Mandala Makin'

I realized it has been awhile since I stopped and made some mandalas.  Actually, I think it is because my mind is buzzing with all the 'stuff' I 'have' to do  want to do and I needed just to stop for a moment and settle down.  I picked three pictures I wanted to use for three mandalas (there is something about the number 3 in several religions and when you are knitting/crocheting prayer shawls you are suppose to do in multiples of 3) and poured a cup of coffee (or 3) and set to breathing deep and 'playing'.

The first mandala was made with a picture of red leaves I took this past weekend in downtown Helena. Actually, driving to work yesterday after a freeze the night before, all the trees are vomiting (because that's what it looks like) their leaves onto the ground/street.  So there won't be many leaves left on trees much longer.  

I focused on the center leaf for the mandala, just like I did in the picture and this is what emerged.

What I didn't realize until I was done was how the shadows in the leaf created a light/dark leaf when flipped and aligned.  I also liked the keyhole effect in the opening between the edges of the leaf where you can see through to the background.

The next picture I selected was a picture of a house finch.  However, this is an unusual color variation for this part of the country I am told.  Instead of a more red/purple coloring, this is a yellow/orange coloring.  I am suppose to be making a copy of the picture to take to the local bird seed store in downtown Helena to have them post on their board.  

The original shows the bird feeding at the nyger seed bag.  Luckily, he seems to be coming back on a regular basis.

And this is the result of my 'mandala-ing'....

I didn't impress myself too much on this one.   I do like how the center forms a square though.  And it is growing on me the more I look at it.

The third one I did, I think I like the best of the ones I did today.  The original is a picture of a fall flower, bright pink and hanging in there despite the freezing temps some nights.

I was going to just focus on the flower alone, but then I changed the angle a bit and saw the bud beside it and went with that instead.

I love how the center turned out and the buds forming a "V" on the edge.  I just really like this one.  I also used a little bit different of a 'glow' pattern on the inside edge than on the other ones.

One thing I did do with all the pictures on this posting was to start putting my name and year on them.  I realize that I post my pictures without any kind of identification and I really want to start putting my name on what I create and show to the world.  Maybe I can fool myself into believing I am a little more professional?