The Blessing of Fall's Timeless Serenity

After being out-of-town for the weekend, I have finally gotten back into the swing of things around my home and with regards to my art offerings for Art Every Day Month. I have been wanting to do something with the fall images that I took last week (see my previous post if you are interested to see the original image that I started with for this art piece). I have been doing a lot with Mandalas the last few months for some reason. Before about 6 months ago, I had used Mandalas quite a bit with some of my clients and in many healing art workshops that I have run over the years, for their centering and calming effects, but I had not really done that many of them for myself. Then suddenly, they just seemed to start evolving into my some of my art. Around that time period, I started a series of them for prayer meditation (see my Circles In Time Mandala Series on my InnerSpirit facebook page) which I am still working on at this present time. After I create a Mandala in this series, I allow myself to be open to "free association" words that arise in my mind as I look into the Mandala. I have written those words around the outside of this series and some of them have provided me with personal insights along the way. I have found Mandalas to be very healing for me and relaxing, especially on days when I am know that I have a lot of emotions flowing around in my heart.

Changing Seasons Can Bring Deep Moods

The Mandala above is called "Fall Wood & Leaf Mandala_Purple", and it was inspired both by the images from my last post and the gorgeous sunset that happened last night behind my house. I saw the sunset through my sliding glass window that looks out to my deck, while I was working on my laptop—just trying to catch back up with my life and feeling very drained from my weekend away. I grabbed my iphone and went outside to capture it before it was gone. It was so beautiful that it made me think of new possibilities and new hope that some of the feelings that were whirling around in my heart and the heart of those that I loved, could be made lighter by the beauty of the season and this brief glimpse of the breath of God's Palette in my own backyard.

Digital Mandala Play
After taking that sunset photo, I started playing with the original fall image that I put in my previous post by placing it in a circle. I was not really sure that I was going to create a Mandala with it, but it just seemed a calming shape to start with and a way to contain some of the emotions that I was still dealing with. It helped to keep me focused on my art and away I went long into the night. I wanted to add some variety and a bit of an abstract quality to the image, so I created some arbitrary stripes and let the areas where the stripes overlapped the image do some fun things with the various filters that are available in Photoshop. I like how it turned out. I rotated the same stripes to create a horizontal set of a different color and somehow these also helped to "center" and ground the piece on the canvas. As I continued to work, I found that I also began to feel more centered and grounded. It is funny how that therapeutic effect happens, I guess that is why I am so passionate about art therapy. It works, and I know it's power from an intimate perspective. In the end the piece seemed to whisper to me the words..Timeless...Serenity...so I included them in the piece. I often find that if I listen closely my art it has a life of it's own, and it will speak to me!

I have included the first version that I did with the word "Timeless" in a green color, but I later did this version in purple and it seemed to resonate better with me. I have included the green version here for others to review. Which is your favorite and why? Do you get any particular feelings that are evoked when you look into either of these Mandalas? What are they? If you click on either image you can see a larger view of each one.

The Colors and Textures of Fall

Yesterday was day #5 of Art Every Day Month and Leah suggested that I might want to use nature as a starting point for some artwork. Ideally, she suggested taking the opportunity to take a long leisurely stroll in the woods, but that was not an option for me yesterday. Not only are there no woods in close proximity to me, but in addition...it was cold, and I am a wimp when it comes to being cold. Outside looses it's luster for me around November in the Midwest. So, since I do have to go outside fairly frequently to let me cute little dog, Cocoa, out to relieve himself, I took my iphone with me and snapped a few shots of some things that caught my interest.

It Does Not Take Long For Art To Be Found

I did find some inspiration, even in just this small time that I allowed myself to focus on nature. I love the texture in these wood pieces, that were found in my yard. I get a lot of branches from several big oak trees that I have in my backyard that loose their limbs during the wonderful storm winds we have that go through here. The colored leaves brought back memories from my childhood of raking big piles of colorful leaves and jumping into them and saying "whoosh!" I wish I could cultivate that appreciation for the fun of leaves again, now...I only see piles that have to be mulched, and bagged for the season. Ah, the carefree times of our youth. I am going to be turning these little inspirations into some art in a few days. I will be taking a break from EADM today since I have an important interview that has to trump art right now and then I pack for an out-of-town trip for the weekend. I will pick EADM on Day#6 with some fun with the fall pictures. Happy Trails Everyone!