These are a few pictures of some of the mandalas I have been creating throughout the semester. I have not yet photographed all of them because my journey is not yet over. I will be exploring this for a while to come.

This is an example (found on google) of what a traditional mandala looks like. They are created for worship, healing, praise, hope, wealth and eternity. I did not create my mandalas based on the religious rituals, but I connected my meditation with this sort of artistic release. Most of the mandalas are very geometric and each line and curve has a specific meaning. It was interesting that most of mine were very organic and curvy, which completely resembles my style.

Continuation to last post

... I noticed that my mandalas were sophisticated from my artistic training, but possessed a childlike quality. Personally, I believe this is a sign of why I started being an artist in the first place. The passion to create beauty, the process of creating art, and loving what I create. Today, a lot of the original reasons people became artists are lost, because of the pressure to be a certain kind of artist. It is preached to us students that we cannot make something because it looks appealing, or it another similar reason, so we no longer explore what originally drove us to Art.

Through these mandalas I was able to tap into that inner artist, where that deep passion and love for creativity comes from that I haven't been able to visit for quite some time.

This process has created an escape for me. A wonderful, beautiful, needed, escape. Since I am still pressured to be conceptual only, I can always count of the meditation and the creation of mandalas to keep me balanced and still be connected with the artist I originally was. It is such a refreshing feeling to know that I still have a love for creativity.

This journey has meant so much to me because it has allowed me to get very personal and very real about what is going on with my art and my life. Just like any of therapy, mandalas are a great way for me to let it all out. I also believe that if you have a passion for something, no matter what it is, meditation will help you relive the journey of how you got to where you are today.

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.

starting out

At the beginning on the semester I was exploring social behavior and how people act on campus. I began exploring at parties, the diag, and all over campus. I aborted this experiment because the results were not as fascinating as I had originally hoped.

Future Plans

My project is far from over... I thought I would have been able to come up with an amazing final piece by the end of the semester but no way. I have had a lot of suggestions from classmates and my professor about expanding this project to allow people to have a "migraine experience" or as close to one as possible. The idea was to have an actual installation or "cave" that people can walk through an experience what I see, feel and hear. It would be really interesting to have the different stages as i explained earlier in my blog. I would have people walk in to a room or some kind of area with lights and intense flashes (like what i see), then there would be a period of darkness followed by my sound piece with different thoughts of mine, and perhaps even my voice reciting sentences that don't make sense. Making it interactive would be really interesting because i think people would get a better understanding of what it actually feels like- or as close to that feeling as possible.

Texture

I was trying to incorporate texture. Clearly this was a huge FAIL! But anyway, moving on...