Sisters Mandala

I am participating in a yahoo group working the through book The Artist's Muse. Our first challenge was to create a mandala.

My mandala, devoted to my relationship with my sisters, evolved in an interesting way. In some cases, I thought through the symbolism and in others, it just seemed to happen.

I am the oldest of four sisters. But, I grew up with only three. My youngest sister was born when I was 6 1/2 and died within 12 hours of being born. I never saw Mary. But, she has been a presence in my heart my entire life. I've always wondered about her, and missed her.

My other two sisters, Meg and Busy, and I have always been close. When we were little Meg and Busy were lumped together as "the little girls" (we have a brother between Meg and me). But as adults, the three of us were as close as we could be considering that I lived several hundred miles away. The times we spent together were priceless.

On August 3, 2005...Meg and her 20 year old son Schuyler were killed when their car was overrun by a speeding tractor trailer. They were driving from Indiana to Ohio to meet up with Busy, then Busy and Meg were going to travel on together to my home in Pennsylvania. Meg's daughter had been vacationing with my family, and they were coming to pick her up.

This tragedy and loss has become an overwhelming aspect of my life. I have tried to take the experience and look for a message that somehow makes something positive come from it. Meg, at age 45, had really had little opportunity to pursue what was most meaningful to her in her life. That is one reason I have put a priority into learning to express my creative self. You never can know when your time has run out. There isn't always tomorrow.

The mandala began to come together somewhat randomly. I was experimenting with fabric weaving and produced the piece that looked to me just like a turtle's shell. Meg had adopted a the symbol of a turtle as her totem. So, the shell was the starting point of my sisters mandala.

The two circles represent my sister Busy and me. Yellow with sunflowers on the outer ring for me...the oldest sister...the protector. Busy is pink (she loves pink). Meg, as the turtle is in the center. Even in death, she is very often in the very center of our counsciousness.

At the funeral, my brother's fiance gave Busy a necklace with three circular charms. One said "courage", another "strength" and the third "spirit". Busy split up the set and kept courage, gave me strength and spirit went to Meg's daughter. I wear my strength charm constantly along with a sea turtle to keep Meg's memory close to my heart.

These three words became my mantra. I found myself repeating them constantly as I worked on this piece. I wanted to include them, and originally had painted them on the outer ring of the mandala. But, I didn't like it and the only thing I could think of to cover the paint was beads. So, I beaded the words in silver and gold. During this work, it occured to me that the beads represent all the little memories and moments we had together. It is these memories that give us strength and courage, and allow us to hold onto Meg's spirit.

The mandala is also split into three segments to respresent three individuals....that are part of the whole circular sisterhood.

I also wanted to include our baby sister we never knew. At the top, you will see a small heart charm. This is for her little spirit and the love I've always felt for her. In my mind, she has always been one of us.