Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Repaired Mandala Series

This series of work began in 2006 and continues through the present. These works are evolved from a previous series of spheres that I built, broke or allowed to break, and then repaired. Where the predominant and most obvious metaphor for the spheres is the planet earth, the mandalas bring forth a more spiritual meaning. The mandala to many represents and creates a sense of wholeness, completeness and balance. Like song, dance, the drum and the idea of a divine creative force, mandalas have been created by nearly every culture on earth. I’ve been inspired by mandalas as diverse as the Native American medicine wheel, Tibetan tankas, and European cathedral windows.
These mandalas have been allowed and encouraged to crack. What has become the most important part of the process is the methodical and tedious task of repairing them. Because of the repetitive nature of drilling holes and stitching pieces together the process has inadvertently become a means of meditation.