Nature Mandala within an Urban Landscape - Buenos Aires

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

HERE'S TO A STELLAR NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


FLOWERS OF THE CEIBO TREE BY THE RIO DE LA PLATA, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA


~MAY ALL YOUR DREAMS BE RE-MEMBERED
AND COME TO GLORIOUS FRUITION~

Welcome a new year, new energy, fresh desires and more love.
Thank you all for following me on this wonderful creative path.
I am happy to bring you along.
I have just added two gallery pages and an artist's bio page.
Please view them and make a nice comment.
It is always a pleasure to hear from you.
2015 is going to be stellar!


Blessings,
Patt



ETHEREAL BUTTERFLY
WATERCOLOR AND PERMANENT INK
SEE MORE 2D MANDALAS AT THE GALLERY PAGE

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

RE-MEMBER WITH YOUR DREAMS

I WANT TO TAKE THIS MOMENT TO WISH EVERYONE
A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON. 

GREETINGS FROM BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA


FLOWERS FROM THE COCKSPUR CORAL TREE
THE NATIONAL TREE OF ARGENTINA


RE-MEMBER WITH YOUR DREAMS

We are a week away from 2015.  People are making resolutions, goals, plans and reviewing past desires. Just a few minutes ago while walking the streets of Buenos Aires coming back from the bakery with a package of yummy things, I smiled bright inside and out re-membering something far sweeter than the pastries in my bag.  I had one of those quick playful nudges and an AH HA moment.  "Haaa - I am living it - again."  No, not deja vu.  I was plunged into the memory and the present moment at the same time.  You see when I was 23 years old I had a life dream and I put that dream aside for many years.  Now I live it.



 TIMBO OR EARPOD TREE



In 1980 while traveling Europe with a backpack I made a statement to myself (and the Universe but people didn't use that phrase back then).  I stated that in this lifetime I wanted to live in a foreign country and learn a second language. Well as they say, "life happens" and for many years I dis-membered myself from my dream.  I had taken it out of my day to day, month to month and year to year thoughts yet my soul never forgot.  And then in 2005 at age 48 I made a major shift.

I didn't make the shift through major action.  That came later.  First I re-connected to the deepest parts of me through meditation and quiet alone time.  Soon the signals, connections, emotional and mental breakthroughs spontaneously appeared.  I ended up in Argentina on a solo five week vacation and while out west in the canyons I felt a deep core connection to the country.  I moved to Buenos Aires (the Paris of the South) in 2006 and lived here full time until 2012.  I now visit whenever possible. I speak Spanish and totally love living a European lifestyle.  I am so happy that I listened to my inner guidance and opened myself up to the synchronicities.

JACARANDA SEED PODS AND FLOWERS








JACARANDA AND TIPA FLOWERS

Can constructing or drawing mandalas help you to re-connect too?   Absolutely!   Imagine your mind as a peaceful flowing stream free of negative chatter.  How wonderful would that be?  As a therapist and teacher of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Hypnotherapy I ask my students to imagine a simple garden hose.  When the spigot is off and no water is flowing out it is easy to fill the hose up with pebbles and dirt.  But when the valve is open and the water is flowing out nothing else can go in. The same is with your mind.  Turn on the spigot of creativity and of the FLOW and the entire being, body, mind and spirit experiences wonderful positive energy.  In that flowing stream lies messages just for you.  You just need to turn it on and get the dirt out of your ears.


I am setting up new international workshops for 2015.  Please email me and I will notify you when the next workshop is scheduled.  gilmore444 @ gmail.com My therapies/workshop website is BEBEST.COM  I will be posting a 2015 schedule soon.

SALUTI!





TIMBO OR EARPOD TREE

Monday, November 17, 2014

TRANSITIONING

I arrived safely to Buenos Aires on Tuesday morning and am adjusting once again.  I am out of the woods and into city life.  Here there are many parks and most are kept meticulously clean of foraging materials but yesterday I did cross through a small park where tipa trees had shed their flowers and workmen had not yet swept them away.


I think it will take me another week to get into FULL BLOOM energetically and be more in the rhythm of city life but for now here is a quickie tipa mandala.  The winds kept the heat down yesterday but it meant that I had to work fast. I am hoping for continued breeziness today and tomorrow as my air conditioning just decided to go on vacation until Thursday.  Well - one needs to be like the bamboo - FLEXIBLE.  Yes grasshoppers - be like the bamboo.  Everything is easier that way.

I am closing with this photo. In my wanderings by the Ecological Reserve I discovered that on Sunday mornings there is an outdoor meditation gathering where you can be guided while communing with nature.  I'm IN.  Come join me if you are local.  I live close by and bring sunscreen and repellant!

Back to transitioning.  NAMASTE and ENJOY!


Stay tuned.....

Saturday, October 25, 2014

ART SALE TO BENEFIT PEDIATRIC CANCER

Yesterday I dropped off five framed mandalas at a gorgeous home in Needham where there will be an OPEN HOUSE on Saturday and Sunday - October 25th and 26th.  Ten artists will be showing their work.  All pieces are for sale and portions of the proceeds will go to benefit kids with cancer.


As I post this it is Saturday and the weather is fantastic.  The property is on the banks of the Charles River.  I will be heading over there this afternoon and would love to see you.  You will find me on the deck drawing in the sun.

OPEN HOUSE & ART SALE
170 WHITMAN RD
NEEDHAM, MA
SAT & SUN - OCT 25 & 26
1-4 PM




STOP BY AND SAY HELLO!



Sunday, October 5, 2014

HAPPY HAPPY GREEN GREEN

Today Sr. Benito and I went to Borderland State Park to take apart the 7' Ames Mansion Mandala. The National Art Show closed yesterday.  Before de-constructing the mandala I had the good sense to check in at the state park visitor's center and ask the park's superintendent "Would you rather I left it for awhile?"  The answer was a resounding YES!  So many people have loved it and it is still in pretty good shape.  It definitely has survived well for being uncovered with a few days of rain.  The park staff will dismantle it when it gets too scruffy.  I am pleased.


This means you still have a chance to see the mandala and pick up on some of its good vibe.  The pokeweed has faded but the moss is really happy happy green green.  It would have hurt me to tear it away from its happy place right now.  And no - I did not touch up this photo.  You see it here as I shot it.  HAPPY HAPPY GREEN GREEN


The week ahead is a busy one. I will be checking in soon with some new nature art either from the out-of-doors or a sketch pad or maybe with a surprise.  Enjoy your week!!!

Monday, September 29, 2014

BUSY BEE IN A GUST OF OCTOBER WIND

Autumn is here and this year's dry weather is resulting in the leaves falling from the trees more quickly than usual.  The colored foliage will soon disappear and so will I, but just from the area.  I will fly like a snowbird from New England to South America this year.

In the coming weeks I have many original drawings and photographic prints to crop and frame. Some will come along with me for art patrons in Buenos Aires and Lima and others stay in the USA for spring shows.  I will have a full list of artwork available later in October.  OMGoodness, October is two days away!  Time will now feel like a big gust of wind whisked it away.  WOOOOOOOSH.

Onward >>>>

Posted here are a few drawings that should be framed by the middle of next week.  All renderings are 6.5 inches and perfect for an 8" x 8" frame or 8" x 10" mat.  The first mandala is aptly named Busy Bee.  If you quiet down enough you can actually hear it buzz. :)

BUSY BEE


WATER COLOR WITH COLORED AND METALLIC PERMANENT INK

**********************

The below mandala is a spin off of the FLOWER OF LIFE traditional pattern.  I lay in many geometric guidelines then remove several to uncover the energy of each mandala.

SIX POINT STARFLOWER

COLORED AND METALLIC PERMANENT INK

***********************

ESTRELLA DE LA SUERTE
(LUCKY STAR)

COLORED AND METALLIC PERMANENT INK

This is just a sampling.  I have a number of nature mandala photographic prints awaiting framing in the next few weeks as well.  I will be posting to the blog when they are ready.  Stay tuned...

Hasta Pronto
Paty
gilmore444   @    gmail.com


Sunday, September 28, 2014

FINAL CHANCES

Last Saturday night was the opening reception of the 12th Annual Blanch Ames National Art Exhibition at the Ames Mansion on the property of Borderland State Park in Easton MA.  Oh what a splendid evening.  The artwork displayed was simply awe inspiring.  The paintings, sculpture, photography, monoprints and more demonstrated a very high caliber of talent and professionalism. The curators did an astounding job pulling it all together and I was truly impressed by how the show was hung in the library.  The music, noshes and champagne flowed and I was blessed to have some lovely friends attend.  I really do consider myself quite honored to have one of my photographs chosen to be among the 53 juried-in pieces from 432 entries spanning the nation.  My only regret is that I do not have many clear photos of the evening to share.  I was happily busy that night.


THE AMES MANSION MANDALA
SPRUCED UP WITH TEA LIGHTS AND GOLDENROD


The show ends this coming Saturday, October 4th.  The artwork will be picked up, temporary walls taken down and the Ames Mansion Mandala will be disassembled and its elements put back into nature.


I want to thank everyone for helping me gather and forage and for contributing every which way to the positive energy in Letting Nature and Art Re-Create You.


If you have not seen the show yet you have limited time (FINAL CHANCES) so don't delay.  You only have today from 11-3pm and from Tuesday to Saturday to view it (closed Monday).  Much of the artwork is for sale.  Inquire within.



 

I am very blessed indeed.  What's next?  I am packing for Buenos Aires, Argentina.  The city awaits.  But don't worry.  My mandala creation will not cease.  I am on it!


Thursday, September 18, 2014

READY TO CELEBRATE - ALMOST

Monday and Tuesday I placed item after item, circle by circle together to create the very first Ames Mansion Mandala.  It is a round 7' nature mandala.  With the exception of some battery operated tea lights and flowers that will be added for the evening Opening Reception this Saturday night it is complete.

Here it is - a grand collage of moss, Queen Anne's lace, hemlock leaves/ferns and pine cones, hickory nut husks, pokeweed, feathers, pine needles and various barks and sticks.  I am happy.


TUESDAY - FINISHED


MONDAY -  IN PROCESS




Come join us for the Opening Reception of the 12th Annual Blanche Ames National Art Exhibition.  Fiftyone artists are being represented inside this historic mansion's famous library.  Come toast all of them and the organizers.  Saluti!

Saturday Sept 20th
7pm - 10 pm

Ames Mansion
Borderland State Park

257 Massapoag Ave.
North Easton, MA



Sunday, September 14, 2014

NOT QUITE DUST

Tomorrow is INSTALLATION DAY.  I will be at Borderland State Park in Easton, MA creating a large nature mandala at the mansion entrance.  Stop by and say hello.

On another note, last week while hiking the Granite Hills Trail Loop Lower with Sr. Benjito I stopped to see what was left of OAK FLAME created on July 2nd.  As the grove is quite sheltered there still were pieces in tact.

ASHES TO ASHES...


DUST TO DUST.  Well not quite yet.



As the big mandala at the Ames Mansion needs to last 3 weeks (the duration of the art exhibit inside) I will need to wire some things down.  Wish me luck.

Adelante >>>>>


Monday, September 8, 2014

AN ENCHANTING CHALLENGE

In my last post I alluded to some exciting news and this is it.  A couple of months ago I submitted three of my photos of my earth art mandalas to a national juried art show.  Artists were invited from across the USA to submit their work.  In the final selection 51 artists from 14 states were chosen and I have the honor of being one of them.




My art indeed is different.  It is transient. The wind or waves take it away.  I capture the compositions with digital images.  My art is made in two mediums; 3D earth art and photography. On the left is the 8 x 10 photograph selected for the show.

If being chosen to display wasn't honor enough I was also asked to create an installation outside the mansion entrance.  The mansion is located within one of my favorite state parks here in Massachusetts.  It is a park that I frequent several times a week during spring and summer.


I have been busy foraging.  There is an opportunity here to go big and I am taking it.  I have designed a 7' mandala to be constructed using foraged materials from all around the park.  I have made a template so as to get a better grip on types of materials and quantities needed.  Friends have helped me forage and I am out with Sr. Benjito several times a week gathering things during our trail walks. He loves it and of course I do.  This truly is a project made of love.
There are some challenges on this one though.  I have been asked to create a piece that will stay in tact for the duration of the show (three weeks).  Mother Nature can you really hold off the rain and wind for three weeks?  It has been so dry here that as an artist I would make that request but as a nature lover I simply can't.  We need the rain. So yes, I have been challenged in this design.  No stones can be used near the mansion and nothing edible.  The deer, squirrels, raccoons and birds could do a lot of damage to a 7' nature mandala.  Things will need to be wired and weighted down and any template used will need drainage holes.  Construction will be done atop the cobblestone entrance and not on the forest floor.  And at the end of the show on October 4th all trace of the installation will be removed with the foraged items returned to the woods.


I am challenged but it is an enchanting challenge.  All will work out divinely.  Do I know what the piece will look like in the end?  Absolutely not.  I have a good plan but...  I will spread out my foraged paint box of colors and textures and let the nature muse use my hands and whisper directions in my ears - again.

Materials Photos:  Queen Anne's Lace, Goldenrod, Birch Bark

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

SMALL TREASURES

Life has been a bit busy while developing online courses this summer but I always get myself out into the woods several times a week to refresh and recharge.  (See one of my favorite comics below).  Yesterday I took my faithful four legged friend with me to Borderland State Park in Easton, MA for a lovely romp down the trails.   Along the way I spotted some moss that had been uprooted and remembered a great large flat boulder further along the trail.  I tethered my companion and foraged for finishing touches. He's quite used to my nature art stops and patiently waits for me to finish.


BORDERLAND STATE PARK, NORTH EASTON, MA - WEST END TRAIL

I had only three feathers.  A beetle, since passed volunteered his spirit to be included.  The mandala is little and beautiful, a small treasure of treasures.

Many acorns are on the ground.  I am keeping an eye out for hickory and beechnuts.  The red and black wild raspberries are a plenty.  ENJOY!

I will be writing about a bit of exciting news a little later in the month.  A large mandala installation is in the works.  Plan on visiting it if you are in the Easton area.  In fact maybe you want to help me forage. :)


For now I leave you with this picture.  I will translate it for you.



What are you doing?
I am using my tablet.
What model is it?
It is called the sky.
Does it have good applications?
Oh yes!  It has the sun, the moon, clouds and stars...
How long does the battery last?
 A long time.  I never have to recharge it.  It recharges me.





.

Monday, August 4, 2014

CROP CIRCLES AND STAYING DRY

When it isn't possible to create in the woods due to darkness, weather or location there is always pencil, pens, ruler and paper.  The Sunday after camping I chose to stay inside in a dry spot, listen to instrumental music and draw.  I thought I would share.  I do believe this mandala will become my new logo.   I used a black sharpie on watercolor paper.  It will be interesting to see it after applying water color pencil.  Stay tuned.....


8.5" x 8.5"  WATERCOLOR PAPER AND SHARPIE INK

And here is an asymmetrical mandala that I did during our pouring rain night while staying dry in the tent.  People say it looks like crop circles.  Maybe....


Sketch paper and sharpie ink.  I usually fill in with colored permanent marker but I am letting it sit for awhile to percolate.


So whether you can get to nature and use her paint box of colors and textures or not you can always create from your heart.  It is an amazing meditation.  If your mind begins to wander you know it and are brought back to the mandala and it's symmetry. Yes, symmetry even in the asymmetrical "crop circle" drawings.  It is all sacred geometry.




Draw some mandalas.  It is wonderfully relaxing.  I highly suggest you get some supplies and begin yesterday.





Sunday, August 3, 2014

TEMPORARY LANDSCAPING

Summer is moving forward quickly.  Linda and I had the opportunity to book an amazing campsite at Harold Parker State Park in Andover for two weeknights.  I made sure to choose a campsite that I had seen during a drive-thru tour of the Lorraine Camping area.  It was rather large, flat with few roots and located by the drop off to the water.  The first night was clear.  We had the rain-fly off so that we could sleep protected from the mosquitoes and still see the sky.  After midnight and all the way until dawn it was so quiet.  HEAVEN.  The following day was clear and left time to sit, read, walk, recline in the hammock, listen to the sounds of nature and of course make mandalas.


HAROLD PARKER STATE PARK (LORRAINE CAMPING), ANDOVER, MA
AFTER AN ENTIRE NIGHT OF HEAVY RAIN THE MUSHROOM BURST

The theme of the day was "Honoring the Wild Mushroom." of which there were plenty in the immediate area.  I chose a big red one and built around it.  Linda chose a teeny tiny orange clump and built smaller scale.  I truly wish we had more clear days there to do more but the clouds and rain moved in.  Thank goodness for the BIG tent.  It is like having a portable cabin.  We were safe and sound and dry all through the rainy night.  Before packing up and moving out I checked the condition of our temporary landscaping and the mushroom mandalas looked only gently disturbed.


LINDA'S TINY MUSHROOMS SURROUNDED BY ACORN TOPS, PINE CONES, MOSS AND LICHEN.  FANCIFUL AND FAIRY WORTHY.


THE FAMOUS BIG TENT FACING THE LAKE WITH TEMPORARY LANDSCAPE ART


Loraine Camping closes for the season after the first week of September.  Sniff.  I love that spot.  Next year I will reserve early and get a nice long weekend or maybe a whole week playing and sleeping in the woods.

Nature is out there and she is waiting for you.  Go visit.  Take your inner child, your kids and TAKE YOUR TIME.


Saluti
Patt


Don't know where to go in your area of Massachusetts?  Click HERE for listings from the DCR or Google search your state.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

CAMPING AND CREATING

Linda and I took two nights camping right by the beach at Winter Island, Salem MA.  We had a wonderful time but oh how I wish we had a film crew with us especially while we set up my new 10'x14' tent in the wind.  Though a bit of a struggle we were successful.  We had lots of rain the first night and the big tent was a blessing.  In the late afternoon before the rain began and as the tide was coming in we set off to the beach (a stone's throw from our campsite) to make a beach mandala.


LOCATION:  WAIKIKI BEACH - WINTER ISLAND - SALEM, MA

The thunder began rumbling and I feared that we would not have enough time to complete the mandala but circumstances gave us two little helpers, Savanah and Matthew whose family was taking some end of the day beach time.  Not only did gathering colored rocks and shells keep the kids happily busy and focused it really helped us.  As soon as the last few red stones were laid in place the rain began.  Everyone scattered as I stood and enjoyed a celebratory lightening show.  Then I too took cover.  Not more than an hour later the mandala had been washed to sea leaving behind a great memory and energy.  Thanks kids!


 

Children respond beautifully to the energy of making things.  Get them out there and play with them.  They'll show you what to do.


ENJOY THE SUMMER.
PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS AND CREATE AND SHARE.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

RING OF OAK FIRE

Saturday held 83F weather, sunny skies and a for me a four hour hike (art time included).  Yes, summer is here and the foraging is getting better and better.  Many more elements for nature mandalas are along the paths.


LOCATION:  GRANITE HILLS LOWER LOOP - BORDERLAND STATE PARK - EASTON, MA


This is a piece I did at Borderland State Park in Easton, MA off of Granite Hills Trail Lower Loop.  I cleared an area in an oak grove and let my little fluffy companion relax.  I sat on the ground, emptied my foraged materials bag out on the forest floor and let Spirit guide my hands.  This mandala took a little while to show itself.  I wasn't too sure about it but then as I was cleaning up I saw an oak branch that I had collected earlier.  There beckoning was the finishing touch - a ring of oak fire.  The energy was complete.

Would you like to attend a *MANDALA*EARTH*ART* workshop?  Come and play this summer.  Email me at gilmore444 @ gmail.com.

ENJOY!  Patt