On 01.02.02, I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Too late for surgery, I had chemotherapy, which failed. In May the chemotherapy was changed and I was soon in remission which was celebrated and welcome and lasted nine years - until October 2011. There was progression in 2011 so more treatment was indicated and I am now back in partial remission. But I'm not only a cancer patient - I also enjoy my family, walk my dogs and am learning to draw and paint. Life is good!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Within the circle

It's my understanding that the psychotherapist and writer, Carl Jung, constructed one mandala each morning for a two-year period of his life. I'm not there yet, I'm just learning how to construct mandalas, period.

The circle is a symbol of completeness and wholeness. Last year, in the girls' therapy group at Juvenile Hall, for eight weeks I brought in every kind of circle art project I could think of so the girls would have a series of whole and complete symbols in their art journals. Each time I reminded them that this was a project they could do on their own on the "outs" to calm and comfort themselves instead of using drugs or getting themselves in some sort of trouble.

I have no idea whether this made any kind of impact whatsoever, but it calms ME, so I work within the circle often.

4 comments:

  1. Well I sure hope it helped them. Just that someone wants to really help them should give a few of them something to think about. It's a very nice mandala. I've only made one. I keep signing up for classes which has got to stop so I can do some of these relaxing things.

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  2. I like this one a lot. I love the delicacy of the tendrils and that it's done on dark paper. nancy

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  3. Oh, I am sure it made some kind of impact on them! I want to think that, at least. Do you have any contact with any of them still? Sounds like a very interesting project.

    I've never made any mandalas, but they look pretty. I really like the delicate leafs in this one.

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  4. Very pretty. I like the colors and composition.

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