Mandalas speak to the soul. They are art, yet they are more than art, the same way we are each our selves, and yet we are more than our selves. Mandalas invite and entice us to look beyond the surface, to the many layers that combine to form our experience of an image in the moment. The word "mandala" is from the Sanskrit, meaning "circle". Mandalas have traditionally been graphic, mystic symbols of the universe, of creation, and of the drama of a human in the world seeking his or her sense of origin. They have been used by many different cultures to cultivate power or healing energy, to protect, to inspire, and to call upon the divine. Mandalas are deeply a part of our nature. They are found in our cells, in our eyes, in fruit, in flowers, in snowflakes and tree trunks and molecules.

Jo Thomas Blaine has been painting mandalas for over twenty years. An intense love of color, a lifelong fascination with the patterns found in nature, and an ongoing quest to connect with the spiritual essence of the Self and the World, have all influenced and nurtured Jo's love of the Mandala: symmetry radiating in all directions from a single point. A mandala can be a point of focus. It can be a soothing presence. A mandala can be a porthole to dreams, a prayer for healing, or simply a beautiful decoration.

Jo's mandalas hope to bridge the seen and unseen worlds. They strive for a harmony of stillness and motion which provides the viewer both rest and energy. The originals are drawn and painted entirely by hand, in pencil and watercolor. Their size varies from 9-18 inches. The original is then scanned and digitally reproduced in various sizes to make the collection of products shown in this catalog. Each product is available in all 50 plus designs (there are new ones being painted all the time...).

Artists all around the world are painting mandalas. The possibilities are infinite! Each new mandala is a unique expression of the One pattern that contains all patterns. If you'd like to explore, you can take a fantastic journey through nearly 200 artist's mandalas at the "Contemporary Artists" section of Clare Goodwin's Mandala Page at http://www.abgoodwin.com/mandala

Here's another link to more Mandala paintings, including some by the great Charlotte Backman:mandala paintings

ABOUT THE X-SERIES:

All of my mandalas are entirely hand drawn and painted, and did not use a computer. Well, OK, there is one that used a computer..."Devotion Mandala" is computerized from a triangular slice of a hand-made painting I did of a rose. You can tell what is humanly possible and what is not. Absolutely perfect symmetry of tiny little details of texture is not humanly possible. That said, I have nothing against computers! So I made a series of digital variations of the scanned mandala paintings, called the "X-Series" so that a new line of jewelry could have brighter, more appealing colors near people's faces. Here they are. They are available as an option in any of the jewelry, even if it doesn't say so over in the shopping cart.