This picture was made about August 2008 to December 2008
This picture began with the contemplation on my place as a parent, a wife, a friend, in the past in the future and in the present. I again borrowed from Buddhist ideas of yoga and older ideas of the mandala, and my ways of seeing spirits in all things.
Raja Yoga is a scientific method of meditation in which a person can reach enlightenment by following an 8 step discipline. The Buddhist believe that we each posses vast mental and psychic resources that lie virtually untapped below the surface of the conscious mind. To release this latent potential, Raja Yoga, prescribes a psychological approach, based on a practical system of concentration and control of the mind.
- Yamas (abstentions) : Truth, nonviolece, conservation and moderation of enerfy, nonstealing, and noncovetousness
- Niyamas (observances) : Austerities, purity, contentment, selfstudy, surrender of the ego or self
- Asanas : steady poses
- Pranayama : Control of vital energy, or prana
- Pratyahara : Withdrawal of the senses
- Dharana : Concentration of the mind
- Dyana : Meditation (sustained Dharana)
- Samadhi : The superconscious state
The figure, or I, am climbing the eight steps, time not being an issue. As I reach the top, I have the mandala centered on her head to show the process of continuing the Samadhil by having the figures reaching out from the center and in towards the center in an ongoing dance. Each step I created after a little contemplation of each of the steps.
The long hair symbolizes the passage of time. And the swirls, which I have always done in my aliens, seem to be the prana, or vital energy, metachlorians in Star Wars speak.
The trees limbs end with the Buddhist symbol for wellness, what someone once pointed out to me as a ‘beautiful cross’, at various stages of development and growth. And the spirits in the trees and the rocks are found by those seeking something.
The color scheme is from pastel pencils; Light Vermilion, a Red, Prussian Blue, and Light Lemon Yellow. I love the earth tones that I achieved, though I had to be careful not to over stack the colors. I layered one color on top of the next, running the colors in different directions.
The sky is a dynamic part of the picture blowing around and through anything and everything. A friendly presence.