work in progress

I'm heading off to Portland Maine for a weekend-long art workshop.  Unlikely but true:  I have never been to Portland, and am really looking forward to it.  Even if I spend the entire weekend in the hotel, drawing.  Rumor has it that the Portland Art Museum is free on Friday nights and very near the hotel--if that's correct, I cannot wait to go and explore!

To warm up, I started sketching another mandala this afternoon after an incredibly hectic day.  I have no idea where this is going to go.  Every thing I have done on it has been spur of the moment, and I am really enjoying the process.  I can see the unevenness at the bottom and will make some adjustments.

On reflection, just about every single thing I have done today has been totally new to me.  Meditation, as always, was new.  Meeting with an accountant was new.  Addressing logistical, legal, and financial issues for opening a new business was new.  And trying my hand at this mandala was new.

For some reason, this reminds me of the weekend I spent studying drawing-as-meditation (really a lesson in learning how to see, and a revelation) with Frederick Franck 35+ years ago.  It might have been the very first art workshop I ever took, and I remember being terrified.  Probably by then I had read his book, The Zen of Seeing/Drawing as Meditation, and loved it; it's still one of my favorite art books.  He offered a workshop at a conference center nearby, and once I'd signed up, I realized how truly frightened I was.  All I knew at the time was that I wanted to draw and I wanted to do it as a meditation...but after registering I went into a total panic. 

When I met him, he was so lovely and kind.  I remember he started the workshop by taking a moment to look into the face of each participant.  He had such kind eyes.  I do not remember much about my drawing, but I do remember him, and what he taught me about seeing.  Everything about that weekend was new to me, and I loved it all.

Alas, I did not continue drawing after that workshop, and years went by.  My interest in drawing-as-meditation has never diminished, and now I hope to enter into it on a regular basis.

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And here is the lotus mandala in stage two.  More to come.  Right now, it's the end of a very long and productive day.

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