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2008 Flower Prayer Peace Mandalas
Poster & Prints to Order | About Our Artist | Download Free Mandala | Movie Tours About Mandalas and Our Artist Linda has had 25 years of teaching experience at all levels-kindergarten through college. While a teacher at Franklin Pierce College she developed the Elementary and Secondary Art Education Methods courses. She has also served as regional Vice President of the Executive Board of the New Hampshire Art Education Association. In 1996 Linda was honored as the National Art of New Hampshire Educator of the Year and her own art work has won recognition in many juried competitions throughout New England. Linda was an undergraduate at Syracuse University with a concentration in Applied Design. She has a BSA from Tufts University including Art Education Certification in grades K-12 in coordination with the School of The Boston Museum of Fine Arts with a studio concentration in Ceramics. Linda describes the message of her work as an artist as a message of peace. She recently financed and directed a large colorfully-glazed ceramic tile mural as an after school art program at one of the local schools. Her life's goal is defined by her mantra of "More art for more kids". Proceeds from the sale of her works finance budding artists, after school art programs and field trips for young students to cultural institutions. Artist's Statement
I have chosen two ancient universal positive symbols to convey that message: CIRCLES and FLOWERS. FLOWERS ARE THE PRAYERS OF NATURE. Without FLOWERS there would be no food. Whether you are strolling in the woods or walking on a city street, it is the bright spot of color that FLOWERS create that will catch your eye and make you smile. I quote from Georgia O'Keefe: "Nobody sees a FLOWER really — it is so small — we haven't time, and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time." CIRCLES, also, always give pause for attention. A MANDALA is a circular design; MANDALA means CIRCLE in Sanskrit. It is the earliest universal symbol. It is the first shape a child draws. It is the design element first used on the oldest human artifacts. A baby in a mother's arms sees the mother's face as a CIRCLE of warmth, caring, and light. Think of early tribal families sitting or dancing in a CIRCLE around a campfire. The life-giving sun, the serene moon, the abundant earth— all are CIRCLES. It is a CIRCLE you see when you look in someone's eyes. The CIRCLE is the most powerful, unifying archaic symbol of connectedness.
I plant all the FLOWERS myself. I tend to their growth with plenty of T.L.C. When the colorful blooms are perfect and the light is exactly right I photograph the FLOWERS in multiples. These photographs are then cut out by hand. In my studio are innumerable tabletops covered with a gazillion stacks of photos of FLOWERS in all colors, shapes, and sizes. These photos are my palette and brushes for creating my photo collage paintings. I "play" for hours with the FLOWER photo cutouts on an underlying circular grid — arranging, re-arranging, experimenting with the infinite combinations until a pleasing configuration appears. This often takes hundreds of hours. I strive to create MANDALAS that spin and dance in happy aliveness as well as MANDALAS that create a sense of centeredness, stillness, and serenity. My paintings are based on the classical aesthetic concept of BEAUTY and ORDER. I want folks to look at them and feel good. I like that my ART'S message is positive, pleasurable and easily understood by any viewer.
Linda Wyman Derman
Poster & Prints to Order | About Our Artist | Download Free Mandala | Movie Tours other cultures, the world will know more peace and less war. 
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