The mandala project is a hybrid fine craft and digital process iteration of the utopian, contemplative labor ideas that underpin the Happy Sleepy collaboration.
The Universe Provides, 10 x 10 inches, hand embroidery and beadwork with glass and semiprecious stones on linen, Magda Wojtyra 2017
Reabsorbed by the Universe, 7 x 7 inches, hand embroidery and beadwork with pearls, and glass and semiprecious stones on linen, 2016
The phrases "The Universe Provides" and "Reabsorbed by the Universe" are beaded within the embroidery, turning the mandalas into linguistic as well as visual meditations on the bounty and balance of the universe.
We all need reminders of the bigger truths that underpin our daily effort because the odds can seem stacked against us sometimes and the effort can feel futile. The text on the mandalas are personal sayings that help to integrate the paradox of our lives: we must foster an optimistic attitude while we also need to accept great change and loss.