Today’s tutorial, Introduction to Crochet Mandalas Series by How to Crochet with The Crochet Crowd, is the first in a series of videos on, yes, you guessed it, how to crochet mandalas. I always love to see how mandalas can be found in such a variety of art forms and the “yarn arts” are no exception.
Here is what “How to Crochet with The Crochet Crowd” says about this video:
“Mandalas, pronounced as Mon-Dah-Lah, simply means “circle”. They have significance in the meaning of life in relationship to the cosmos. They can represent many things in life such as the sun, moon, earth, planets and even more items that that we humans have grown to be significant such as wind, fire and much more.
They can be significant in many religious cultures but was first created by the Hindus as a spiritual guide. The circle is about the idea of infinity and the never ending nature of how big a circle can get. It’s about the circle you surround yourself with which may be family, friends, and communities that you are part of.
One of my interesting finds is that Mandalas were not just for Buddhist, but studies show that individuals in many other religious also have used this artform for their own religious beliefs. This included Judaism, Christianity, Paganism and many other forms of religion that exist. Look to cathedral windows, paintings and symbols used in religion and you may realize that mandalas are in many places in history.
This makes a lot of sense to me as when you look up at the sun, you see a perfect circle. Moon, on full moon nights is a full circle. Beams of light from light sources appear as circles to our eyes. Ripples in a pond circle outward. In an empty room, my cat will sit inside a circle on the floor. I think we naturally, human instinct wise, gravitate towards circles. It could be part of our genetic make up as a species.
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According to TED.com: “Artist and TED Fellow Christine Sun Kim was born deaf, and she was taught to believe that sound wasn’t a part of her life, that it was a hearing person’s thing. Through her art, she discovered similarities between American Sign Language and music, and she realized that sound doesn’t have to be known solely through the ears — it can be felt, seen and experienced as an idea. In this endearing talk, she invites us to open our eyes and ears and participate in the rich treasure of visual language.”
“Christine Sun Kim uses the medium of sound through technology and conceptualism in art, as it enables her to have the most direct connection to society at large.”
“She rationalizes and reframes her relationship with sound and spoken languages by using audience’s voice as her own, conducting a group of people to sing with facial movements (rather than sound), composing visual scores with sign language and musical symbols. These attempts are made to raise questions on ownership of sound, explore oral languages as social currency, deconstruct preconceived ideas about silence, and above all, unlearn sound etiquette.”
“As part of her practice, Kim borrows other people’s voices in order to have one and she does it by collaborating with artists such as Devonté Hynes, Thomas Benno Mader, Wolfgang Müller and Alison O’Daniel. Selected exhibitions and performances include: Sound Live Tokyo, Tokyo; White Space, Beijing; LEAP, Berlin; Carroll / Fletcher, London; nyMusikk, Oslo; Andquestionmark, Stockholm; Southern Exposure, San Francisco; Recess Activities, New York; Calder Foundation, New York; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Additionally, she was a recipient of Artist Residency at Whitney Museum, Haverford College, Southern Exposure, Arnolfini, University of Texas’ Visual Arts Center and Fellowship at TED and MIT Media Lab.”
The enchanting music of sign language by Christine Sun Kim
For those of you not familiar with TED Talks here is a brief summery from www.ted.com: “TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and Open TV Project, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize”
How to make the most simple mandala? Today Craftrove has a tutorial for all of you how would love to create a mandala but don’t know how to start. Here is what Craftrove has to say about this toturial:
“Most of the people don’t even start drawing, thinking what if it turns out to be ‘not so perfect’? I made this video to show that that even a not so perfect drawing can look beautiful. You just need to pick up your pen and start drawing! ”
“For those wanting to know, what mandala art is , the word Mandala means ‘circle’. These circular designs symbolize a never ending life. The mandala appears to us in all aspects of life, the Earth, the Sun, the Moon and more obviously the circles of life encompassing friends, family and communities. Mandalas are also used for meditation purposes allowing the individual meditating to become one with the universe. Hope this helped you.! ”
DIY- How to make the most simple mandala?
Step by step procedure by Craftrove
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