As we approach Halloween (All Hallows’ Eve), the evening before All Saints (All Hallows’) Day followed by All Souls Day, some sages are prone to say that this is that time of year when the veil grows thin between the temporal and the spiritual worlds—the time when those who are inclined have access to the knowings and the understandings of the powers on the other side beyond our ordinary, everyday earthbound experience.
Some savvy artists among us are skilled in accessing and living in this other dimension the year round. Deborah Barnett, one of four Featured Artists in artCentral’s HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE, is just such an artist. With her heart tuned by intuition and instinct and listening for inspiration, she has mastered the art of going over in a state of surrender that allows the creative process to take over her telling of what she finds. As a fabulously gifted creator, through her painting and singing and penning of songs and poetry Deborah shares with us the spirited treasures she discovers and brings back from those times she spends on the other side.
Make your way to artCentral’s home in Hyde House, 1110 East Thirteenth Street in Carthage, and see for yourself the amazing collection of wealth Deborah has brought to share with us in her beautiful array of brilliantly colored mandalas. They are waiting for your viewing and choosing to take home as your own to display or to give away to someone special on your shopping list.
The mandala—Sanskrit for circle—generally represents the spiritual journey, starting from the outside and moving into the inner core of awareness. For centuries in various spiritual traditions mandalas have been used as spiritual guidance tools—aides to meditation that focus attention and establish a sacred space.
First appearing in Buddhist art that was produced in India during the first century B.C.E., the mandala subsequently was incorporated into many eastern religions. The Cosmati pavements, including those at Westminster Abbey, are geometric, mandala-like mosaic designs from thirteenth century Italy.
There are many types of Celtic mandalas—symbols of spiritual growth and the realization of one’s heart desires, visions and divine ancestry. All Celtic mandalas contain a central point with Celtic symbols contained inside an outer circle. Patterns are typically repeated around the circle to create an attractive design. The Celtic knot symbolizes the timeless nature of spirit and speaks of birth and rebirth in both the physical and spiritual realm. You can see the Celtic influence in several of Deborah’s mandalas.
In contemporary Christianity here in Carthage you can find mandalas in the beauty of Grace Episcopal Church as you look up to the Rose Window in the sanctuary and while you meditatively walk the Biblical garden’s labyrinth from the outside to the center and outside again.
As you will discover in the galleries of artCentral, Deborah’s mandalas are painted on wooden disks as geometric configurations of symbols and images—butterflies and flowers and all manner of images representative of our temporal world that hold meaning for her and for many of us. They are joyful—filled with hope and celebrations for the natural world that surrounds and causes us to ponder the magical, mystical source of their creation on the other side.
Underwritten with the gracious support of Old Missouri Bank, the 2022 artCentral HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE showcasing Deborah’s mandalas and the giftable art of Kristin Girard, Brenda Hayes and Jane McCaulley and all the SMALL WORKS|GREAT WONDERS Silent Auction donations made by artCentral artists are available for viewing, purchasing and bidding 24/7 online at https://www.facebook.com/ArtcentralCarthage/photos_albums and artcentralcarthage.org, as well as in Hyde House during weekend gallery hours, Fridays and Saturdays, 12:00-5:00 p.m.
