Image of the Week: Two Mandalas
© Durga Yael Bernhard
A mandala is one of those subjects that is inexhaustible. When people look at a blank piece of paper and have no idea what to draw, I always feel like suggesting "Draw a mandala!" There's no limit to all the ways forms can repeat, vary, and interconnect in a circular fashion. Just ask Mozart!
The mandala shown above is a painted collage that I created in 1997 – assembled from my collection of textured and colored rice paper scraps. Evidently I decided to enhance these scraps with paint – except for the center piece, which has a naturally pebbled texture. Everything is glued down on a piece of grey matboard.
I created another mandala seven years later for a totally different purpose: in response to an invitation to submit a series of dinnerware designs to a home decor manufacturer. This one was my favorite (sorry about the obnoxious watermark; this is just the sort of image that is too easily ripped off on the internet):
This design was entirely drafted and painted by hand with the use of an inking compass and a ruler. Either I had the patience of a saint, or I was desperate for work. More likely the latter . . . but unfortunately the buyer didn't accept my submission. Ever the artist's trope: I enjoyed creating it anyway!
What do these two mandalas have in common? They both make use of alternating, adjacent diagonals in order to create tension. My love affair with diagonals began around the time I made the first mandala, when I discovered the bold and intricate, mostly circular art of the extinct Mimbre tribe of the American southwest. I liked how they made use of diagonals, and started experimenting with my own ideas. To this day, diagonals continue to show up in my art – lately in the form of diagonal brushstrokes.
Fast forward fifteen years, and the fun begins! Enter Photoshop – after midnight – and this is the result. I couldn't resist putting the two mandalas together. One plus one equals one:
Like it?
Hmm . . . I'm not so sure.
I really must get some sleep.
Wishing you a good week!
D Yael Bernhard