Water Mandala

I'd like to share something with you that is a wonderful tool for your creativity tool box! You may already know that I'm a nature-inspired/nature-lovin' creativity coach (shameless self-promoting links here http://www.thenaturecoach.net/, and here http://www.thenaturecoach.blogspot.com/).

I love connecting my art with nature and vice-versa, and I especially love to encourage others to do so as well. At my "Your Nature" blog in the link above, I ask visitors to create a water mandala: ...pour water (recycled pasta or plant water even better!) into a wide, shallow bowl or extra large plant saucer. Collect older flowers from your garden, along with a variety of leaves. Gently float petals and leaves in a pattern or arrangment that emerges from your inner nature. After a day or two, remove the petals and leaves and pour your mandala water over some plants.

As an example of how easy and calming this exercise can be, I created one today from an seriously shriveling bouquet of beautfiul roses that my honey surprised me with three weeks ago--like I said, they were seriously shriveling by now!

Here is the series of moods my mandala took on as I worked off some very nervous energy from a phone call I had made just prior--and yes, by the end of the mandala petal play, I felt like a new, calm and warmly creative person :) I loved feeling the silky texture of the petals and allowing spontaneous designs to emerge.

Do give it a try!