the power of flowers ~ eco art and nature mandalas
cherry blossom nature mandala
by Rosa Phoenix
I’m blessed and blissed because it’s springtime in Portland.
The flowers are exploding with color everywhere you look!
After the long dark gray winter, the trees and plants bare and skeletal, and people staying indoors out of the cold wet weather . . . the sudden lush growth and profusion of life, light, flowers and sunshine is a welcome change indeed.
I recently got to facilitate nature art at Community Art Day and Roosevelt High School’s student-organized mental health fair.
It was a joy to witness kids and people of all ages enter a moment of wonder and appreciation of nature, and spend time using all their senses and creativity.
Spending time in Nature, touching and smelling plants, is deeply restorative and healing.
Nature wants to interact with us. Nature wants us to notice, touch, sense and engage.
Nature also shows us that it isn’t perfect, yet it’s incredibly beautiful.
When we create art with natural materials, we accept the imperfections and embrace the beauty.
We can learn to do the same with ourselves.
I’ve made a 3 minute video showing how to create a beautiful flower mandala using cherry blossoms. No talking, just a sweet calm video :-)