Spring Arrival Mandala

The story behind this Mandala:

This year waiting for Spring was like waiting for a sneeze that never fully blew through.

It was a long, COLD winter.

I had been waiting WEEKS (months even) for signs of spring to arrive. Mother Nature teased us several times with glorious sun-filled, jacket-free, warm days. Then we’d be back to bitter cold and some snow now and again.

A few weeks ago there were barely any green leaves from bulbs pushing up through the ground – and those were from the daffodils. There were not any signs of the flower that signifies that spring is really here – the Crocus.

The Crocus evokes a feeling of hope that – yes – spring is here, the dark winter is over.

We’re moving towards brighter, longer, warmer days.

These purple flowers evoke memories of spring as a child. I was always so happy to see them popping up…and I still am.

A sign of life rising from the recently frozen and seemingly barren ground.

I have a few planted in my flower bed and for weeks I’ve been stalking it, waiting for them to emerge. I was even moving leaves out of the bed hoping to see little tips of green poking through the soil.

My Mother recalls her parents planting purple crocus bulbs randomly throughout their lawn. This lead to a colorful surprise in spring before the grass even returned to life.

Note to self: get a whole bunch of crocus bulbs when they go on sale this year to plant throughout the lawn 🙂

In creating the Mandala, my aim is to FEEL the same way I did when viewing this flower live and in person.

When I saw it I felt happy, a feeling of pure joy, a beautiful energy.

Tweet about this Mandala…

The arrival of Spring celebrated in a Mandala – check it out! #mandala #spring

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Buy prints and gifts of this Mandala HERE.

A little about Mandalas…

I am still learning about Mandalas. I know that they have been created in many different cultures. People often use them as a focus during meditation.

Here is what I do know – I LOVE creating them.

For me, they are a way to share the energy of nature with others.

The Process:

1.) Took picture during early spring (April 7th actually).

JPG straight out of the camera.

2.) I make minor tweaks to the image in Lightroom.

Purple Crocus in Lightroom by Beth Sawickie

3.) I use Photoshop and variouis plug-ins to bring out the energy of the flower.

My goal here is to FEEL the same way I did when viewing this flower live and in person.

When I saw it I felt happy, a feeling of pure joy, a beautiful energy. A feeling of hope that – yes – spring is here, the dark winter is over. We’re moving towards brighter, longer, warmer days.

Purple Crocus Photoshop Tweaks by Beth Sawickie

4.) Creating the mandala.

Here it is almost complete – just a few more tweaks…

Spring Arrival Mandala in Progress by Beth Sawickie

I never know what these are going to look like when I start.

For this one I created 10 different variations.

I create several that are pleasing to me, then choose my favorite one later on to edit further.
I take the mandala and tweak it more in Photoshop using various plug-ins to get the final mandala.

My goal was to bring out the exuberant, joyful burst of energy I felt when viewing the crocus in person.
For me, viewing this mandala does indeed give me the feeling I want to share.

How does it make YOU feel? Let me know in the comments below!

One of the greatest compliments I can receive is people enjoying my art so much that they want to share it with others