Goodbye/Hello

Consider this an invitation.

The Flower Mandalas blog has moved to Beliefnet.com, the leading spirituality portal, where it has taken on a new (and improved) form. My Flower Mandala work will still appear there, but now in the context of an ongoing exploration of art, healing, and transformation. New address: http://blog.beliefnet.com/flowermandalas

The blog serves as a platform for a much broader discussion of the transforming power of art, with "art" defined in the broadest possible way (visual, literary, performing, popular, classical, modern, ancient, professional, tentative, eternal, spontaneous, etc.).

I'm still looking for your input! I would very much like to hear from you not only for the Flower Mandala Project but also to invite you to share your art, thoughts, and experiences as part of this broader discussion.

I'm hoping to use this forum to generate a lively worldwide discussion among artists, healers, and consumers of art. I am seeking artwork, stories, thoughts, and ideas from both producers and consumers of art about how art has influenced their lives. The blog will consist of my work, work by (and interviews with) guest artists, and excerpts (with permission) from the accompanying discussion groups.

Please share your art and your stories, thoughts, and feelings as comments on the blog or posts in the discussion groups, or directly via e-mail to me at phototransformations@verizon.net. I'd also appreciate your passing this message on to anyone you think might be interested in the topic of the healing and transforming power of art.

Links:
Flower Mandalas blog: http://blog.beliefnet.com/flowermandalas
Art, Healing, and Transformation group: http://community.beliefnet.com/ArtandTransformation
Flower Mandalas Project group: http://community.beliefnet.com/flowermandalas

Thanks for listening and, I hope, sharing!

More anon,
- David
David J. Bookbinder, LMHC

Blue Morning Glory II
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Blue Morning Glory III
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Blue Morning Glory I
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Pink Fall Rose I
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Marigold V
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Galliardia 'Arizona Sun' I
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Yellow African Daisy III
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Purple Petunia III
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Purple Petunia II
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Purple Petunia I
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Beach Rose IV
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Beach Rose III
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Dying Yellow Rose I
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Dandelion Head I (sepia)
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Dying Amaryllis VII (sepia)
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Morning Glory I (sepia)
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Pink Lily I (sepia)
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Pink Peony I (sepia)
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Dahlia Hybrid I (sepia)
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Dying Amaryllis XI
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Easter Lily II
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Easter Lily I
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Grape Hyacinth I
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Pink African Daisy I
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Orange Pansy IV
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Yellow Rose I
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Pink Rose I
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Pink and Purple Pansy I-a
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Pink and Purple Pansy I
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Salmon Rose I
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Pale Pink Tulip II
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Pale Pink Tulip I
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Dandelion IV
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Magnolia Blossom III
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Dying Amaryllis VIII
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Pink and Red Tulip I
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Yellow Tulip I
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Dandelion III
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Pale Yellow Tulip I
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Purple and White Crocus III
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Dying Amaryllis VI
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Dying Amaryllis III
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Dying Amaryllis I
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Dying Amaryllis VII
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Dying Magnolia Blossom I
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Amaryllis Bud I
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Purple and White Crocus I
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White Magnolia Blossom I
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Purple Tulip IV-a
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Purple Tulip VII-a
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Purple Tulip VI
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Purple Tulip V
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Purple Tulip IV
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Purple Tulip III
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Purple Tulip II
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Purple Tulip I
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White Rose I
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Crocus V
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Magnolia Buds III
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Magnolia Buds II
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Crocus IV
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Magnolia Buds I
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Crocus II
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Crocus III
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Crocus I
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Red Chrysanthemum I
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Red Chrysanthemum II
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Red Chrysanthemum III
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Pink and White Dahlia III
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Pink and White Dahlia II
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Pink and White Dahlia I.jpg
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Orange Dahlia II
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Dogwood I
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Violet Cosmos III
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Red Daylily I
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Pansy IV
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Red and Yellow Daylily IIe
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Red and Yellow Daylily IId
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Red and Yellow Daylily IIc
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Red and Yellow Daylily IIb
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Red and Yellow Daylily IIa
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Red andYellow Daylily I
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Daylily, rear view III
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Daylily, rear view II
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Daylily, rear view I
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Orange-Red
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Red Daylily II
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Orange Daylily I
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White Hibiscus Syriacus I
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Purple Hibiscus V
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Red Zinnia I
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Alcea rosea (Hollyhock) I
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Red Zinnia II
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Yellow and Red Tulip I
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Rosa Rugosa 'Alba' II
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Pink Lily I
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Canna Lily I
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Orange Zinnia I
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Black-Eyed Susan II
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Black-Eyed Susan I
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Sea Holly I
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Iris Germanica II
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Iris Germanica I
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Icelandic Poppy I
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White Pansy I
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African Daisy III
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African Daisy I
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African Daisy II
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Pink Petunia I
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Pink Petunia II
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Pink Petunia III
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White Daffodil I
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White Daffodil II
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Purple Pansy II
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Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis I
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Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis II
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Purple Pansy I
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Yellow Pansy II
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Yellow Pansy I
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Rhododendron 'Cunningham's White' I
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Bachelor's Button II-a
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Dogwood I
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Orange Tulip III
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Orange Tulip II
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Orange Tulip I
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Bachelor's Button I-a
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Bachelor's Button I-b
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Bachelor's Button II-b
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Bachelor's Button III
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Dying Pansy I
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Dying Pansy III
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White Lily I-a
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Purple Peony IV
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Queen Anne's Lace I
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Queen Anne's Lace II
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Red Dahlia
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Red Hibiscus I
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Rhododendron 'Ponticum Roseum' III
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Water Lily XI
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Purple Iris I
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Purple Iris II
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Pink Peony I
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Pink Hibiscus III
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Pink Hibiscus I
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Pink Hibiscus II
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Pink Dahlia IV
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Pink Dahlia III
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Pink Dahlia I
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Purple Peony I
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White Petunia IV
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Petunia II
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Oriental Poppy II
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Orange-Yellow Dahlia I
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Orange Pansy II
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Orange Lily VI
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Orange Lily V
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Orange Lily IV
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Orange Lily III
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Orange Lily I
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Orange Dahlia
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Nasturtium
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Moulin Rouge I
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Morning Glory II
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Marigold II
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Lavender Pink Peony III
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Yellow Lily
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White Lily III
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Rudbeckia
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Rose
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Rosa Rugosa
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Rosa Belle Poitevine B&W
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White Lily II
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White Dahlia I
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Wet Lily III
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Wet Lily I
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Water Lily X
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Water Lily I
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Rosa Rugosa Rubra I
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Rosa Belle Poitevine
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Rhododendron 'Ponticum Roseum' I
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Sunflower 'Moulin Rouge' I
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Yellow Marigold
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Marigold III
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Lily IV
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Lavender Pink Peony I
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Iris III
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Purple Iris IV
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Hibiscus moscheutos I
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Heliopsis helianthoides
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Morning Glory I
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Gloxinia II
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Giant Dahlia
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Hibiscus rosa-sinensis II
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Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
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Red Hibiscus
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Doronicum
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Hydrangea
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Dying Hibiscus
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Gazania IV
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Gazania III
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Gazania I
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Dianthus
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Salmon Daylily I
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Dandelion II
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Dandelion I
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Dahlia Hybrid II
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Clematis
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Chives
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Chinese Tree Peony Seed Pod II
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Chinese Tree Peony Seed Pod I
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Blue Passion Flower I
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Begonia
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Beach Rose II
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Gazania II
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Dahlia Hybrid I
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Chinese Tree Peony Seed Pod I
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Beach Rose I
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Gazania V
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Flower Mandalas Project

This blog contains mandala-like images created from photographs of flowers. Suggestions for a complementary quote, a word that these mandala images evoke, or some history or other information about the flower itself are most welcome.

My personal motivation in creating these images was to heal from a decade of physical and emotional trauma, the consequence of a near-fatal event in Albany, New York, in1993. I began this project shortly after I bought my first digital camera and found myself shooting patterns of color and light, rather than the people and buildings I had shot in my black-and-white days. I learned to manipulate the images, hoping at first merely to improve them, but soon realizing that once an image file was on my hard drive, I could do anything I wanted with it.

I tend to work on several mandalas at once. On each piece, I spend anywhere from a few hours to a sequence of several-hour sessions spread out over a couple of months. The experience is reminiscent of meditation.

My choice of the hexagram (the Star of David, "beloved" in Hebrew) as the organizing shape for these mandalas was subconscious, but I believe this choice was no accident. In many traditions, the Star of David, composed of two overlapping triangles, represents the reconciliation of opposites — male/female, fire/water, and so on. Their combination symbolizes unity and harmony. Listening to what the mandalas were telling me led me out of a dark place and, indirectly, to my decision to become a psychotherapist.

Thanks for looking and for listening,
- David
© 2005, David J. Bookbinder