All 3 Final Mandalas Together

Finished Human Parts Masc & Fem Mandala

For my third and final mandala, rather than using fruits and vegetables, I photo-collaged human parts to further suggest the idea of growth and life. This mandala uses both masculine and feminine aspects. I chose body parts that seemed very masculine or feminine on their own, but when put together, most kind of mixed and became more gender-neutral body parts.

Finished Feminine Mandala

Here she is! Now onto the body parts combo.

More progress on feminine:

My start on the feminine mandala:

Finished Masculine

I finished the masculine mandala! Onto the feminine.

Progress of Mandala Finals

For the final step of our project, I was assigned the words "masculine" and "feminine" as my theme. I decided to create multiple pieces, one representing each word, and a third that would combine both masculine and feminine elements. For the separate masculine and feminine mandalas I chose to use photos of various fruits and vegetables, all of which I sorted through and placed into the category of masculine or feminine due to their physical appearance. Fruit/vegetable shape was the biggest factor in determining what sex I felt it to be, but I took color into consideration as well. Here is what I have so far of the masculine mandala

Project 2: Mandala Transitions

For our second project, Transitions, I further pursued my concept of a mandala symbolizing rebirth. I decided to solve this problem by animating my mandala in After Effects, focusing on bringing each layer forth individually in a transitioning manner. I wanted to be able pick apart each layer in order to better appreciate each fragment of my still mandala. It worked out perfectly to play with these layers with the idea of transitions, especially because transitions are a huge aspect of the process of rebirth. I really enjoyed animating each part to grow into the whole, and using a variety of movements I was able to explore interesting ways of building upon my image. I chose accompanying music that sounds serene and rejuvenating to support my mandala's concept. Aside from providing these aspects, the song I chose, Svefn-g-englar by Sigur Ros, holds a personal connection for me with a time when I was experiencing a rebirth. I was able to connect with my mandala and re-explore the idea of rebirth and allow it to grow by putting it to motion, and I think this combination helps reiterate my message to other viewers as well. I hope to further develop the junction of rebirth and transitions in later projects.

Ideas for Project 2

In order to further develop my mandala from the first project, I think I'm going to animate it. I'll be using the same photos and same layers created in my original mandala.  I want to bring each layer in individually with movement.  I'll be using the same images, but I want to have each layer appear in a unique way.  The movement of the layers should give the appearance of growth, which reiterates the message of rebirth I'm presenting in my mandala.  I think I also want to put music to my animation to make it more complete.

Music ideas: Peacock Tail by Boards of Canada, Guilty Cubicles by Broken Social Scene, Svefn-g-englar by Sigur Ros?

Project 1: Rebirth Mandala

"In practice, mandala has become a generic term for any plan, chart, or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically, a microcosm of the universe from the human perspective.  In various spiritual traditions, mandala may be employed for focusing attention of aspirants and adepts, a spiritual teaching tool, for establishing a sacred space as an aid to meditation and trance induction.  Its symbolic nature can help one to access progressively deeper levels of the unconscious, ultimately assisting the mediator to experience a mystical sense of oneness with the ultimate unity from which the cosmos in all its manifold form arises.  The psychoanalyst Carl Jung saw the mandala as a representation of the unconscious self and believed his paintings of mandalas enabled him to identify emotional disorders and work toward wholeness in personality."

I decided to create a mandala for a number of reasons, all of which happened in a short period of time and led me wanting to learn more about them.  I designed my mandala to symbolize a rebirth - I've been toying with the idea of rebirth lately as well, and the two ideas just fit.  I began gathering images that symbolize an aspect of rebirth, and as it happened most of them are photographs of nature.  To me, nature perfectly represents the cycle of life and physical rebirth.  While in this stage of gathering images, I started sketching daily mandalas to brainstorm design ideas, as well as to practice what I was learning about Carl Jung's daily mandala studies.  I originally wanted to make the mandala mixed media so that I could have something tangible, but in the end I decided the best way to keep it clear and still intricate was to stick to creating the image digitally.  Overall, creating this mandala was a very rewarding experience - I feel I successfully presented the idea of rebirth, and I was able to really explore and learn along the way.

DANDELIONS!

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OJ still hates blogs.