Seeds of Pride Mandala - Velveteen Plush Blanket

Seeds of Pride Mandala

Seeds of Pride emerged from a quarrel that arose between myself and the artwork itself. The art only revealed its true identity as a finished piece right at the end, inspired by chance conversations with friends about Australia's Sydney Pride aligning with Mardi Gras.

Symbolized by the pomegranate with its myriad seeds, the original "forbidden fruit" of Eden and Persephone's ancient emblem of the Underworld, this mandala celebrates the radiant diversity of the LGBTQIA+ Pride movement across legion generations.

Using color to break with symmetry while also adding radial motion, this artwork is a constant reminder to me both as an artist and as a human being to trust the process — whether the legal battle for social rights, or the artistic struggle to make it all make sense in the end.

Like seeds, sometimes we ourselves need to endure a process of being temporarily discarded before we can come into our own. Meditate on this mandala when you need to celebrate the unknown endings in your life still in progress. to appreciate the beauty of transitional states of potential.