Mandala Process

In this post I am going to share with you a work that is not yet finished. I am currently in the process of making it and it is the most detailed work that I have done to date. When I begin to create, there is always a feeling that I want to do it, an itch that has to be scratched if you like. But there is never any idea in my mind as to what will happen once that first central bindu (point) is placed on the page or canvas. It is an activity of pure trust.

And that for me is the magic. It is a magic that we can bring into other parts of our lives too. I know I am! Often we have ideas that come at the strangest times, we think 'Yes! I could do that. I really could.' Then 10 minutes later our brain has kicked in with all of the reasons why you couldn't, shouldn't..."I don't have enough time, not til the kids grow up, when I retire, people will laugh at me"...and on and on it goes.

But what if we just acted on these ideas. Right there and then. What is the worst that could happen? Yes, the idea could fail, nine out of ten do after all. But then again, it is the people who never try who never make mistakes. It is perfectly okay to make mistakes. In fact in the mandala process for example, some of my most interesting work has happened when a pen has leaked leaving a big blob where I didn't want it. So I go ahead and work with the blob instead of fighting the blob. It can be fascinating. There are no mistakes as they say!

Below is a great quote from artist Chuck Close, and I think he nails it.

“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who'll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you're sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that's almost never the case.”

For me, inspiration occurs during process. Once the initial action is taken. We work with the universe. Together with the creative energy. This isn't just true for art or creative pursuits, but for everything in life. If you have an idea or something in you simmering, why not take one small action this week towards it. It could be as simple as picking up the phone. One step. Each day. One step. Each day. And you will be amazed at the momentum that gathers. Have fun with it. Don't attach too much to the outcome. Simply TRUST! Yourself and the beautiful process.