Innately Human

Flames of Hope - Earth Air Fire Water cut-paper mandala - LiDoña Wagner

Accessing the Unconscious

Dreaming is an innately human experience. We do not know if other animals dream but every human culture places significance on dreaming. Dreams are the royal road to one’s unconscious. As such they can give us invaluable information about issues needing to be resolved. Dreaming not only puts us in touch with our own unconscious, it also allows us to access the collective unconscious. Tapping into this deep wellspring helps us envision a new and different future.

Whenever a person devotes attention to her or his dreams, life is enhanced and given meaning. With a little guidance, persons who think they cannot remember their dreams can learn to do so. And they can learn to work with the symbolic language embedded in their dreams.

Dream Mandala Collage

Unlock the meaning of a personal dream and create a powerful symbol to inspire your future. Bring a dream you would like to understand. With guidance from artist and dream mentor LiDoña, you will access your dream’s significance through playful processes of collage and interior dialogue. Using magazine images, you will explore where the dream takes you. In addition to dream-work approaches, you will learn a centering mandala technique and basic compositional principles. After a day of fun you take home a beautiful mandala that mirrors your dream’s message.

Next Stage of Life - Dream Mandala collage - LiDoña Wagner

Everyone has had the experience of being moved by images – in films, magazines, on line, etc. And most people have had the experience of taking a photograph of something personally meaningful. Though they may not have made collages yet, almost everyone is familiar with the idea of multiple images being used to compose a larger composite image. All that is required to create a successful dream mandala collage is bringing a recent or recurrent dream that intrigues you.

People frequently say, “I’m not creative.” Or “I could never paint.” This is not true. Every person has a medium through which to express creativity. It may be cooking, gardening, designing interior space, developing relationships, writing free form poetry, telling jokes, or maybe oral storytelling.

Seed of Life - Earth Air Fire Water cut-paper mandala - LiDoña Wagner

Our Human Connection to Nature

Homo Sapiens are part of nature. It’s a fact. And that connection is a source of meaning for a lot of people: runners, hikers, bikers, outdoor sport athletes, farmers, gardeners, fisher-folk, landscape designers, picnic enthusiasts, backyard barbeque fanatics, and on and on. Knowing the power of our human connection to nature, last spring I launched a Nature Mandala class in Eugene.  

Gaia’s Gift – Your Uniquely Meaningful Nature Mandala

Painting a nature mandala is fun, creative, and mindful. Working with circular forms found in nature gives the brain a chance to heal and find wholeness. In this class you will create a symbol of your unique connection to nature using gouache, an ancient Asian medium. Gouache is a luscious water-based paint that is similar to oil paint in viscosity, rich color, and opacity but easier to use. You will learn Eastern and Western principles of art making, practice mindfulness, experience the joy of creativity, and create a mandala based on personally meaningful aspects of nature. The beauty of your completed mandala will inspire you and serve as an aid to meditation.

Nurturing Dogwood - Gaia's Gift nature mandala - LiDoña Wagner

For this first nature mandala class, I was blessed with one student. We each developed a design for some aspect of nature that is particularly meaningful to us. Mine is on the Dogwood trees I grew from seedlings, planted in my yard, and nurtured after my daughter died. My student’s is on the delicate balance between Monarch butterflies and milkweed plants, about which her father-in-law had written numerous poems.

We discovered that four 2.5-hour sessions is insufficient for designing and completing a personally meaningful nature mandala in gouache. After the official class ended, we continued to work on our mandalas. Pat is nearly there. She will add white filaments to the Milkweed seeds, write one of her father-in-law's poem's in the light space, and refine her central Milkweed blossom with high and low lights.

Interdependence of Monarch Butterfly & Milkweed Plant -
Gaia's Gift nature mandala - Pat Rounds - in process

From this first class I learned that Gaia’s Gift – a nature mandala painted in gouache – is another long-form mandala class. Though not as complex as my dream mandala journey class based on a Tibetan Buddhist structure, it takes longer than I’d originally planned. This winter I will offer it again but in four full days spread out over a month or more.

My one nature mandala student suggested that I create a different short-form nature mandala workshop based on a template. To ensure a depth of meaning while using a template, I decided to base the structure on key elements of nature: earth, air, fire, and water. Since painting is often intimidating for newbies, I determined to make it with cut papers. Perhaps you remember cutting paper dolls as a kid? 

Initial template for Earth Air Fire Water cut-paper mandala - LiDoña Wagner

So I created a template for a cut-paper mandala based on earth, air, fire, and water. I gathered art papers from various stores and my own reserves and set to work creating not one but three cut-paper mandalas. I tried to gage how much time each one took. 

Template pieces for cutting art papers for Earth Air Fire Water
cut-paper mandala - LiDoña Wagner

After completing these I determined that given the backing with a drawn form and a set of template pieces, people would be able to complete this mandala in a one-day workshop. The hardest part would be selecting their papers, most of which I would supply.

Earth Air Fire Water

Who has not been mesmerized by a blazing fire or the subtle light of a sunrise? Likewise, are we not captivated by the beauty of a flower growing up from the ground? Every runner, hiker, or gardener understands that water and air are key to all life forms, including our own. Like it or not, our existence depends on the basic elements of our planet: earth, air, fire, and water. If you made it through kindergarten, you know how to use scissors and paste. Now as a grown-up you can have fun cutting art papers to make stunning mandalas that reflect your deep connection to nature. With guidance relative to effective composition and color usage, you can make a beautiful Earth Air Fire Water cut-paper mandala.

Dragon Breath - Earth Air Fire Water cut-paper mandala - LiDoña Wagner 

I have been making mandalas based on a Tibetan Buddhist structure for over twenty years. I have been teaching dream mandala journey classes for nearly that long. Creating such a mandala can be a transformative experience. I have had students with no previous art experience and others who are proficient artists. Whether newbie or experienced, the sacred container established for each group of students allows persons to take the unique journey for which each is ready.

Flight of the Eagle - Dream Mandala Journey 2015-16 - LiDoña Wagner

While many people may be intrigued by the idea of taking a dream mandala journey, often the courage to do so requires having a chance to dip a toe into this deep water first. That is the reason I designed these introductory one-day and short-form workshops. If you are one of those who are uncertain of your ability to be creative, hopefully one of these classes will unblock that doubt.

Energy Glyphs in Ink and Gouache 

Anyone can paint from the heart. This is a class for the fearful, those who hesitate to pick up a paintbrush or who say, “I can’t draw a straight line.” As if that were a requirement for expressing oneself in a medium that by its very nature abhors straight lines! With prompts from LiDoña, you’ll express your individual life force in ink and gouache. From spontaneous and playful mark making you will find yourself making original cards and personal logos. Don't sell yourself short. If you feel, you can paint. Trust me on that. My own journey as an artist began with energy glyphs in ink and gouache.

Dance - Energy glyph - LiDoña Wagner