- “Mandala 1″, Oil pastel on cardboard, 9 x 12”, Erika Connor 2011
- “Mandala 2″, Oil pastel on cardboard, 9 x 12”, Erika Connor 2011
- “Mandala 3″, Oil pastel on cardboard, 9 x 12”, Erika Connor 2011
- “Mandala 4″, Oil pastel on cardboard, 9 x 12”, Erika Connor 2011
- “Mandala 5″, Oil pastel on cardboard, 9 x 12”, Erika Connor 2011
- “Mandala 6″, Oil pastel on cardboard, 9 x 12”, Erika Connor 2011
- “Mandala 7″, Oil pastel on cardboard, 9 x 12”, Erika Connor 2011
- “Mandala 8″, Oil pastel on cardboard, 9 x 12”, Erika Connor 2011
- “Mandala 9″, Oil pastel on cardboard, 9 x 12”, Erika Connor 2011
- “Mandala 10″, Oil pastel on cardboard, 9 x 12”, Erika Connor 2011
- “Mandala 13″, Oil pastel on cardboard, 9 x 12”, Erika Connor 2011
- “Mandala 12″, Oi pastel on cardboard, 9 x 12”, Erika Connor 2011
- “Mandala 13″, Oil pastel on cardboard, 9 x 12”, Erika Connor 2011
“Mandalas”
I began this series in the winter of 2011. The 13 oil pastel mandalas represent a year’s lunar cycle, created through each season. I was inspired by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, and his idea of self-healing in Nature. In his studies of Eastern religion, he sought to understand the natural patterns that arose from the psyche in relation to the cosmic order. I approached each one in an intuitive state, without expectations, allowing it to unfold.
The series was exhibited in Quebec in 2012, and included woven baskets, containers and cordage that I made during this time, a harkening back to ancient art forms made from living natural materials. The patterns that people saw in nature had a direct correlation to what was going on inside them. Containers or catchments, both physical and ephemeral, are a weaving of inner processes.