My Opening

Here are some photos of my "A Year of Mandalas" show:










The artwork before the opening:

Show Hung

The show "A Year of Mandalas" was hung this afternoon. Opening will be Friday at State of the Art Gallery in Ithaca, New York, this Friday (Feb 4).











Special thanks to the SOAG hanging committee.

The Sorceress

This oval mandala, made from artemesia foliage, inspired me to create a figure of mystery and power.
In keeping with that theme, I surrounded the piece with a frame that I made using ancient Futhark runes.

Turtle Storm

A few years ago I created a mandala piece that I have always liked. The piece, "Mandala Storm", was created by selectively removing small contiguous elements in a series of mandalas to create the effect of an electrical charge connecting the mandalas.
After a vivid dream involving lightning bursting from the image of a turtle, (no doubt brought on by a day's exploration of the Mandelbrot Set), I decided to revisit this technique.

Isis

Isis, Goddess of Magic and Giver of Life, was considered the ultimate in feminine power by the ancient Egyptians. Wife of Osiris and mother of Horus, she is often depicted with the crown of Hathor, the solar disk surrounded by cow horns.

Ram's Horn Mandala

Of all the foliage plants, perhaps my favorite is Begonia "Escargot". Its snail-like curl at the base of the leaf in seemingly impossible, yet it provides a lovely and fascinating structure.

In this mandala, the spirals seemed to combine to create a ram's horn effect. The piece had a decided Southwestern feel to it.

Spotted Begonia Wheel

The New York Botanical Garden is a wonderful place to visit. I have spent many delightful hours there exploring the conservatory and grounds. The collection of begonias is particularly impressive, and I have taked dozens of photographs there, and used the photos for many of my botanical mandalas.
I loved the many colors and textures of this spotted begonia and the ethereal edge. I did minimal enhancement of this mandala to set it anginst a black background for an otherworldly effect.