Mandalas

=MANDALAS=

Learn about the origin of mandalas, and how the original inspiration is used by artists today.
[|on wikipedia]



Use this link to see ancient mandalas created for religious use. [|14th century Tibetan mandalas]

Use this link to see two monks who created a mandala in an art museum over a number of days. [|Watch a time lapse of a mandala being created.]

[|Construction and destruction of a sand Mandala by the Dalai Lama, from Werner Herzog documentary "Wheel of Time"] Time lapse of the creation of a mandala [|Camera records time lapse]

Use this link to go a website with a sampling of contemporary mandalas. Submissions have been collected for almost ten years. Each includes an artist's statement. [|Contemporary mandalas]

These are the mandalas and accompanying artist's statements from the spring (2008) Photoshop as Art Medium class:
Jackie A.

1. Why did you choose this image for the mandala? I felt that the tire swing would be very unsual and different. This mandala is also very interesting because the tire swing is swinging in a circle but in a way that no-one has tried to swing before. 2. What does this image and therefore this mandala mean to you? This mandala means fun to me. In the middle of the tire it looks almost like a fan sucking you into the fun of the tire swings. 3. What do you want the viewer to notice about the mandala? That the tire swing does not swing in a perfect circle, sort of like life.

Wolfgang B.

1. Why did you choose this image for the mandala? I chose this mandala, because mountains are majestic and beautiful. I was curious as to how the mandala would turn out, because the mountains are so big. To make a mandala using a picture of mountains would be very interesting, and if done correctly, which I believe I have done, awesome! 2. What does this image and therefore the mandala mean to you? I like how the mountains are so big that they are almost touching the clouds. In the original picture it looks as if someone standing on the peak could reach up a hand and touch the heavens. But as a mandala it almost looks like a globe, and the mountain tips seem to resonate power. 3. What do you want the viewer to notice about the mandala? I want whoever is looking at this mandala to notice how the center seems to draw one in, and the mountains tops and the clouds symbolize the vastness of the world beyond the boundaries of the page. I also want whoever looks at this mandala to let you're imagination run, and turn the mandala into whatever you want. For that is my favorite part of a mandala, not what someone tells you it is, but what you find using you're own imagination.

Winston B.

1. Why did you choose this image for the mandala? I liked how the colors were a little faded and contrasted each other. Also I thought that the clouds would look really cool in a mirror image. 2. What does this image and therefore the mandala mean to you? It doesn't really mean anything to me. It's a pretty picture that made a cool mandala and that's all the meaning I have for it. 3. What do you want the viewer to notice about the mandala? I want him/her to notice the clouds and how well they mirror each other.

Peter B.

1. Why did you choose this image for the mandala? I chose this specific picture because I love the sense of timelessness to it. The picture of Sandy being mid skateboard trick while the large billowy clouds loom over his head, making him look small in his glory makes this picture really stand out to me. Plus, the clouds would look very cool as a surrounding atmosphere. 2. What does this image and therefore the mandala mean to you? This image definitely has, as I said before, a sense of slow motion, or surreal timelessness. The colors also give it a very interesting look, like the lighting before a tornado would hit. 3. What do you want the viewer to notice about the mandala? I would like the viewer to notice how Sandy, the main subject of the picture, merges together with himself, and how it looks like he is holding his own hand, which I think is a very cool illusion. Also, I like how there is a pattern created by the clouds and also a pattern created with the flipping skateboards in a circle.

Austen M.

1.Why did you choose this image for the mandala? I chose this image because I liked the way it was in outer space and that it had a white dot in the middle of space. 2.What does this image and therefore mandala mean to you? The mandala I chose means many things to me such as the light coming out of darkness. 3.What do you want the viewer to notice about the mandala? What I want the viewers to notice are the white dots that make a circle around my mandala.

Sandy M.

1.Why did you choose this image for the mandala? For my mandala, I chose a picture a friend took of the miniature golf course at the Cove Bowling Lanes in Great Barrington. It stuck out to me because It has some bright and vibrant colors along with contrasting shapes, which I knew would turn out great. 2.What does this image and therefore mandala mean to you? This image doesn't have a specific significance to me, its just a cool photo. Therefore, the mandala doesn't have a deep meaning to me, its just something fun to look at. 3.What do you want the viewer to notice about the mandala? I'd like to viewer just to enjoy the art rather than take the time to find something specific that the artist told them to.

Jordon N.

1.Why did you choose this image for the mandala? I chose this image for my mandala to recreate red leaves with the mirroring images. 2.What does this image and therefore mandala mean to you? The mandala means a portal to a different world or dimension. 3.What do you want the viewer to notice about the mandala? I want people to notice the flower shape of the mandala and how it draws attention to the center of the mandala.

Ben W.

1.Why did you choose this image for the mandala? I chose this picture because I did a random search for a blue moon. 2.What does this image and therefore mandala mean to you? This Mandala was not a difficult task but it was very fun to make. 3.What do you want the viewer to notice about the mandala? It means alot to me because it looks pretty cool to me. It reminds everyone of a brain scan.I want people to notice the color difference in each picture.

Books to browse. media type="custom" key="570353" media type="custom" key="570359" [|Earth Mandala directions to make mandalas in Photoshop]