Found Object Mandalas

“Mandala is a Sanskrit word:  manda= essence, la=within; it is a circle that contains the essence. The mandala symbolizes the laws of the universe and, since man is a microcosm of the universe, many cultures believe that the mandala also symbolizes the human soul.” I’ve been drawn to Mandalas ever since I witnessed a group of Tibetan Buddhist Monks making a traditional sand mandala on the ground. The idea of creating such a beautiful work of art and then destroying it in order to symbolize the transitory nature of life intrigued me. Because of that formative experience, I’ve made mandalas intermittently over the years in different forms. Only recently have I delved into the mandalas fully as a way to meld my love for design, spirituality, and the need to create some sort of order and meaning out of so much chaos in the world. In this most recent series of mandala photographs, my intention is to arrange ordinary objects in a pattern that becomes sacred, where the everyday turns divine, the enticing now exquisite.