THE WHEEL OF DHARMA

I started this blog five years ago because I was doing this class project for a painting class called "Pintura en  Representación" (I'm a graphic design major but I slipped in a few fine arts classes in college). Anyways, my project for that class was a series called ASHTAMANGALA or The Eight Auspicious Signs. My aesthetic has changed quite a bit in the past five years, but it's always great to look back on what you've done in the past, even though it can be kind of embarrassing and make you cringe. 

So, one of the most important symbols of the Eight Auspicious signs is the Dharma Wheel or Dharmacakra , which is what I based the illustration you see above on. This symbol can also be interpreted as "The Wheel of Law" and represents the Buddha's teaching of the path to enlightenment. 

Here is a list of the Eight Auspicious Signs: 

"The Right Turning Conch"

"Endless Knot"

"Pair of Golden Fish"

"Lotus Flower"

"Parasol"

"Treasure Vase"

"Wheel of Dharma"

"Victory Banner"

I've also recently done my take on the endless knot and Lotus Flower for my mandala series, you can see here. 

*Note* I know this is nerdy but one other thing I love about the Dharma Wheel is it's association with the TV show LOST. Yes, I was a total Lostie, and I miss it oh so much!

SYMBOLS OF THE ALCHEMISTS AND THEIR SIGNIFICATIONS

I love this definition: 

Alchemy is an ancient tradition, the primary objective of which was the creation of the mythical "philosopher's stone," which was said to be capable of turning base metals into gold or silver, and also act as an elixir of life that would confer youth and immortality upon its user. As practiced historically, alchemy can be viewed as a protoscience, a precursor to modern chemistry, having provided procedures, equipment, and terminology that are still in use. However, alchemy also included various non-scientific mythological, religious, andspiritual concepts, theories and practices.

P.S. I painted this chart the other night, can you tell I used gold paint? It look really cool when the sunlight hits it at an angle. 

Ohm

I was hired to design a couple of posters for a Meditation class using my mandala artwork!

They asked I leave space at the bottom of the page so they could edit class times themselves, here is the english and spanish version of the poster.

NAMASTÉ

My Sweet George 

“When you've seen beyond yourself, then you may find, peace of mind is waiting there.”

 I've been watching Gorge Harrison videos all morning in honor of his 68th birthday. Eric Clapton just said something amazing in the behind the scenes video of Concert For George. He said his favorite songs were the ones that were innocent and from the heart, he called them: Spiritual Love Songs. I've said this before and I'll say it again, George is my absolute favorite person in the entire world. EVER. This april will be specially important and meaningful, on the last day of Coachella, George's son, Dhani will be playing with his band "Fistful of Mercy"... not only is the music beautiful, but it is the closest I'll ever be to George. ♥