Snowflake Mandala

Last weekend, during "Light in Winter", Ithaca's science and art festival, I attended a delightful lecture on snow crystals. It was by Kenneth Libbrecht. I have his book and it is filled with many wonderful pictures of snowflakes.
I have always been fascinated by snowflakes. Their beautiful radial symmetry make them a natural subject to incorporate into a mandala.
Years ago I made a number of drawings of snowflakes for a project. I used an old book of snowflakes by William Bentley. It contained thousands of photographs of snowflakes by the Vermont farmer. Made nearly a hundred years ago, this collection of microphotographs was an amazing achievement.
I was glad to find my drawings, and made this mandala using one of my favorites.

Gecko Song

While staying in Costa Rica, we were enchanted by a delightful little gecko. It would appear from time to time clinging to the bedroom wall of our beach hut. Over the days of our stay, we noticed a mysterious chirping. Not bird, not insect, it would sound anytime, day or night. Only near the end of our stay did we finally find out that it was our little friend. I miss the song of the gecko.

Frogs

Just back from Costa Rica and my mind is filled by creatures of the jungle. One of my favorites is the frog, and it has a very recognizable form when viewed from above. So its symmetry works very well with mandalas. The frogs of Costa Rica come in many sizes, shapes, and colors. But to me, the loveliest are the tiny poison dart frogs, which come in astounding bright colors.