EPIPHANY

The term mandala, comes from the ancient Sanskrit word meaning “healing circle, community, entire universe,--a circular pattern emanating from a single central point.”

Imagine we are each our own center and every action and interaction we have creates ripples around us that become the mandala of our collective existence. When we look inward at who we are, at our deepest self with compassion we gain insight that both heals and transforms us. When we come together to create an intentional act of beauty we form a deep connection to each other and the equilibrium that unites all that is.

My mandala practice began shortly after the unexpected loss of my mother. Living in a barn in rural Kansas, I found myself going on long walks, collecting nature items, and purposefully arranging the items in concentric circles at an attempt to restore order from the chaos of my life. At the time, I'd never heard the word "mandala," and I had very little meditation experience. This intuitve new practice was simply a way for me to center and self-soothe--it was something I had to do. 

I researched this curious new habit I’d formed to find that many cultures throughout time and across the globe have used mandalas to heal, connect, and bring about self-discovery and enlightenment--it all made perfect sense to me. I wanted to take this seemingly magic healing process that helped me so much and bring it into the art studio where I worked with people living with mental illness. I used the process to teach mindfulness, meditation, how to create collaboratively, and most importantly how each of them has the power to change the outcome of the shared experience. Their response was profound--bringing the mandala practice to the studio elevated how I worked with my clients and in turn, how they viewed themselves and their ability to create change in their lives and in the community around them. 

Shortly after, I began having dreams of people intertwined in moving concentric circles and visions of mandalas so large they took up entire hillsides. I asked my friend, Dr. Matt Turner, if I could bring mandalas to his Full Moon Meditations. He agreed, and after a few months it become an integral part of these events.

Mandalas ARE magic. But not magic in a superficial fairy tale kind of way. Magic like our hearts are magic. Magic like moments of synchronicty and meaningful human connection. Magic like waterfalls and deserts and cold wet puppy noses. Magic like the limitless amount of love we create within ourselves that exponentially multiplies as it touches everything around us.

When you drop a rock into a pond it creates a mandala of change, each ripple reaching farther than the last. We are that rock and everything we do and say and think ripples out to co-create our shared existence.  

Every person, like every flower, every leaf, every stone, every cell has a purpose; we must learn to work together and live as one so we can collectively and consciously evolve.

“Every human being is an artist, a freedom being, called to participate in transforming and reshaping the conditions, thinking and structures that shape and inform our lives.” ~Joseph Beuys

Social practice is an art medium that focuses on engagement through human interaction and social discourse. It holds the belief that art can be a catalyst for community engagement and greater change. It produces work that reflects the community where it is housed and is informed by the people who live there. It promotes activism and safety, builds community, tells a collective story, and creates social cohesion. 

My work as a social practice artist brings people from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds together through the act of creating art. It’s easy to discriminate people who are different from us when we live in social circles full of likeminded individuals. When we get to know people who are “different” from us, we learn that we are actually more alike than we are different. When we put aside our differences to intentionally create something of beauty and value we can imagine the reality we can create if we were to take the same approach beyond the art making process. If we want greater social change, we have to realize that the same people we perceive as the “the problem,” are in actuality a vital part of the solution.

The human body has an average of 37.2 trillion cells, all of them working together to keep us alive. When one part of the body hurts, the body hurts. Our communities are no different. When one part of our community suffers, we all suffer. We must learn to work across many sectors to bridge the gap of inequity: combining art, with healthcare and education, with neighborhood building, with government, with non-profit and grassroots efforts. My work uses art to make connections from disconnect and serves as a modality that enables us to work alongside each other in new and innovative ways. We can only be as healthy as the community around us, and it’ll take new levels of cooperation to elevate us all.

In a society where so much of our consciousness is spent in worry and fear, let us join our hearts and hands as we heal and connect to the nurturing energy of the moon.

The mandala’s center is set in the middle of a group hug and ripples outward as we create rings of love and healing that emanate out into the community around us. The mandala is created collectively and collaboratively, fed on the energy of the people present. Each mandala is as unique as it’s co-creators. Every person, like every flower, is needed and valuable and absolutely necessary.

Full moon meditations are held monthly and are held in Kansas City at Loose Park in the spring, summer, and fall months and at Unity Temple on the Plaza in the winter.

These events are free and welcome to everyone, as we trust that you know if your child or pet is able to participate.

Bring blankets, cushions, yoga mats and whatever you need to be comfortable. Feel free to bring musical instruments and anything else you feel inspired to have with you as a part of this experience. We also recommend bringing water to keep yourself hydrated.

As the Resident Artist for Wyandot community mental health center, I work alongside my fellow staff and our clients to create agency spaces where everyone feels valued, welcome, and safe. Trauma informed environments reflect the people who use them, are culturally sensitive, and provide a safe place where clients have a good sense of what to expect. Many of the people we serve are going through challenging times and may be unsure or untrusting of the mental healthcare system. It’s my goal that when they walk through our doors, they know that we care, that we see them, and that we want to help. This is done by hanging client artwork on our walls, making sure messaging is clear and inviting, having staff and clients vote and choose our wall colors, and getting as much input as possible along the way.

In our PACES building there are over 100 pieces made by our young client artists and hung at their eye level. I asked the kids to make art that shows what they would want to see if they needed some encouragement or were having a bad day. We included “hello” signs in the top 10 languages spoken in Wyandotte county and a welcome sign that includes, “all families, all abilities, all cultures, all beliefs, all races, all identities, all kinds.” A middle school group chose to make a Black Excellence Mandala showing both the struggles and triumphs of the Black community as seen through their eyes with drawings of Obama and the KC Monarchs, as well as Skittles and Tea, a symbol of the tragic murder of Trayvon Martin. It leaves the viewer with a quote from Black Panther's Wakanda: "Show them who you are."

Several of these projects include adding inspirational murals to the Frank Williams Housing Resource Center and Respite House as well as putting art in the lobbies and halls of our various buildings. This work is ongoing and ever changing as we strive to become a more trauma informed agency. These environments are directly reflective of the people who use the spaces and are designed with their input at the forefront of decision-making.

Hanging a client painting in a public space can seem like a small gesture, but to someone who has spent much of their life being told they are defined by their diagnosis, it can make a world of difference. 

Click here to view Kansas City Star coverage of one of these projects.

While Social Practice art and community work is my primary focus, I do remain active in my personal studio practice. I use a wide variety of mediums and processes including textiles, collage, painting, sculpture, and mural work. I take commissions as requested for artwork and mural/logo paintings. Don't hesitate to contact me with inquiries. 

“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” ~Paulo Coelho

As a Secular Humanist officiant, it is my mission to help you create non-religiously affiliated meaningful and personalized weddings, memorials, and milestone services. Mandala ceremonies are the perfect way to bring friends and families together.  A dried flower art piece can be made from the flowers used in your ceremonial mandala as a way to remember and honor your experience.

WEDDINGS

I love LOVE, like really, and I'd love to be part of your big day. I want to create a service that reflects who you are and the exciting new future you're about to embark on. The wedding market is flooded with traditional couples wanting traditional services...I am not that. My services are welcome to ALL couples and families (LGBTQ+) and are designed to create spiritual experiences through human connection and universal love.

Mandala wedding ceremonies use flowers and nature items to create a symbol of your union. Family and friends help create the mandala, just as they played an integral part in helping you become who you needed to be to find one another. The mandala symbolizes your union at the center surrounded by circles of loving support. 

MEMORIALS

My mandala practice began as a part of my grief process, so memorials hold a very special place in my heart. As someone who has had intimate experiences with death and healing, I know how important it is to create a memorial that is centered on gratitude and reflective of the live they lived.

Memorial mandalas can be made as part of a ceremony or independently left at a grave to acknowledge a holiday or relevant anniversary. 

MILESTONES

Mandala ceremonies are the perfect way to honor any milestone because a mandala inherently speaks of cycles, growth, and coming together. These ceremonies particularly lend themselves well to adoptions, retirements, anniversaries, and secular alternatives to traditional coming of age events (Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, Confirmations, Quincineras, etc.)