Heather invited me to paint a mandala on her pregnant belly. She’s a mandala artist and I’m not, so it was a little bit stressful. I hoped I’d do OK. It turned out to be very fun and pretty thanks to the gorgeous array of body paints that Tracey gave me for my birthday. The baby was very kicky while I was trying to draw smooth lines, so I think he enjoyed it, too.
Heather and “Tobi” and the mandala I painted on them.
I sat a cereal bowl over Heather’s bump and outlined it with black to create the circle, then did everything else freehand. It is very rustic.
There is all sorts of symbolism here, some of which I intended and other things that happened as I went along. Some I didn’t notice until I was finished and looking at the photos. Together we decided on 12 divisions like a clock. Pregnancy is definitely about time and in a few weeks, a new person’s timeline will begin. There are a dozen purple petals surrounding the belly button and twelve stupa pointing inward from the main circle. I made the center piece with seven radials for protection and the shape turned out to look like a starfish, which symbolises safe journeys and divine love. There are 45 golden coins as an offering of wealth and abundance. There are nine gold dots for strength and harmony and nine blue dots for meditation and calm. The paisley bits on the outside symbolise lifecycles from planting to harvest. I arranged them in a vaguely symmetrical form of an eye for foresight and vision.
Us all being silly later on in the day.
