Dearest Blog,

I really reached far back with this one.

When I was a child I used to envision the cycling of the year (the calendar, if you will) as a thin circular band of ever-changing colours, going from brightest in high summer to darkest at the winter solstice. Although I didn’t call it that because frankly dear Blog, I was too damn young to know about that stuff. Yeah, I know Blog…I WAS a weird kid.

So here I am, 50-odd years later, finally taking that image out of my head and putting it on paper.

My idea with the concentric circle mandala was to make it primitive, and to illustrate the elements of the natural world within the border of the cycling year. Can you find them, Blog? Earth, Air, Fire and Water. I tried to represent them all so that they are recognizable.

I used cheap-o magic markers on watercolour paper – a set of pens designed for the current adult colouring book craze. When I tried to put the night sky and moon phases in the black band, it just ate up the white pigment ink pen. Just sucked it up like a sponge!

Someday I will refine this piece and perhaps do it in acrylic on a proper canvas.

I like to think of this as a first draft.

Rock on,

The WB

Dear Blog,

A few weeks ago I signed up for a 5 day online course called Mandala Magic provided by an artist named Julie Gibbons.

It started on November 7 and the timing could not have been better, dear Blog.

Last night I started creating my first lotus mandala and decided to feature the Buddhist goddess of compassion in the centre, as Tara (aka Kwan Yin and a bunch of other names) is often depicted sitting upon a lotus. I don’t pretend to know a whole lot about Eastern religions and their pantheons of gods and goddesses, but ever since I first learned of Tara a number of years ago, I have been drawn (no pun intended) to the idea of her.

So last night as I fretted over the USA and the general direction the world seems to be taking, I made a choice to NOT listen, watch or surf election coverage and turn to my pencils instead.

I found it very calming and meditative to work on this last night, dear Blog.

I suppose you have already guessed, old chum, that the new few years should be good for my art practice. 😉

Rock on,

The WB