When we formed Mandala Design Works (MDW) we were a circle of friends – four artists living and working in the town of Delaware Water Gap. Our lives and our art were intertwined.
This collective was an extension of all that.

Now four years later much has changed and MDW is dissolving.
Since a circle truly has no beginning and no end, that is true for our circle as well. We want to thank you for all the support and love you have given us and invite you to follow our next individual adventures.

You will no longer be receiving blog posts or emails from Mandala Design Works but we would love to keep in touch with you.
Please click on the following links and sign up to continue the circle.

Anita Bondi
Susan Bradford
Marci Molina
Stan Stewart

As time goes by, I am getting more and more in rhythm with this property that we are renting.  I know what to expect now that the daffodils and tulips are gone.  The lilacs are already in bloom.  The heather kept blooming throughout the winter.  Soon there will be irises, another happy moment.  It is the rhythm of Spring and the awakening of my body and my brain.  I await the lilies and the peonies and the hollyhocks as the prospect of summer entices me on these lovely sunny days.

I create in the early evening while it is still light out, and my back tells me that I’ve done enough gardening for the day.  Then I can be in my studio and allow the experiences of the day to inform what I paint or what I weave or what I draw or what I read.  All one.

Still a bit cool, especially at night.  I move in that rhythm as well.  The cool evenings invite soup or stews or casseroles, and some red wine.  I allow myself to rest and am delighted that I can sleep with a down comforter on these cool nights.

The mornings are for greeting the day and the clematis!!

We will be gathering at 5:30pm at the SVPA (School of the Visual and Performing Arts) 554 Main St.and then Dance Walking up to the Pocono Arts building, 18 North 7th St. in time for the Juried Art Show Awards Ceremony!

I have been musing the importance of gatherings like this and my love of site specific performance art. Here is one of my recent questions and some of my answers:

Why do any of this?

1. To be a part of something artistic, unusual and unique
2. To feel connected to a community of individuals who believe in the power of art to change the world.
3.  Because art is good for the body, mind, and soul
4.  To stretch out of our comfort zone
5. Because laughter and fun are really good medicine
6.  Because Art Matters and makes a difference.
7. It is Art and Fun that is FREE!

If you don’t live close, schedule one for your area and let’s share photos and videos.

Today it felt a little abandoned.  It needs a good cleaning.  It wants attention.  I need to reestablish contact with all those projects.  I need to reset my priority to be in there.  I always have great plans to float right back into painting as soon as I get back home.  I have so many ideas.  

And then I’m always a little more tired, a lot less creative, and more behind with other stuff than I bargained for.

So be it!

These days I am watching my rescue dog, Scout for wisdom and insight. He seems to have a handle on what it takes to actually “have someone’s back”.  He gets it. It seems very basic, real, and easy: get close, wrap up, breathe deep, and stay put.

So this view of the Eastern Cascades will have to do!

While on the plane and taking pictures with my iPad, I was feeling so thankful for my life. For the continued opportunity to return to the Poconos for work, play, and friendship. And for the beauty of my home on Orcas, and the love that is always waiting for me there.  It all sounds so corny, but still it is how I feel.

I had just read in my daily devotional the same thing: people don’t like to change. Change is hard. Change feels scary. And, change is good. If we notice what is not working, name what we need and want, and shift even though it doesn’t feel good, life opens up new doors. We may even discover things about ourselves that surprise us, delight us, and intrigue us. We may also feel sad, grieve what once was, and long for days gone by.

It is all normal and part of the process of growth and becoming. (at least that is what I told my sister, Louise)

For me, change is good. One way I soothe myself along the way is by breathing. Simple solution, but it works every time.

“We travel together, passengers on a little spaceship,
dependent upon its vulnerable reserves of air and soil
– all committed for our safety to its security and peace,
and preserved from annihilation only by the care,
and, I will say, the love, we give our fragile craft.”

– Adlai Stevenson

A good friend of mine asked me to create a set of chakra paintings for her office. It is always wonderful for me to be challenged in this way, so I eagerly said yes to her. Feeling into each chakra (or energy center) in this new way really allowed me to look at myself in a new way, too. To present each one in a glowing, healthy way, I had to align with my own first and visualize one after the other feeling strong and whole. And then I had to figure out what that would look like for each one. The seven paintings on paper are a combination of oil paint, watercolor, oil bars, pastel, pencil, and charcoal.

What a great opportunity to play and paint!