Have you ever had an "a-ha" moment when you realized, "Yes, this is why I do what I do!"? I recently had that feeling in my journey as an artist, and I want to share it with you. Read on to learn my newly discovered purpose as an artist and how you are essential to it.
Reading time: 8 minutes
The Story
I never imagined that I would do art as anything more than a hobby. I've always liked to draw. I was a shy child and I struggled socially, especially as a very young kiddo, but with paper and colors I always found comfort. I continued drawing for fun even after I found my footing as a social human. Sometimes I drew fashion, sometimes Buddhas, sometimes nature... whatever was on my mind, at whatever stage of my journey, I drew it.
5 year-old Roxi getting a cheek pinch at the art station.
Left: 20 year-old Roxi, adorned with self-drawn "tattoos." Right: art drawn around this time, during a period of depression.
When I was nearing the end of university, I experienced a traumatic event that left me in mental and emotional turmoil for months. This is when I began creating mandalas. I couldn't talk about my pain or even write about it, but there was something about the nonverbal act of making art that provided a kind of therapy like nothing else at the time could. It calmed me. It took me out of the wrathful thought loops, panic, anxiety, and fear and grounded me into the present moment. I went through a process of deep healing over the next year, and I continued making mandalas through that time and beyond. From the end of 2017 until now, I have processed my life through mandalas. No matter what I'm going through - the highs, the lows, the in-betweens - creating is my refuge.
At the end of 2017 with a piece that meant the world to me. It marked my renewed faith in the potential for peace, for oneness and harmony with all of being. See "Earth Meditator" here.
Mandalas of the Path
I moved to Nepal in November of 2019 after a beautiful year teaching English in Thailand. I had amassed quite the body of mandala work by this point, but I still barely shared my art publicly. When I studied Buddhism in Kopan Monastery for 7 weeks at the beginning of my time in Nepal, many people began to see my work. I would create in between classes and meditations, and quite a few fellow students took notice. At the end of the course, multiple people asked me for my art website... which I did not yet have. One student told me that I was spreading truth and teachings through my art. That really struck a chord with me. It was the moment that I realized, "Oh, my art can benefit people." From that thought, I knew I had to make a website and share my art with the world.
In the Kopan stupa garden, creating an art piece based on the teachings that I had learned there.
Thus, Mandalas of the Path was born. I began creating the website while sitting at a cafe just outside the monastery walls, where I could get internet after the course was over. Following my subsequent 10 day silent Vipassana meditation retreat, I had intense clarity that creating my website was the next step on my path, one that was worth devoting the time and effort it would take to make it happen. I moved to Pokhara, Nepal with the intention of sinking deeply into the beautiful world that is creating an art business. I spent countless hours working on my website over the next five weeks, with many 2 AM nights and quite a lot of coffee. At the start of March, the website was ready for the world. I launched Mandalas of the Path on March 10, 2020.
Just before my website launch, feeling radiant and so ready to begin this new adventure.
Little did I (or any of us) know that we were about to embark on quite a different way of life for some time... cue the pandemic, which resulted in lockdown in Nepal from March 24 until the end of July. These four months were a time of so much creation for me. With no social distractions (even if I had wanted them) and staying in my room most of the day everyday, making mandalas was the most nourishing and enjoyable way to spend my time. I processed a lot in my Diary Collection, in which I explored the combination of mandala and writing. At this point, I did not see my art business as long-term by any means; I thought I would just put up my website for a few months, see how it went, and then leave it when I returned to the US. As the months passed and it was clear I was not returning to the US any time soon, I allowed myself to envision a future with this website as a long-term project, something bigger and more beautiful than I had previously thought it could be.
It was such a blessing that I lived surrounded by nature during lockdown. I was able to go to the jungle with just a one minute walk behind my guesthouse, and the lake was just five minutes further. Left: "Prison", the first piece from my Diary Collection. Right: creating another Diary piece in the jungle.
As the months passed, I began realizing the impact that my art had on others. I was so fortunate to be part of an art show in August, a post-lockdown celebration of the many creatives who were still holed up in Pokhara and were now again allowed to be outside (as long as we socially distanced, of course). During this show, many people told me that my art made them feel something. They found themselves getting lost in the pieces, in the best way. It was evident to me that the emotions that I had funnelled into my pieces - those of connection, joy, change, struggle, love - were coming through to the viewers, and above that, they were helping the viewers with their own experiences.
My first exhibit, August 2020, Pokhara, Nepal. Pieces from BLM and the Next Generation: Color Collection.
Going forward, I continued creating, and it became more and more apparent to me that what I was doing was actually helping people. I honestly hadn't really imagined that I could do that through art. This was something bigger than me. This was connecting me and others to ourselves, to each other, and to something bigger.
Now: Where YOU fit
It has now become incredibly clear to me that this project is my best possible path at this point in my life. It is the best way for me to benefit and connect with others, and with YOU. Mandalas of the Path began with me, yes, but now, it is for YOU. If it hadn't been for people viewing my art and feeling a connection to it, supporting it, identifying with it, and loving it, I don't think I would still be sharing my work with such passion and excitement, if at all.
On my website's first birthday! Pure, unadulterated joy.
So, all of this to say, HERE IS MY PURPOSE IN BEING AN ARTIST: it is to CONNECT WITH YOU through CREATION. It is to make you feel something - happy, connected, peaceful, understood. It is to help you through those times that things don't feel beautiful, and to celebrate with you when the beauty in your life abounds. It is to remind you that you are not alone on your path. WE are here TOGETHER.
The New Project: Commissions
Above, you'll see one example of a commission from March 2021. In this commission, Skip requested that an old logo idea of his be incorporated into a larger work: a yin-yang/cross in 3 intersecting circles, embedded in a roaring fire, with symbols from the Shamanism tradition he practices. His response after receiving the completed piece was, "[This] helped me to realize a long-time desire to have a personal logo that reflected my journey through this lifetime... It all came together in a very personal and personally powerful way. It was a fulfilling collaboration and I am so excited for having the mandala we co-created in my life.”
To see other examples of commissions, here is one created for an aerospace engineer, and here is one created for a writer.
The joy that comes from creating art that aligns with your deepest wishes is unparalleled. I would love to create YOUR dream art piece next. Please check out the link HERE to submit your commission request. (NOTE: Commissions for April are opening on Thursday 3/25! I only do 3 commissions per month and spaces fill fast, so definitely let me know if you are interested. I would love for your mandala fantasy to be one of this month's 3 custom pieces!) I can't wait to make your dream mandala a reality.
Conclusion
This journey as an artist has been a complete surprise and utter delight. I can't wait to continue it with you.
Check out my art website, Mandalas of the Path, HERE.
Big light and love from Nepal!
🌀
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