Sacred Detail: The Completion and Dismantling of the Sand Mandala

Posted on March 30, 2015 by garbergeektography

After discovering the Tibetan practice of the Sand Mandala through the Emory-Tibet partnership last Monday, I visited the display daily, with the exception of Tuesday, to view the progress. You can read about my experience of the opening ceremony and line drawing here and my experience of viewing the construction of the initial stages of the mandala here.

Geshe Lobdang Tenzin Negi is a senior lecturer and the director of the Emory-Tibet Partnership. Here he is explaining the symbolism of the mandala.

Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi is a senior lecturer and the director of the Emory-Tibet Partnership. Here he is explaining the symbolism of the mandala.

I choose the word “construction” intentionally, as I learned throughout my experience that the monks envision the mandala in three dimensions. It is a model of the cosmos and resembles the structure of a temple or shrine. At the heart of this particular mandala is the Buddha of Compassion, Arya Avalokiteshvara. According to the lecturer at the closing ceremony, Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi, the devotees contemplate the Buddha of Compassion in order to cultivate an attitude of compassion towards all sentient beings. They contemplate how compassion can manifest in holistic medicine and spiritual knowledge and also to inform ethical behavior and the resolution of political tensions.

During the closing ceremony and dismantling, the monks chant prayers of compassion. The dismantling conveys the impermanence of all things, and there is a mixture of emotions, particularly from the unfamiliar onlookers on the dismantling of the exquisite artwork. The monks distributed some of the sand to the spectators, but carried most of it in a sacred urn which they traditionally pour out into a flowing body of water that carries their compassionate prayers to the entire cosmos. After a procession around Emory University, they carried the urn to a creek behind the Michael C. Carlos Museum to complete the ritual.

If you ever want to view variations on the ritual, there are several videos of these monks performing the ceremonies online. These are also the same monks featured in episode 7 of season 3 of House of Cards. We, of course, had to binge watch the season in order to see the brilliant cinematography of the construction and closing rituals. I even used the images and my experiences in my “Creation Theology, Spirituality, and the Arts” course this morning to talk about analogous thoughts of impermanence in Ecclesiastes and temple construction in Ezekiel.

Here are my final images of the series.

The inner sanctum of the Sand Mandala. The Buddha of Compassion is at the center of the structure. Representations of other deities surround the center, placed on eight petals of the lotus flower.

The monks putting the finishing touches on the nearly completed mandala.

A detail shot of the outer courtyard of the mandala. I was impressed with the detail in the figures of various creatures and the two-toned swirls of clouds.

Another perspective on the details of the outer sphere. Is that a monkey in the lower left quadrant?

A monk lays the initial lines of the outer lotus petal ring.

Another perspective on the lotus petal ring.

Another perspective on the cloud creation.

The filigree on the outermost ring represents the flames of wisdom that purify the one who enters into the mandala. The flames consume all negativities and ignorance.

The three outer rings surround the mandala. The outmost ring represents flames of various colors. The black and yellow ring represent a three dimensional cosmic dome that surrounds the mandala. The innermost of the three rings consists of lotus petal designs.

The three outer rings surround the mandala. The outmost ring represents flames of various colors. The black and yellow ring represents a three dimensional cosmic dome that surrounds the mandala. The innermost of the three rings consists of lotus petal designs.

The beginning of the dismantling ceremony. The dismantling involves the same precision and contemplation as the construction.

Sacred Color: Some In Progress Shots of the Sand Painting Mandala

Posted on March 26, 2015 by garbergeektography

Here is an in progress gallery of the Sand Painting Mandala created by the Drepung Loseling monks. I am enthralled with the entire process, but I will just let the images speak for themselves. I did learn today that the sand is actually crushed marble. There is still time left to view the process on the top floor of the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University in Atlanta tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The closing ceremony will take place on Saturday, March 28, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

See the beginning of the process in my previous blog post: Sacred Geometry.

A monk refills his Chak-pur with white sand and tests the flow.

Yes, I know this is not color, but I like how the monochrome brings out the intricacy of the design. The communal nature of the art also moved me.

A monk traces guidelines for the next image in the yellow sand with a stylus.

A close-up of the above photo, showing the delicacy of the process.

Another close-up of the above process. I cannot fathom the patience it takes to do this kind of work!

A monk demonstrates the process to a young visitor on the community sand painting.

Sacred Geometry: Tibetan Week at Emory University

Posted on March 25, 2015 by garbergeektography

A funny thing happened on the way to a field trip. On Monday, I took my class on “Creation Theology, Spirituality, and the Arts” to the Michael C. Carlos Museum to see the various exhibits on creation motifs from Native American, African, African American, and ancient Near Eastern traditions. Little did I know that we would be going on the opening day of Tibet Week at Emory University. Much to my pleasant surprise, the opening ceremony of the Mandala Sand Painting was taking place after the end of our tour. While most of my students needed to return to our campus for other classes, I took the opportunity to stick around, observe, and photograph the event.

The presentation began with words of introduction followed by some chanting by the monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery, Inc. Following the chanting, the monks proceeded to lay out the line drawing for the Mandala Sand Painting. The monks are completing the sand painting over the course of several days and the process is open for viewing from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. the remainder of the week. I plan to go back later in the week to view the progress, and hopefully, the completed result. In the meantime, here are a few of my photos from the opening ceremony. During the process, I thought often of my mother, who is a retired geometry teacher who still practices her love of geometry through quilting. I thought also of my sister, an engineer and all-around crafty genius who loves nothing more than getting out her rulers, protractors, and compasses to create cool things. I have been contemplating the creation of art as a spiritual practice by the monks, my family members, and others all week.

The beautiful, colorful sand, meticulously prepared by the monks.

The monks open the ceremony and bless the site of the mandala through their chanting.

They carefully measured each of the initial lines in order to create perfect symmetry in the line drawing.

They used the compasses to both measure and draw curved lines as a part of the design.

They snapped chalk strings to create many of the straight lines.

Using smaller compasses, they continued to add guidelines for the full drawing.

There were many lines running through the mandala at precisely measured intervals.

Many lines intersected each other at precisely measured intervals.

They use rulers and chalk pencils to fill in the lines created by the string.

They used rulers and chalk pencils to fill in the lines created by the string.

Run Away to Edisto Beach State Park, South Carolina

Posted on March 23, 2015 by garbergeektography

A boardwalk over the salt marsh in Edisto Beach State Park. This was on the Scott Creek Trail.

In early March we took our inaugural camper trip to Edisto Beach, SC. We chose Edisto Beach (pronounced EH-dis-toe) because it was relatively close, the campground was only about half-full and had received good reviews, and the surrounding area seemed to present some interesting opportunities for photography. It was a terrific choice! I’ll write in more detail about the camper experience in a future blog post, but for now, I’ll focus on reviewing the Edisto Beach State Park campground. We chose to stay in the Live Oak Campground section as opposed to the beach front campground section because we wanted space and privacy—and I think we’ve been spoiled for future campgrounds!

Looking up from our campsite into the trees covered in moss with a blue sky background.

Our site was lovely and shaded and HUGE! It was almost perfectly level and overlooked the salt marsh, giving us a beautiful view of the sunset each night. The site was surrounded by palm trees and vegetation making it feel like our own private oasis. And we could still hear the ocean! We stayed in site 118, but there were several near us that looked nearly as private—117, 122, and 124, especially.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we needed to rely on their bathhouse facilities, and thankfully they were very clean and just a short walk away. The garbage and recycling were on the way to the bathhouse and the dump station was just a short drive from the campground. The atmosphere was quiet and peaceful and surrounded by nature.

A cardinal that I kept stalking on the trails around out campsite.

We took advantage of some of the trails from the campground that took us through the marshes and out to a boardwalk along the river. We only passed two people on bikes and a number of cardinals, bluejays, and other birds. We explored the salt marshes and the beach and the park via quiet, well-maintained, and serene paths—most of which took us through or near the campground. There was not a lot of activity or people—just the way we like it. For a few days, life moved along at a different time, perfect if you are looking for a relaxed, slow-paced time away from it all. We also explored Botany Bay Plantation and the beach there—just gorgeous. See Dave’s blog on Botany-Bay for more on that magical, pristine, other-worldly location!

Michelle being spooky in one of the trees at Botany Bay Plantation, SC.

Our eldest Brittany, Marduk taking advantage of some off leash time at the beach. The sign said dogs could not be off leash in peak season: yet another reason to plan trips in the off season!

I should add the disclaimer that we like the beach best when it is deserted and a little chilly! Edisto Beach, SC is a lovely little area and we appreciated the general lack of commercialization. Our dogs were able to run off-leash on the beach and had a blast (dogs must be on-leash May-October)! Most of the time we had the place to ourselves, except for the occasional kayaker or sea gull. We even had one night out for seafood at a fun little restaurant called Seacow Eatery—great pie and friendly staff!

Golden Hour at the Big Bay Creek at Edisto Beach State Park in South Carolina. This was taken on the boardwalk that crosses the salt marsh. Print Available.

Botany Bay? Botany Bay! … Oh no!

Posted on March 19, 2015 by garbergeektography

On our first trip in the camper to Edisto Beach, SC, Michelle mentioned going to Botany Bay Plantation. I knew I had heard that name somewhere before, and I kept racking my brain to figure it out. Turns out, that SS Botany Bay is the name of Kahn’s ship in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn (and later in Star Trek: Into Darkness). Of course that name came from the original Botany Bay in Australia, which was a penal colony. After discovering the geeky nature of my recollection, I repeatedly quoted this line from Pavel Chekov when he discovers the identity of the mysterious marooned ship.

When Michelle showed me pictures of the old trees on the beach, I couldn’t wait to get there to capture the sunrise. Of course, the weather didn’t cooperate very well … or maybe it did. A dense layer of fog blanketed the sun. This gave a certain mystical and lonely quality to the shots that I had not anticipated, but that I thoroughly enjoyed. The fog was like a giant softbox, giving even lighting over the trees and lightly shrouding the other objects in a distance. This really helped me isolate my subjects and also gave me an interesting canvas in the background to use various processing techniques and textures. I processed all of the following shots with a combination of MacPhun’s Tonality Pro and Karen Hutton‘s and Tanya Wallis’ forthcoming texture pack.

We have several more images from the Botany Bay Plantation shoot on the way, but I am grouping them in different blog posts. The area has so many types of landscapes: bogs, marshes, ponds, streams, dense forest, farmland, and beaches. It really was a great place to practice a variety of landscape and nature shots.

This was one of my telephoto images with the a6000. I used a basic black and white conversion in Tonality Pro and added the Bursty Blur texture from the texture pack. Print Available.

i had some fun with the wide angle distortion on this one! I liked the effect that the Sandy Cool texture had on it. It seemed to fit the beach theme. Print Available.

I went for an authentic Ceti Alpha 5 look to this one, with the reddish goodness. To add texture, I used "Face it - Scratched" from the texture pack.

I went for a Ceti Alpha 5 look to this one, with the reddish goodness. To add texture, I used “Face it – Scratched” from the texture pack. Print Available.

Since I saw the name "Alien Skin Burn" in the texture pack, I've always wanted to use it. It seemed to fit the mood of this photo very well.

Since I saw the name “Alien Skin Burn” in the texture pack, I’ve always wanted to use it. It seemed to fit the mood of this photo well. Print Available.

After the split tone processing in Tonality Pro, I added the “Cold Skin” texture to this photo. It enhanced the blue tones and added a cool vignette. Print Available.

One of my favorite split-tone presets in Tonality Pro is “Blue Morning.” Split-toning involves taking a black and white image and adding two different tints to the shadows and the highlights. In this case, the shadows get a blue tint, and the highlights get a golden tint. I decided not to use a texture on this one because I liked the contrast between the textured ocean and the smooth sky. Print Available.

Garber Geektography Phase 2 (Part 1): Wherever We May Roam

Posted on March 16, 2015 by garbergeektography

The Tumbler in front of Rogue Shadow at our inaugural campground at Edisto Beach State Park, SC, USA.

The Tumbler in front of Rogue Shadow at our inaugural campground at Edisto Beach State Park, South Carolina.

My parents may have Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” but we have Metallica’s “Wherever I May Roam” (though Michelle prefers this version by Iron Horse). We are now introducing Phase 2 of the Garber Geektography project! One of the things I learned from my time in The Arcanum was my penchant for travel photography. I had a lot of opportunities last year for travel experiences, and while I have a few trips lined up this year, we are mostly sticking a little closer to home.

The galley of the Rogue Shadow. Perfect for the two of us.

As we were trying to figure out how to incorporate a travel mentality into our lives, Michelle and I downsized to one car–appropriately named The Tumbler because it came in black–in anticipation of buying a camper that would allow us more freedom.

A reverse side of the galley and the bed area. We have a queen size bed at home, and the dogs sleep in their own beds. In the full size bed in the camper, they opted to sleep in the bed. Go figure.

The galley and the bed area. We have a queen size bed at home, and the dogs sleep in their own beds. In the full size bed in the camper, they opted to sleep in the bed. Go figure.

We spent the better part of a year researching different camper options and planning. We finally decided to go with a small travel trailer—the bathroom sold it for us! We’ve dubbed it the Rogue Shadow and are going with a Star Wars décor. It is a Starcraft Camper, after all. By the way, Rogue Shadow is the name of Starkiller‘s personal transport. Starkiller, A.K.A. Galen Marek, was Darth Vader’s secret apprentice. Seriously, you can look it up in Wookiepedia!). We are ready for the adventures before us!

We’ll be posting reviews of the locations we explore, as well as updates on our (mis)adventures as camper newbies. Part 2 of our phase 2 project is coming soon, so stay tuned!

Our first campsite spoiled us! It was spacious, with trees all around, and a great view of the salt marsh in the Live Oak Campground at the Edisto Beach State Park in South Carolina.

Garber Geektography

Adventures in Imagery

Monthly Archives: March 2015