delicate touch to their designs. Sticks were used in many different ways to add visual lines, accents, floral rafts, bridges, barriers and more in many designs.

Here are the mandalas created by my family and myself, plus some other favorites from the 40+ participants throughout the day (to see all the beautiful mandalas created visit this album):

I love my husband's traditional spoke 'n wheel style

mandala using whole roses and stems.

A beautiful huge lily is the center of the universe in

in this participant's dramatic design.



I love the layering in this delicate mandala and

how its creator used color, texture, and tiny

flowers resting on floating petals in this personal

expression.

 

My son (4 yrs. old) created this and three other rather

lovely mandalas!



I decided to use sticks and stems as a raft which

made it easier for me to keep flowers in place, plus...

I really loved the simplistic look that resulted!

Another beautiful creation by a workshop participant,

I really like the way the bright yellow ray flowers

(petals) pop around a huge orange rose, on a bed of

red petals, accented with those bright green leaves.

What one word describes the way I feel after

creating a floating mandala? Peace.

For more images please visit this album.

Push It!

My, my it's been a busy month. I cannot believe I've let this much time slip by since my last post--tsk, tsk. I have found myself to be wonderfully busy with many outlets of creative energy--which as you can relate, one must ride that wave as long as it travels! One thing I hope you'll notice in this post is that I am pushing myself beyond my boundaries, I'm moving past my comfort zones. This is a big deal in my relationships with clients--a willingness to stretch beyond our comfort zones--it is essential for our creative growth. Doing so makes me a better creativity coach, a better artist, a better teacher, writer, wife, mom, friend...a connected being with the inner confidence and motivation needed to follow my dreams. Here are 5 ways in which I'm pushing my comfort zones to keep me moving forward and growing in my creative spirit:

• For starters, I did something I was very uncomfortable about doing. For weeks, my anxiety and inner critic had their way with me until the big day came...and went. With no casualties. I'm talking about a radio show interview. My first radio show interview. It was for a blog radio show going out to the masses in the coaching industry. The show topic was connecting with nature for creative inspiration and I was very happy to be asked to speak about this. The 30-minute show will actually air in the spring, April 2011. Along with the air date, my interview will also be featured in Insights Magazine, an industry mag. Now, other than the moment it was happening, I have no idea how I came across. I will find out right along with you! I know I didn't crash and burn, but still a bit nerve-wracking not being able to hear it first, hehe. It was me in the exhilirating moment of living outside my comfort zone (yikes) and I ended up having a great experience! I'll keep you posted, be sure to tune in :)

• I've had the chance to participate in a show inspired by Dia de los Muertos (one of my favorite themes/celebrations) with a piece called "Spirit Messengers." I didn't know if my piece would be accepted, but I loved the theme of the show (called DEAD, Awaken), and I really like the gallery and the gracious encouragement of the gallery owner so I decided to make a call to find out. Turned out to be a great step forward as I'm thrilled to be part of the show. If you'd like to hear more about the exhibit, please check out where you can see it here. 

• I am also very excited about the countdown to the release of a new item I will be offering--only 2 days from now--a way to connect you with nature through a hands-on exercise designed to stimulate your mental focus and expand your creativity. This product is a fun, easy creativity booster based upon one of my most popular creative awareness exercises! Can't wait to go public with it on Oct. 22, 2010!

• More great news...I've decided to move forward with writing an e-book. As of now, it will include personal connections I've experienced with nature and how those encounters have guided my (creative) life. Along with themed chapters (possibly along the classic elements: earth, water, fire, air/wind, space), there will be related, nature-inspired exercises to do, each structured to open up our creative flow and expand our creative growth. Much material is gathered/written, but there is plenty to be done like the task of blending segments together, still plenty of re-writing to be done, and re-working of chapters! I've never written a book before, e-book or otherwise, so this will be a steep learning process for me.  Writing evolves as you write; code for these are the basic elements to my e-book,  it will be interesting to see how it truly evolves!

• I continue to experiment with new ways of creative expression and though I am often inspired by the mandala in work and play I have found another way to bring them into my art. I enjoy photography but only very casually. I have found an alternate way to integrate my favorite nature photos into my found art by taking images and creating digital mandalas. I've created some as prints, but I've also prepared others for unique found art frames or embellishments of which I'm really getting into these designs! Here is a mandala created from a picture I took of a flat of rainbow cactus for sale while at one of our Let Nature Be Your Muse meet-ups (this one from our latest, Moorten Botanical Garden "Sketch & Shoot"):

Nature continues to inspire...

Idyllwild Earth Fair

Hello Creatives!

Saturday's Idyllwild Earth Fair was the best year ever! The event was overflowing with a variety of vendors, booths and friendly visitors who all love and celebrate the earth. Always one of my favorite events, this year was indeed the busiest!

The Nature Coach (me!) was there with a booth, inviting people in for a little creative break with my Tree Mandala exercise. We were busy with activity, chatting with old friends and new friends, and of course a little creative play with many participants throughout the day! I was especially happy to meet two fellow Let Nature Be Your Muse MeetUp members, Michele and Jenny (and families)! Thank you both for stopping by and introducing yourselves--it was a pleasure to meet you!

I had a great time meeting people and enjoying their personal tree mandala creations! We received wonderful feedback from everyone who took a creative break with us, including a few participants who shared some very heartfelt and kind words about creating their mandalas...it was a very inspiring day for me to be in the company of so many creative souls willing to try something a little different! Thank you all :)

A little about the Tree Mandala exercise: “Mandala” is Sanskrit for circle. Traditional meanings of mandalas vary by culture, although many share a common belief in its significance as a spiritual or ritual expression. Mandalas are also used for meditations, establishing a sacred space.

Mandalas are filled with symbolic art. They are sometimes used as a teaching tool depicting stories, events, the cosmos, even our perspective of the universe, through detailed symbols and designs. Jungian psychology view mandalas as a symbol for connecting with the self.

Participants were asked to choose a tree cookie and draw a symbolic design of their own that tells a story, perhaps their story for that day. They were to reflect on how their creative process during this exercise could shape the outcome of their own personal, creative goals. For example:

Were they easily distracted?
Did they get into a creative zone?
Was this something they'd ever done before?
Did they experience a relaxed state of mind, or something else?
Did they plan out a design first, or jump in drawing to see what emerged?
What was their agenda?

What do these questions reveal about your creative process, and ultimately reaching your goals?

Your Idea!

I've been getting some great feedback about the Nature Awareness Exercises in the sidebar. Some of you have told me about your experiences and have even expressed a desire to share comments on them. It is so fun and helpful to learn how others turn these exercises into personal activities that have helped in unique and clever ways! In an effort to encourage this type of sharing, I've taken your comments to heart and will now be adding these as posts.

The sidebar tasks will stay as is, however once the new awareness exercise appears, the previous one will be posted for comments. I've included the two most recent in this post and will pull some of the more popular exercises from the past to include as occasional posts as well. I look forward to your feedback--your words just might be what someone else needs to hear!

Create A Water Mandala
The next time you water your plants, clean out your pets water dish, or cook hard-boiled eggs or pasta, pour some of the excess (cooled) water—strain through cheese cloth to remove soapy water, pasta, plant or pet bits—into a wide, shallow bowl or extra large plant saucer. Collect older flowers from your garden, along with a variety of leaves. Gently float petals and leaves in a pattern or arrangment that emerges from your inner nature. After a day or two, remove the petals and leaves and pour your mandala water over some plants.

Moon Sketching
I’m a lover of the full moon—hiking in her bright light, camping, gazing…feeling its energy and invitaion for personal reflection. Try this under the next bright moon. With a sketch pad and some chalk, find a natural place to sit comfortably, such as a campground picnic table, your backyard hammock, a boulder-strewn area to sit or lean against the stone. No flashlight allowed. Let your eyes adjust to the night and begin writing, mapping or sketching your surroundings, or draw something that you feel, or catches your moonlit eye. Placing yourself in a different setting like this (if this is different for you) can really stimulate the creative process. Let the energy of the moon pull and tug at your creative flow and see what is revealed.

(If you are having trouble adding a comment, and you wish to post one--please feel free to send your comment to me and I will post it exactly as written, on your behalf.)