“Guarding the Den”
“Guarding the Den” - created June 20th, 2021
THE MANDALA PROJECT - How it came to life
If you know someone whose day would be brightened by this Mandala, please pass it along! Even more magical, with a love note from you!
The Mandala Project: #23
Many captivating elements showed up for this one, the fun was in figuring out how they wanted to come into relationship with each other.
Carried the branch with the cones around for most of the walk because I knew…something there. The curled orange needles and gorgeous sacred geometry of its scales—it had to be in the show. And its rhythm inspired the inclusion of the sweeping greens, their curving pattern seemed the perfect echo.
The horned wood being was a key player who, when I placed him, I initially saw as looking off to the east—but a friend noted he had an alter ego pointed westward. Yup he does, and so cool how different his personalities are.
The heart rock emerged last, unearthed beneath me as I was head down and well into the project.
And the most compelling raw material for this one was the very first thing I gathered—the curled piece of bark that the cone and greenery are resting in. It was found earlier in the day, on a morning wander.
Right beside the park where the little kiddos play, a tree had been well and truly used to sharpen the claws of a very large bear.
Love how the bear's handiwork created these wild, mythical avian/deep-sea/dragon-like creatures. Could have made a mandala right there, but decided to set up this little story and keep moving.
Variations on a Theme
Mandala #23: Version 1
Here are a couple of alternative versions that emerged. I appreciate the simplicity of the first one, and the unfolding theatre of the third. The one I ultimately went with to represent Mandala #23 seemed to strike a perfect balance between them.
Mandala #23: Version 3
*Unexpected side effect:
The more engaged I’m becoming with the stories the natural world is telling, the less interested I am in the ones I’m manufacturing between my ears.
We live in a culture that supports and encourages the ideal of self-sufficiency, and most of us spend our lives striving for it. It’s a myth, and believing it comes with a steep price.