Mandala Creations
As a part of the Lakbai Diwa, Diasporic Spirit we present this digital gallery featuring intentional mandala creations, as visual expressions of healing, gratitude, peace, and well-being. Arranging objects with symbolic meanings into a mandala can help reduce anxieties and stresses of the day.
We invite you to create your own mandala. Email photographs to program@kularts-sf.org.
Kristoffer Ardeña, Mark Bayato and other guys at Studio Papag
Bacolod, Philippines
Tagay Mandala
As you know the word "tagay" translates to drinking session and we usually do this the studio during the weekends and our favorite drink is of course is San Miguel Light. Also, we usually drink at night on the bamboo papag space in the studio. A "papag" is a space/platform, aside from being commonly associated as a bed, is not only where people sleep, but in rural areas it's also where people might cook, eat, invite guests, have discussions and other community-oriented as well as private and intimate situations. This is also why I call my studio, Studio Papag.
Aze Ong
Quezon City, Philippines
Because of my mobile public art project “Queen,” I worry about the presence of public space during this time of pandemic. Art is shifting to virtual space. Some Filipinos who lost their jobs survived by selling online. As tribute and as a form of performance, I started selling woven face masks made by my Cordilleran weaving teacher. An aspect of it was my delivery on foot to clients who are less than an hour's walk from me. Exercise is always healthy and it took my mind off the climate of fear and anxiety. It was also an avenue to renew friendships, have meaningful conversations and a realization of the sincere Bayanihan spirit. I was reminded of the symbol of continuous unity among Filipinos when I was stitching the masks together to form a mandala. It gives hope in these challenging times.
Ged Merino
Bogota, Columbia
I was in between projects coming back from Manila last February. I flew into New York enroute to Bogota to have some work done and fly back to New York and continue working. The thought of being stranded temporarily was unnerving at the start of the lockdown But eventually while walking my basset i started noticing the lushness of the city. The parks the trails and the foliage inspired me and help center me. It has also become the inspiration for my new works
So i used a discarded tree trunk i found while hiking as the center for my Mandala. I picked up some large dried leaves Which i was told later in by one of the locals, are from the “Yarumo” tree. The leaves are used by the indians in the Amazons to make “RAPÉ” used for meditation and cleanses the body of negative energyy. Increase good energy and positive thoughts.
I enjoyed the making the mandala as it was like most of my process based works “meditative”
Mimi Tescon
Manila, Philippines
Agawid ti Balay (Coming Home)
Toys and found objects
26 cm x 28 cm diameter
I used objects that represent a house, a structure we were locked in for several months due to the pandemic. And one of the realizations I had during the lockdown in Manila is how important the activities we do in our home are. The simple act of eating together with your family in the dining table has never meant so much. You learn to adjust and find your own space to work, a quiet area to keep yourself together, but you also become mindful that you still share that space.
Putting these objects together has made me a child again playing bahay-bahayan which I loved then. As I set the plates, spoons and forks on the tiny table, I am hopeful that soon we will all be able to dine with extended family and friends again like we used to.
Riza Manalo
Melbourne, Australia
Into the heartwood
Withered tree branch from the garden
2020
Sequence 1
A meditative artistic reflection on nature’s design inspired by the intricate wood etched patterns created by the bark beetles.
Sequence 2
Sequence 3
Sequence 4
Joseph Gabriel
London, United Kingdom
Reconcile
rice grains
40cm diameter
2020
I couldn’t think of a more appropriate medium for my mandala than rice grains. Aside from it being almost always present in my kitchen, I am drawn to its subtle sound when they are dropping collectively and also to its tactile sensation. I find a connection between rice grains, rainy season and being back home in the Philippines. Being in London where I am based now, I associate the rain with something more disruptive than calming.
I created my rice grain mandala as a way to connect to a particular memory of one rainy season back home while being conscious of the meditative aspect of making a tangible work. The initial process I used for my work was to deliberately create patterns and linear elements inside the main circle while trying to arrange the grains outlining the work. As I go through the process, there was a constant making and remaking, trying to balance control and chance. The ephemeral arrangement of the grains and its sensitivity to movement gave me a chance to work intuitively by allowing the loose composition to reveal itself in the end.
Kulay Labitigan
London, United Kingdom
Gerberaparakaylola
Multicoloured Plasticine
2020
I made this piece inside our car during a long drive back to London from the countryside, after the last long weekend of the year in the UK. Back in the Philippines when I was small, long weekends mean staying at home, meeting some friends whilst eating kikiam, and oftentimes visiting my grandma’s grave bringing her some white candles and orange gerbera. This piece reminds me of those flowers I used to bring her. When I was making this clay work, I did not have any initial plan or idea in mind. I was seated in the shotgun, squeezing the clay with my fingers and palm, picking random colour that catches my mood that moment, sculpting it in the simplest manner as we were moving, and just went with the flow. Really pleased with how this poetic coincidence transpired, I was reminded of the meditative quality of playing with plasticine, its experience of tactile play, the freedom to trial and error, and the distinct smell of childhood that it creates. So I guess that’s the beauty of creating- it has the power to bring you back home, especially during long weekends on a nippy English summer day.
Con Cabrera
Quezon City, Philippines
Mandala I made with my 7 year old son. We used some of his toys. When we started it, he was actually excited building the Lego structure. But because I only have limited time to play with him as I have to do chores and other work, we weren’t able to build it as he imagined.
Having toys such as soldiers and toy guns, I am always bothered that we have and buy or receive these gifts for our son. I’ve read about this concern as something common in parenting and it is something inevitable as we are surrounded by violence and my son sees this when we watch the news. I always just take it as an opportunity to teach him compassion and responsibility. They say it is evolutionary for children to want to play with these types of toys and to put our son in a bubble or shield him from the surroundings is not what we want. He is lucky to have interactions with other kids and we can see how empathetic and caring he has become.
To be stuck at home in the pandemic since March, I am just also thankful that we get to spend time with our son and get to know him as a developing individual.
Ricky Francisco
Quezon City, Philippines
I made this mandala from rice because it is a most basic food which connects me to millions of others who eat it; to people who transport & sell it, to farmers who plant it on watery mud; to the earth, water, air, and sun which nourishes it. Such a simple and humble grain, and yet so essential.
Marika Constantino
Roxas City, Philippines
I went through my stuff for several days looking for materials that would speak to me. As a perennial hoarder, I heard a lot of “voices.” I ended up simultaneously working on two mandalas. Both are colorful and labor intensive; unconsciously, these may have been responses and confrontations to these seemingly dark times.
Patunda (Warning)
210.5 CM Diameter
Sticker Paper
2020
Neon colors are commonly used in cautionary signages. On the other hand, it is also linked to merriment, superficiality, and overindulgence. The contradiction of these symbolisms serves as guideposts for the current standstill. Despite the hardships that must be endured, this pause affords us a moment to reflect. This is a good time to cut away the inconsequential aspects of our lives. Such contemplations provide a process to be: aware of frivolities, mindful of our surroundings, kinder to ourselves, attentive to others’ needs, aware of wrongdoings and cognizant of injustices. Then we must act.
Borda (Embroidery)
224.5 CM Diameter
Embroidery threads on Scrap Cloth
2020
Frayed as we may be, there are still a lot of things to be thankful for. We must embellish ourselves with the positive attributes of our lives. The challenge is to stay true yet adapt, stand firm yet resilient, and more importantly, be empty yet full. Hopefully, in the end we will emerge from this paradox transformed for the better.
Somerah Cruz-Louie
Somerah illustrated a mandala. When I asked what inspired her to make one, she just simply said, “I don’t know, Mama. I just felt like making one and the design just popped up in my head.” I don’t think she knows it’s spiritual meaning, and it doesn’t matter. Unity, harmony and healing called to her. She doesn’t always share every piece of art with me, but she was proud enough to share this piece and it gave me a sense of calm in the chaos.
–Herna Cruz-Louie
Herna Cruz-Louie
Marcella Pabros-Clark
Love & Compassion
Alleluia Panis
Elements of my Mandala:
Chili peppers for healing capsicum
Lemon for healing vitamin c
Salt for preservation
Peonies for honor & prosperity
Ginger for healing inflammations and healthy lungs
Green mandala a divine expression of vitality, sustainability, and in the knowing our ‘being’ is enough.
Made from plants gathered from my wild backyard thriving in their green beauty freely unencumbered. Succulent leaves, tree moss, bamboo, wild tiny daisies.
Mark Ng aka Paloma
I find it extremely calming to organize seeming chaotic patterns and symbols into beauty and order.
Ulan: rain
Fiesta ng mga paról
Full bloom
Pride vibrations
North star
Sama Sama Cooperative
SF Pod Mandalas at Hummingbird Farm
Courtesy of Helen-Serafino-Agar
Myles Williams, 10
No one is perfect and we should like
ourselves for how wer are and not judge
others on how they look. In Sama Sama
we learn about ‘Kapwa’, and that means
’I am You and You are Me’.
Soluna, 12
So many things are happening in the
world right now and we must learn to
accept change as it comes. We must also
remember that this won’t last forever.
Kadean Alon Serafino-Agar, 9 Kalia Liwanag Serafino-Agar, 6
My mandala is beautiful because there are different kinds of flowers. I like doing this kind of art.
Lucas Rockefeller, 10
Noelle Rockefeller, 7
When we went to Hummingbird Farm, it was fun because when we made the mandalas it made me feel masaya or happy. I liked how pretty they were and I had fun collecting the materials.
Sama Sama Cooperative East Bay
Kaya Grace Hutchinson, 8
Oakland, CA
Nora Abesamis–Bell, 8
Anais Mendoza Juachon, 11
Berkeley, CA
Kawayan Perlarose Bolick Ong
Oakland, CA