Agreeing to Surrender

"To watch the birth and death of beings is like looking at the movements of a dance..."

The Story of Creation

The Body as Symbol

Flow Through the Feathers

(Text supplied Heather Gordy)

Shields, power symbols and medicine wheels were commonly created and used amongst most Native American tribes. These shields (later called mandalas) were thought to bring its owner good luck, prosperity, health and happiness. The most common mandala known is the Dream Catcher. Legend has it that if you hang this above your head while you sleep, the bad dreams would be caught in the web while the good dreams are allowed to flow through the feathers back to you. Feathers were extremely important to most Native American tribes and are used often in their mandalas. It represented ascension and spiritual strength. Chiefs would wear them in full head dress as it symbolized there communication with the Great Spirit and expressed their wisdom. Native American mandalas were created using buffalo hides, eagle feathers, furs, bones, sinew, and if painted, were done so with natural pigments.

Speaking of feathers...

The next artist in this collaboration is Heather Gordy. Heather is a graphic designer who lives and works in Houston Texas. However, her passion has always been for illustration and fine art. She takes a lot of chances with her art, and consistently experiments with a wide variety of media. Working with acrylics, and found objects, her newest works strongly reference birds, wings and feathers. She states, "I've realized that it doesn't really matter what has been created, but the journey of creating it, is most important." Heather is now finishing up a sketch book project that features some deliciously dark imagery, including gravestones, and cemetery statues. More of her work can be found at www.hgordy.com or heathergordy.blogspot.com.

Flight of the Ego
Heather Gordy
Houston, TX

Murder of Crows
Heather Gordy
Houston, TX

Silence of the Crows
Heather Gordy
Houston, TX

I thought Heather would be absolutely perfect for this mandala project. I also recently found out that Heather's maternal grandmother was full blooded Cherokee. There are interesting things to come of this, I'm sure of it!

It Reacts Upon Its Maker

From ‘Alchemical Studies: Commentary on “The Secret of the Golden Flower” C.G. Jung 1957

“When my patients produce these mandala pictures, it is naturally not the result of suggestion…The pictures arise quite spontaneously, and from two sources. One source is the unconscious, which spontaneously produces fantasies of this kind; the other is life, which, if lived with utter devotion, brings an intuition of the self, of one’s own individual being. When the self finds expression in such drawings, the unconscious reacts by enforcing an attitude of devotion to life. For in complete agreement with the Eastern view, the mandala is not only a means of expression, but also produces an effect. It reacts upon its maker. Age-old magical effects lie hidden in this symbol, for it is derived from the “protective circle” or “charmed circle”, whose magic has been preserved in countless folk customs.”

The above information was supplied by Danielle Garzelloni (text emphasis hers). She also happens to be the second artist in this project. Danielle is an artist currently living in Chicago, Illinois. Although her media varies, she has always been thematically consistent. In her work, she serves up ancient symbolism, geometry, psychology, gods, goddesses, animal totems, and spiritualism. All of this, with a dollop of the alchemical on the side. She has fascinating work...

The Moon in the Hare
Danielle Garzelloni
Chicago, IL

Providence II
Danielle Garzelloni
Chicago, IL

Mermaid II
Danielle Garzelloni
Chicago, IL

You can find more of D. Garzelloni's work here.

Circle With a Center

"mandala" from the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

In Tantric Hinduism and Buddhism (see Vagrayana), a diagram representing the universe, used in sacred rites and as an instrument of meditation. The mandala serves as a collection point for universal forces. By mentally "entering" the mandala and moving toward its centre, one is guided through the cosmic processes of disintegration and reintegration. Mandalas may be painted on paper or cloth, drawn on the ground, or fashioned of bronze or stone. Two types of mandalas represent different aspects of the universe: the garbha-dhatu ("womb world"), in which the movement is from one to the many, and the vajra-dhatu ("diamond world"), from the many into one.

I must say, I am getting some very intriguing search results for "mandala". One phrase that was mentioned in several definitions was 'the circle with a center'. I find that it's a simple phrase that holds so much context. I love it when something so slight makes me dream BIG.

I have two more artists 'signed up' for this journey with me, Heather Gordy, of Houston, TX and Danielle Garzelloni, from Chicago, IL. I will introduce you to them/their current work very soon.

Introductions

The circle. It's so simple, and yet so complex. It means everything, and yet seemingly nothing at the same time. This blog will celebrate all things 'circular', and what the shape ultimately means to society, science, religion, and more. Mandalas are particularly on my mind right now.

I recently proposed a collaborative project with several of my artist friends, all of whom live across the country from me. Each of these collaborations will no doubt develop their own separate set of rules in the coming months. The one rule that I requested? Let the image be a circle, a mandala. The pieces we create will inherently travel. It is vagabond art. Each artist in a pairing will start one piece, send them through the mail three times, so that they 'cross' each other. Then they finish the piece that the other artist originally started. We will trade, and we will expand, and we compound a relatively simple idea.

So far I have started my collaboration with an artist known for his intricate and expansive collages, Wes Way of Harrisonburg, Virginia. He puts a lot of time and effort into all of his pieces. Recently he has been seen collaging skateboard decks and other three dimensional objects, as well. Here is a sampling of his work...

Light/Dark (Yoni)
Wes Way
Harrisonburg, VA

Light/Dark (Yoni) detail
Wes Way
Harrisonburg, VA

Multicolored (Indian on a Horse)
Wes Way
Harrisonburg, VA

I am known for my watercolor paintings, mixed media and found objects pieces, figurative work, and a maddening amount of circles. For the sake of narrowing things down, here are some circles...

365.forty-four
Shana R. Goetsch
Milwaukee, WI

365.fifteen
Shana R. Goetsch
Milwaukee, WI

365.forty
Shana R. Goetsch
Milwaukee, WI

What kind of mandala are we going to get out of this collaboration? Stay tuned to find out.

ATCTE: The Mandala Project

The vague rules:

-Each artist works with me to create two mandala pieces.

-Sizes may vary by pairing. (16x20, 18x24, 8x10, etc.) However, the two mandalas produced must ultimately be the same size, and acceptable to each member within a pairing.

-Any medium can be used, as long as it is able to be mailed easily (i.e. rolled or folded).

-Each artist in a pairing begins one mandala, with the intention of seeing/working on any particular piece, a total of twice. Once the marks have been made, both artists mail the pieces at the same time. This process will occur three times (three mailings total). In the end, each artist will have finished the mandala piece that the other has originally started.

This is a series that travels, not unlike postcards and mail art, but it will be more. This art will circle the earth. I have offered several artists a chance to work with me, on making mandalas. A mandala is both a mystical, and a natural shape, and an archaic, as well as a contemporary symbol. This project is also largely about separate collaborations and the mingling of artistic styles. I have asked for no abandonment of personal aesthetic, just a chance to work with something, and someone new. I have wanted to cross more invisible boundaries with my art for some time. This traveling, collaborative mandala series will be the first hurdle in a literal and metaphoric journey.

(may be altered/continued)