Exploring mandalas

I wanted to focus on something that was personal because a lot of art that we are supposed to do in the A&D program, needs to always be conceptual. Through my first 3 years here, I have been getting frustrated with this mentality that every art piece you have needs be purposeful. I began meditation before bed mostly and got myself into this relaxed state of mind, beyond anything I can explain here. The process consisted of a lot of breathing exercises and relaxing my mind. After I was in this state of mind, I would create mandalas.

Through this experiment I would come up with different artistic motives and ideas that I normally wouldn't have if I were consciously thinking about what i was doing. What i noticed after created several of these, was that no two were alike. The quality of the mandalas were mostly organic, mystical, and childlike. I used a lot of bright colors, interesting line quality, squiggles, and even a form of an alphabet.

Sometimes, I would create the mandalas when I woke up from a dream. These experiments were always more intricate and evoked more of an emotion or a feeling. Most of the time with these, I wouldn't remember creating them because I was in a state of sleep or deep relaxation, but was still able to tap into my creativity and make a special piece.

I learned many things through this process that I want to share with people, especially artists who are told that their work always has to be conceptual and full of complexities.