Suandala Mandala
man·da·la
/ˈmandələ /
noun
1. A geometric figure representing the universe in Hindu and Buddhist symbolism.
2. A symbol in a dream, representing the dreamer's search for completeness and self-unity.
As well as her award-winning novels, author Suanne Laqueur is known for her hand-drawn mandalas on Instagram. Now you can share in her artistry with this stunning collection of original designs. Let the repetitive nature of these sacred patterns both inspire your own artistic vision and take you to a place of mindful relaxation. Make it part of your meditation practice, or simply do it for the love of art.
21 original, hand-drawn designs.
Suandala Mandala: Hand-drawn mandalas to color
Available now!
I can’t meditate to save my life, but drawing mandalas has always brought me to a place of concentrated quiet. They say God is in the details and if so, mandalas are the closest thing I know to prayer.
I started out drawing these completely freehand, embracing my lopsided motifs as beautiful messes. I moved to a protractor and compass to lay down the guidelines but kept drawing the patterns freehand. I could’ve learned to make them on the computer, but that would have defeated the purpose.
The designs might look complex but drawing them is just doing the same thing over and over. Straight lines. Circles. Curves. Round and round. The point is not making each motif identical. The point is to get lost in it.
“What happens if you make a mistake?” Well, it depends if the mistake was made in pencil or pen. Pencils have an eraser. A mistake in pen has to be disguised or forgiven. Perfection is not the goal. As Elizabeth Gilbert says, “I am the worst combination of perfectionism and laziness, which makes me the world’s most dedicated half-ass.”
The mandalas might look perfect, but zoom in: you’ll see where my lines are crooked, you’ll see where my hands shook, you’ll see the mistakes. In other words, you’ll see a human being drew it. Zoom out, and all the flaws blend into the whole. It’s meant to be seen at a distance. (And come on, it’s just a mandala, not the Mona Lisa.)
So you are hereby invited and encouraged to color these as a human being. Go outside the lines. Make mistakes. Disguise or forgive. Repeat. Round and round. Just be in the moment and do a thing. Then step back and take it in as a whole.
Audiobook for A Charm of Finches
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I've never been prouder to launch a piece of my work. I already considered A Charm of Finches to be the most important book I've ever written, but Darren Eliker’s narration made it into something I don't even have a name for. He truly is going to be a huge voice in the world. The kind of voice that builds an empire.
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While An Exaltation of Larks spoke to Chile’s Los Desaparacidos, A Charm of Finches speaks to a different group of disappeared people. An invisible demographic who often suffer in misunderstood silence. Geno Caan speaks as one who knows, but he also speaks for men who will never tell their stories. Or for men who told their stories and weren’t believed. They are male survivors of sexual assault and they deserve to be seen and heard. These extraordinarily brave and resilient men possess strong hearts, and I stood in awe of them during the writing of this book, knowing there was a lot more I could get wrong than right.
It’s my sincere hope I got it right.
Ex-hustler Javier Landes is asking for his third chance at love. The third time proves to be the charm when he meets a Manhattan art therapist named Steffen Finch. What starts as casual and curious deepens into a passionate relationship--everything Jav has ever wanted, and everything he fears losing.
Stef's business card reads Curator & Sailor. His creativity and insightful nature have made him into a talented therapist, the one to call for tough cases. His professional success can't conceal a deep desire to connect with someone, but Javier Landes is the last person Stef expected.
Geronimo "Geno" Caan is Stef's most challenging case. Shattered physically and mentally after a brutal sexual assault, Geno learns to let art express what can't be spoken aloud. But as Geno's attachment to Stef intensifies and spills onto Jav, the boundaries between professional and personal begin to blur.
Over the course of a year, Jav, Stef and Geno form an unexpected and unconventional triangle, revealing how men make love in times of war and how love is a great wisdom made up of small understandings. The long-awaited second book of the Venery series, A Charm of Finches is an epic tale of survival and secrets that will stay with you forever.
