I spent almost three weeks in Bali. Not enough.
For the first week of my trip I studied space clearing with Karen Kingston in Amed, a fishing village in the east of Bali. It was very educational, but the highlight of my trip was living at at Santra Putra a fine art studio/guest house run by internationally acclaimed abstract artist I Wayan Karja and his wife Gede.
I have to say living with Karja and his wife and studying painting and Balinese cosmology, which by the way is very similar to Feng SHui was a powerful opening to my own artistic side and a deeper knowing of how color can deepen our experience of life and the divine.
“Karja combines the philosophy of the Balinese Hindu Mandala colors with modern international techniques in order to build a bridge between the micro and macro cosmos.
The mandala functions as a spiritual tool, in its presence the viewer is not only affected by each color in particular but by the balance of colors through which a state of inner harmony is created in the viewer.
For example red might not only symbolize passion or heat but may also reduce those sensations by reflecting or absorbing those energies.” (content from website)
I tapped into my creativity. It was my first time painting and I found myself seeking to harmonize and blend colors in the same family rather than pick contrasting colors-which I think will probably be the next phase for me. What you don’t see is that the coil overlaps the symbol of the ana-hu-the root of the present word God is the Sanskrit word hu which means to call upon, invoke, implore.
In between painting classes and watching the amazing view of rice fields from my balcony, I ate the best Satai in the world at Mades Warung 15 feet from my guest house with my girlfriends and meandered through the rice fields and visited temples.
Every moment I spent at Santra Putra was infused with color. I really felt the power that color plays in our lives. The Balinese Mandla represents every color except for purple which I thought was really interesting. Purple is the color for wealth and opulence and their is a lot of poverty in Bali-not sure but maybe there is a connection there. I will write more on teh subject of cosmology and art that I learned from KArja in the coming days for now enjoy the pictures and if you want to know more about this Master Artist, please check out his web site: http://www.wayankarja.com/about/
