Purple Mantra

18×18 inch print reproduction of a ballpoint-pen drawing on linen, reprinted on matte archival paper.

For this piece, I started with a swath of light-blue linen and dyed it in a wash of purple and blue acrylic paint. On a sheet of huge paper, I designed a concentric, mandala-inspired pattern— with lots of erasing and reiterations. I transferred the final design onto the dried and dyed linen then spent weeks carefully darkening it with ballpoint pen.

In the center is a small butterfly, a complement to the symmetrical mandala. The latter represents wholeness while the post-chrysalis butterfly represents a new way of being.