photo energy - art that captures you » colored pencil

Abundance Mandala

Karen Casey-Smith — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:50:39 +0000

This is the Abundance mandala. In Chinese culture koi fish images are said to attract wealth luck, and are very good career luck. Fish shown with lotus blossoms symbolize living year after year in affluence. Lotus flowers also open us to beauty and light, enriching our lives and giving us appreciation for our abundance. Clouds are often used to symbolize good fortune and happiness.

I’d been reading about the rich symbolism used in Chinese paintings. These all sounded like wonderful things to have in your life. My next thought was that I would love to have my own abundance picture! This was why I originally drew the mandala. The original is framed, and hanging in our home. It was drawn with colored pencils on Canson Mi-Teintes paper.

Prints, done on Kodak Lustre paper, are now available at both my shops – Etsy and 1000 Markets. The mandala prints beautifully, and you are even able to see the texture of the paper in the print. If you’d like a custom size, please contact me and I’d be happy to list one for you.

Best success to you, and I hope this mandala will assist you in attracting abundance, and best wealth and career luck too!

Heart Sutra Mandala

Karen Casey-Smith — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:14:09 +0000

In the Heart Sutra mandala, all things are interconnected, all things point to center. It’s about light and awakening.

The chakras are represented by rainbows of color, with light moving through and illuminating them. Lotus flowers are a symbol for awakening to the spiritual reality of life. The six pointed star is the central image in the heart chakra. The heart chakra is the middle chakra in a system of seven. It symbolizes the two polarities of body and spirit as interpenetrating in perfect balance. The triangle pointing upward symbolizes matter rising into spirit. The downward triangle represents spirit descending into manifestation. The chain in this symbolizes the illusion that the way to the center, to enlightenment is barred and difficult to attain.

This mandala seemed to have named itself. Even while I was making it, I just found that I was calling it by this name. At that time I hadn’t read the Heart Sutra. Perhaps it doesn’t illustrate the sutra literally, nevertheless no other name seems right. Though I’m not a Buddhist I have a longstanding interest in, and appreciation for, the teachings.

All my mandalas, whether they’re drawings or from photographs of flowers, are created intuitively. The elements in the images aren’t consciously chosen for their symbolism. The meaning is revealed when the mandalas are completed. I hope you find the mandala a beautiful meditation.

The following is the mantra, in Sanskrit, for the Heart Sutra and one translation for it by George Boeree, Ph.D. It’s said to be the mantra that removes all suffering.

Gaté, gaté, paragaté, parasamgaté. Bodhi! Svaha! Which means… Gone, gone, gone over, gone fully over. Awakened! So be it!

For anyone who might be interested, I’d like to share a video of the heart sutra and mantra being sung by Imee Ooi, with wording added to help you understand what you’re listening to. Thanks to fastzone for the video. As he says, stay peaceful.

Neither Within Nor Without

Karen Casey-Smith — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:04:22 +0000

This mandala speaks of the light that is neither within nor without. The figure is poised between heaven and earth, connected to both, fully empowered. For me this one captures the feeling of being aligned, in the flow, in the sweet spot being both grounded and soaring. This is the place to create from, to do your spiritual work from.

The title for this mandala comes to me through a passage I read in the classic book, The Secret Of The Golden Flower. It’s been years since I read it, and it’s always stayed with me. At the time the mandala was made, I hadn’t read this book yet. Like my other hand drawn mandalas, this one held other layers of meaning that I would grow to understand.

Here’s a very brief portion of the book passage I’m referring to:

The light is neither inside nor outside the self. (…) The light of heaven and earth fills the universe; the light of the one individual also naturally extends through the heavens and covers the earth.

_ The Secret Of The Golden Flower, translated by Richard Wilhelm

The passage further explains that the whole earth, the sun, the moon, the oceans and all the waters are this light, so it’s not just inside the self. All intelligence, knowledge and wisdom are this light, so it isn’t outside the self. What a wonderful thing to contemplate. It’s separation that’s the illusion.

The Daily Zen Journal has an excellent post on The Secret of The Golden Flower if you’re interesting in knowing more about it. You’ll learn about turning the light around - an astonishing teaching!

I hope this finds everyone in their own creative sweet spot.

Soar Beyond

Karen Casey-Smith — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:36:17 +0000

It’s time to bring a new mandala out of the closet! I liked Soar Beyond when it was made, and I knew what it meant to me…I thought.

Now that I look at it again with all the experience I’ve gained since the time this was made, I’m surprised at how much more meaning is here for me. Much of the hidden meaning concerned things that I’d be learning in the future. The mandala was made the year before I began studying Reiki and Tai Chi. For me, this marked the beginning of consciously working with, and balancing, energy. It’s amazing to me that these things could be in this drawing when I hadn’t learned them at that time. I’m sure I’m not unique in having an experience like this, but isn’t it interesting? It makes you wonder, doesn’t it, at what things are possible. It’s sort of mysterious and reassuring.

This mandala is about shifting and expansion. It’s about the joy and freedom found in moving beyond perceived limitations. It’s freeing to sense the expansion and growth that’s unfolding for us all.

I won’t go into everything this mandala means to me. Everyone should get to have their own experience, to make their own connection. Isn’t that the one that’s truly meaningful?

If we open our eyes, if we open our minds, if we open our hearts, we will find that this world is a magical place.

_ Chögyam Trungpa

Questions Inspire Answers

Karen Casey-Smith — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:58:33 +0000

Release is another of my hand drawn mandalas that’s been scanned into the computer. For anyone interested in prints, they’re available through 1000 Markets. I’m happy to do custom sizes.

This mandala is special to me because it was an answer to a question. I’d been thinking about the subject of letting go. It wasn’t really so much a question as it was a request for a better understanding of that process. After I put out my request, I softly let that thought go. It was in that quiet space that this answer came in.

For me, this process works best if there’s no hint of trying or effort. Maybe it’s better described as a feeling of allowing. You’re confident you’ll receive an answer; you only need to get quiet and notice it when it arrives – it’s kind of like that.

One of the great things about getting information in the form of a picture is that you can receive the answer in a split second. There’s a lot of information packed in a visual image, and it can take quite some time to discover all that any image holds for you. I’ve really enjoyed reflecting on this image. It’s peaceful and reassuring.

I really think the message isn’t just for me. There are answers around us all the time, and they come in many forms. They’re ready and waiting for us when we’re ready for them. There’s always more to learn, and deeper levels of understanding. Thank goodness! Enjoy where you are. Don’t be in a hurry to move on or you might miss this moment. Look for the good, notice any progress, and celebrate. Why not?

I’ll leave you today with this little poem that I remember often. It’s from The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff.

The clouds above us join and separate,

The breeze in the courtyard leaves and returns.

Life is like that, so why not relax?

Who can stop us from celebrating?

Light in the Closet

Karen Casey-Smith — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:43:12 +0000

Early on in my life I noticed that if it was too long between making something, or drawing, or doing some kind of creative activity, I’d begin to notice a vague unease. It was a something-is-missing kind of feeling. Even beginning a project would bring an almost instant relief.

It was definitely good to be creating. Drawing was often my choice. It’s like a meditation for me. I can easily work a long time on one image because I enjoy drawing and shading - maybe more than having a finished piece. Once a drawing was completed, it usually went in the top of the closet! There are five or six mandalas in there. It seems like a person could do something better than that with them, doesn’t it? I enjoyed making them so much, perhaps someone else will enjoy them too. I’ve decided to bring some of my colored pencil mandalas out into the light of day. I’ve begun to scan them into the computer, and will offer prints of them my shops at 1000 Markets and Etsy.

The first mandala is titled, As Above So Below. The original is 16 inches square. I loved drawing all the little trees. We were traveling that year so you’ll see some exotic trees (for Illinois). Each and every tree is drawn from a tree that I actually saw in person. Many of the trees are from the neighborhood we live in. The idea for this one came to me as a picture in my mind’s eye, sort of like a daydream. The main theme of this image is that everything is connected.

Now that I’m bringing them out, I’m kind of excited to share some of my artwork. Have you been hiding your light in the closet too — or under the bed, or in the garage…? It’s more fun to let your light shine.