Mandala, a process

Mandala, a process

The theme of the Nuit blanche in Montreal this year is Red, and Christ Church Cathedral, my church, is hosting and exhibition of art by its members. I am calling my paintings “ painting RED.” I looked around the Christ Church Cathedral where the exhibit is to be held, and found a number of red objects, including, I thought, the triangular red windows at the top of the stained glass windows in the front of the church.

I photographed these windows. I enlarged the photo of just one of the small windows to get the detail. I studied them in in the most revealing way possible, by attempting to draw, then paint, them.

The triangular window had a three-fold symmetry. The corner red panes seemed to be painted as poppies, perhaps as a commemoration of The Great War. (It turns out to have been made in the 1930's, so this is not unlikely. )

What looks at first glance a red window is in fact quite complex, and makes me think of a mandala, a symmetrical depiction of the universe used for meditation. I wonder if anyone has the code to its meaning.

In order to study the structure of the mandala I hand drew it. The structure is an equilateral triangle. Inside is a circle, the radius being such that it touches the sides of the triangle.

Inside the circle is a six pointed knot, incorrectly drawn here in terms of which strand lies over which, with the sides of the knot being part of a circle with a radius greater than the distance from the side (i.e. the arc that forms the side is that of a circle with centre outside the triangle). There is another circle concentric with the first and running between the corners and the sides of the knot. There are additional circles centred on the corners of one of the triangles making the knot.  Outside that circle in each corner of the triangle is a circular pane resembling a poppy. The smaller mostly blue mandalas on either side of the triangle were added to complement the red one.

This hand drawn mandala was done to explore the complexity of the window. My hand drawn mandala is much less beautiful than the original window, in part because of the brilliance of the transmitted light from behind the window as it is seen in the church during the day.

I then decided I should make a mandala of my own life. What was central to me? I have always valued my intelligence. Now my brain cells are occupied with Lewy bodies, due to Parkinson's, and my brain has gone haywire.

My roles as mother, physician, and artist are at the corners of the triangle. The diseased neurones are impairing both mother and physician roles. Researcher, worshiper, and Parkinson patient roles are also shown.

The past (my origins) are represented by the circle on the lower left, representing my mother and father as parents, teachers, actors, craftsman, and priest. On the right is the future, with my children occupied in computer science, artistic endeavours, and giving a helping hand (occupational therapy).

Technically this drawing has problems, in part because I wrote on the yellow and orange bands before the second layer of paint and the ink of the writing ran.

I redid the mandala, with less writing and and larger illustrations. It shows my support system: my husband (Hendrik) and children (Henk, Alice, and Geoffrey), people with Parkinson's (PWP), and what holds me together (singing, dancing, and swimming). If Parkinson's can be cured, at some point, its effect on my ability to work and mother will be gone, and my brain will be able to do its job again.

Jung believed that the exercise of making a mandala could lead to understanding of our interior life. He also said that people often make mandalas at times of psychological growth. Though the results of my mandala making are not new or profound, they do help me to see more clearly where I am going and hope to go, and how.