For the past two years, I've been taking pictures of flowers and manipulating the images to form mandalas. I'd like to begin to assemble these images into a book, and I'd like your help. Suggestions for a word that these mandala images evoke, a complementary quote, or some history or other information about the flower itself are most welcome. When I began this project, I knew virtually nothing about flowers. Though I've been getting an education from folks here in terms of flower identification, I'm still pretty ignorant. What I have in mind is a book, probably of 52 images, with one page containing a flower mandala and the opposite page a quotation that complements the image. What I imagine is a collection of quotations, some of which relate to the flowers and their importance in literature, culture, art, and so on, while other quotations are simply thoughts or feelings the images evoke. I'm figuring that people who enjoy and understand flowers as well as the folks at this site would be of great help with either sort of quote. Anyway, that's my thought. For each flower, I'll post both the original image and one or more images derived from it. I welcome any and all responses (including corrections to the type of flower, if I've got it wrong). I will include, in the book's forward, how I came to the quotes I eventually end up using. Thanks in advance -- - David David J. Bookbinder (transformations@sprynet.com)
Hi David, I love these. The term Spiraflora pops into my head, altho after some thought I might change my mind. M. Jones
Do you know Karl Blossfeldt's work? Your images remind me of his images of plants as architectural inspiration. The following site: http://www.soulcatcherstudio.com/exhibitions/blossfeldt/ has some of the images from the 1928 first edition portfolio of Urformen der Kunst (Art Forms in Nature). Your images printed in large format would make a stunning exhibition. diana
Thanks for the reference to Karl Blossfeldt's work. I have run across it before, though I can't recall in what context, and find it quite interesting. It may be that I'll try to find a way to contextualize this project within the field of other botanical art, so thanks for the link. More anon, David
http://flowermandalas.blogspot.com/ Hi, all. Just wanted to let you know that I am posting this work to a blog, in hopes of getting some feedback from people who seem to be confused by the forum, or who need more immediate visual feedback. Thanks, again, to everyone who has been helping out, here. - David
In These Days Of Fast Paced Everything-your Work Seems To Bring A Much Needed Calm In The Every Day Storm. The Flower Is A Most Beautiful Gift From Mother Nature But You Have Improved Upon The Perfection That Only Mother Earth Could Provide. Thank You, Beth Allison
Thank you. It's a little awe-inspiring to think that one could improve on the perfection of nature, but I'm appreciative just the same.
Poem for Mandala Project To Beach Rose (September) Impossible? or just not yet discovered, not yet named. More flower than the flower ever imagined for itself. Petal piled on petal, star burst of pink, yellow, burgundy, lavender and pure light. Petal merging with petal, spinning into this burst of raw energy. Nature gone too far? Or floral kaliediscope in a mind garden of play and possibilities. A feast for the eye - an impossible flower that will never blow away or wilt or die, but is forced by its digital co-creator into that ever pleasant symmetry of circle and star. When we imagine, anything is possible. Jeanne Reilly
Each and every day I am thrilled to see the depth of human insight to the beauty of nature . Please keep up the fascinating works for Mother Nature!!!!
Just wanted to say that you have some very lovley work going on here, I wish you the best of luck with the book :o)
Your welcome, I love to see anything that has to do with photography and Photoshop work since that is my new hobby, if you like to see some photos I have taken you can check http://mikes-space73.spaces.msn.com It's my MSN space I use it to record my progress in photography so far, started in march 2006 :o)
Wow, what a lovely lovely idea! Your market could cover a lot of areas from spiritual to art to curiousity! PS Will certainly check out the blog as well! I'm a textile artist who uses a lot of botanical images or abstractions of botanical images and i'm always interested in seeing other's work/art.
May I know what is the meaning of Mandalas? In Sanskrit language of India 'mandal' means circle or circular arrangement. So is it a plural of Sanskrit 'Mandal'?
English has adopted the word from Sanskrit, but may have broadened the meaning. I think of them as circular designs with repeated radial sections used for meditation or contemplation. I guess that fits the way David uses the term. This is how Merriam-Webster defines mandala: http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/mandala
Your designs are riveting. I have a question about the number 6 as part of the integral design: The hibiscus flower has 5 petals, and some other flowers have more petals, or less. Would it be wrong to create a healing vibration with a different number of petals - the ones that already exist? You probably have a perfectly logical answer, but I am drawn by the flowers' individuality of color, shape, and number of petals. Your healing flower images are sublime. Thank you for your lovely work. Kind regards, Barbara
I've experimented with different numbers of "petals" for the flower mandalas and arrived at 6 largely unconsciously. Only later did I realize that it created the Star of David at its center. In addition to being my own name (and meaning "beloved" in Hebrew), the Star of David symbol shows up in many cultures and symbolizes the union of opposites, which seemed to fit in with the spiritual meaning of these images, at least for me.
Do you have photos available of the other numbers of petals? And, do you think it would create a different type of healing vibration? You've captured the gorgeous color saturation and I enjoy your complementary nuances. Thank you, Barbara Thank you, Barbara
The images I've made which use odd numbers of petals have a sense of motion that the ones that use 6 or 12 do not; they tend toward a sense of stillness, which is probably part of why I gravitate toward them. Your question interests me, and I'll experiment with some odd-numbered or flower-numbered petals and see where they go. Thanks! I'll post them here and on myt blog, blog.beliefnet.com/flowermandalas, when I get them done (which may not be for a while; at present I'm mostly occupied with transitioning to private practice in psychotherapy from working at a mental health agency). - David
Hi, I think its a really lovely idea. My internet is slow, but I will post you some flower images you can use. y the way, check Ernst Haeckel's work from the early 1940s. He didi some phenomenal work using diatoms. I think the book is called KUnstformnen de Natur. Its available at select bookshops in Europe. Meena