MANDALA: An Art Collective

January 2022 exhibit at

the St. Louis Artist Guild



The Mandala Project: An Artists Collective
January 13 - February 11, 2023
On Display in Curated Gallery
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Our group is a collaborative founded on mutual respect for what each of us brings to the creative process. Challenges we offer each other are stimulating and inspiring. The name “mandala” refers to its function, which is a vehicle for journeying to the center of one’s being and for bridging individual and collective consciousness. Within the Mandala Collaborative, there is a push and pull and ultimately agreement as we cultivate a common language of visual imagery.

We are motivated to give up ego and be vulnerable, and the results are paintings that vibrate and buzz. Through our current theme of florals, we have emphasized the playful, the dark. and the other-worldly qualities that flowers can express. Our body of work includes pieces that we worked on as a group in person and pieces that we passed around and worked on apart from each other.

As part of the Mandala Collaborative, we all share a commitment to and respect for our diverse St. Louis community. We passionately pursue opportunities that support harmony and beauty through communal participation. Many cultures believe in the healing abilities of the mandala — and we believe that art can heal many of today’s challenges, including violence.
 

This exhibit will feature 20 new works by Nancy Early, Gray Finch, Maria Ojascastro, Valeria Prieto and Mary Beth Tipton created in 2022. Each artist started a new acrylic paint on canvas or wood board, then passed it along to each of the other artists to respond and add to the painting. These new works will also be exhibited along with the paintings created during the 2021 Cherokee Street event. 
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The artists will host a live, shared painting event  during the opening of the Mandala exhibit.