this past two weeks i worked every evening on a bouquet of polymer clay pens in a limited “queen of hearts 2008” signed edition. i felt so lighthearted making the canes and assembling them in all shades of magenta, violet and red, with some black and white striping here and there. some will be gifts, though i will sell some too. i put the set of photos on flickr.com (see it in my links column to the right?)
my current quest is to build 3-dimensional mandalas with polymer clay. the first one was exactly what i hoped for, but does not have the interwoven dimensions i envision. i built forms onto which i can drape the clay last weekend, so this weekend i will build the components for the next mandala.
the life of a public school art teacher is one of intense expenditures of energy all week, and weekends of enforced rest and recuperation! weekdays, I pour much of my creative energy into the minds and hearts of children. on weekends, i give myself the “required luxury” of time to catch up on sleep, a quiet hour of reflection, and only then, i can turn my own mind and heart to the making of my creative work. i have been exploring BLISS lately.
i have begun meditating with a generic mantra and find moments when my small world dissolves. an overwhelming sense of joy washes over me physically, though it just lasts a few seconds, and disappears if i mentally lunge toward it. then, after i’ve acclimated to realizing it’s gone, an image blossoms in the projection screen of my mind. it is almost always a mandala – a radiating kaleidoscopic image of color and/or form. since i meditate before i sleep, i often drift into semi-consciousness with this image growing in my brain. when i awaken, the image is always gone, but the FEELING remains. that is when i go to my studio and begin work, or sit in my recliner recording ideas with pen on paper.
