HOLIDAY MANDALA 9

Angel Light Mandala - (Seasonal Circles series) - © Sue O'Kieffe 2007
source image: holly leaf

Where there is great love, there are always miracles
~ Willa Cather

I created six greeting cards for the holidays this year. Of them, this was my favorite, and it is also my offering for today's holiday mandala. When I was creating it, it was such a pleasure for me to see the angels and doves being birthed into creation. I never know until the very end of the mandala making process what is going to appear or how I will feel about the image. Usually I sense something in the photograph of the source image I use, a sort of murmuring "use me, pick me" that will lead me on the journey of creation.

I used to wait until the golden hour, that magical time a few hours before sunset, to go out on my photoshoots; but sometime during this past year I began taking photos in nature that were more saturated in light. Often those images don't really work for mandalas, but the exploration brings me more flexibility in my schedule. It also sparked the tagline for my blog ... circles of light inspired by nature.

I think of myself as a holder of the Light, and so do these natural elements.

And so, my fellow travelers, I am curious to know what kind of leaps you have taken that have brought you to a closer reflection of your true creative voice?

HOLIDAY MANDALA 7

Hope for the Holidays - (Seasonal Circle series) - © Sue O'Kieffe 2007
source image: red and white dahlia

I have been reading some about winter traditions based in paganism. Did you know that there is also a Mother Christmas, and that the second day of Christmas (which 12/27 is) is her day?

Deriving from the ancient figure of the Mother Goddess, the feminine principle of deity, she was regarded as a bringer of fertility, abundance, and justice. Usually depicted as a tall and beautiful woman dressed in white and with a golden girdle, she rode through the land, she rode through the land during the twelve days dispensing gifts from a sleigh pulled by dogs.
(Matthews, The Winter Solstice)

I would love for you to share with me what you see or feel looking at this mandala. For myself, I feel the promise of Light coming from deep within, piercing the darkness and radiating to all of humanity.

Happy Mother's Night...the second day of christmas

HOLIDAY MANDALA 6

Christmas Frost Mandala - (Seasonal Circles series) - © Sue O'Kieffe 2007
source image: bedstraw

We had frost on Christmas Day here on the North Coast of California. It was Earth's gift to me, since I had been wanting to photograph leaves with icing on them for a couple of weeks. I believe the source image is bedstraw, a plant which in the "olden days" actually was used for stuffing mattresses.

When I look at the mandala, I see the image of the Green Man.

The image to the left is just one of many versions of the Green Man, who once was considered to be the virtual embodiment of the life force that ran rampant through every green and growing thing.(John Matthews, The Winter Solstice). He plays a predominant part in the Arthurian legends in the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In the story, Sir Gawain beheads the Green Knight who is able to retrieve his head and return his own blows to King Arthur's nephew. The story serves to remind all about the power of restoration, the death of the old year and the birth of the new. (Matthews)


When I create my mandalas, I never intend for these images to appear. They just sort of show up on their own. It is part of the magic of mandala making for me. (Don't you just love all those MMMMMMM's?)

HOLIDAY MANDALA 4

Solstice Light - (Seasonal Circles series) - © Sue O'Kieffe 2006

We must follow the star.
Even on godless nights
when there is no star
we must follow the star.

~John Moriarity

Winter Solstice 2007 (Dec 21/22 depending on your time zone) is World Peace Day. You can read more about it here

CONSIDERING PRODUCTION COSTS

Summer Solstice - (Summer Series) - © 2007 Sue O'Kieffe

I have been exploring the subject of production costs a little bit this week. My overall preference would be not to print my greeting cards myself. I have an Epson printer that actually prints beautiful work, but the cost of the ink is really prohibitive for production work. I did a bit of cursory googling yesterday searching for wholesale ink, and what I found was either knock off ink (which I won't use) or ink that doesn't work with my printer model.

I have a friend who has approached me with a business proposition. He is offering to loan me enough money to print 2 0f my cards using a professional printer. He would sell some of the cards where he lives in Kentucky and ship the rest back to me to sell where I am. I am still mulling this idea over. I would rather have three cards printed, so perhaps there would be a way for me to come up with the balance. He and I are still talking about this idea. I do feel pretty confident that I could set up five wholesale accounts locally who would purchase these cards. Would this be enough to get me started though? I'm not sure. And I want to make sure that using an out of the area printer is my best option. In some ways Id rather use local printers because of my "shop local" value I try to follow as much as possible.

Is there anyone out there who knows of a less expensive resource for Epson ink? I know it is possible to buy in quantity from suppliers and that would bring my costs down as well.

Today's mandala was created from a day lily that was on the downside of its life cycle. I was attracted to the transparency of the lily's petals, almost as if you could see into it to the cellular level.