Mandala with Korean feeling, the sunflower

Mandala with Korean feeling, the sunflower

 Dr. Carl Jung, who applied mandala to psychology for the first time, actually experienced the healing effect of drawing daily through Mandala. Through this, the mandala is even expressed as a mirror that reflects the inner world.

  In this sense, I first reflected the inner mirror, the mandala, in my mind. Then, patterns containing Korean emotions and culture, which are my roots, began to emerge. Through this, I decided to plan a class as a tool to help those who live in a multicultural environment reflect the traditions and roots of their inner world and find their identity through this.

 In particular, according to "Explore this Resource on Development and Museums By Elizabeth Reich Rawson", by the age of eight, gender, racial, and ethnic identities and group affiliations begin to emerge, and children are able to distinguish themselves from others and place themselves within geographical and cultural contexts (Citing a literature review of World Brooklyn and several other projects, hired by Selinda Research Associates).

 For me, who is interested above all in the art education of immigrant and third-world children, this passage struck a chord with me. In other words, by using mandala, I believe that effective education can be implemented for children before and after the age of 8, which is an important period for establishing identity, recognizing the surroundings, and developing. ​I named my mandala class 'Sunflower'. And before designing the mandala, I researched Korean traditional patterns first.

  It can be seen that traditional patterns have a strong character as a kind of shamanic object that asks for a realistic prayer for an ideal life. In other words, our traditional patterns can be said to be art expressed by the second nature or symbolic signs that are fixed and symbolized by the concept through which our nation's collective value and emotion are connected. In addition, although patterns are positioned as a part of living art, they do not simply exist as objects of appreciation, but as shamanistic objects containing human desires and prayers, or as symbolic sculptures that express and convey such emotions.

​ Korean traditional patterns were used in architecture, cultural properties, and daily props. Or it was used to represent the thoughts of Buddhism. The primary purpose of the pattern was decoration, or it was also used for the preservation of relics. In Dancheong, the unique colors of Korean patterns appear well. Dancheong refers to various patterns and pictures drawn on wooden buildings using the five basic colors of blue, red, yellow, white, and black.

 ​In addition, in the court, one could know one's status and position through patterns. Only the king's clothes (gonryongpo) had a dragon drawn on them, and officials wore clothes with different patterns depending on their position and work. The crane represents civil servants and the tiger represents military officers. Also, the higher the number, the higher the position. In the case of props, there are various things such as bojagi, pillow hats, and rice cakes. In the case of patterns engraved on supplies used by the common people, there were many letters wishing for good fortune. The pattern of rice cakes was generally determined according to the family name.

​ Korean traditional patterns contain reverence for nature and spiritual feelings, longing for an ideal world, mechanisms of happiness, fullness of affection, and blessings for good fortune.

 ​A name is recognized as a marker of one's personal identity, whether one wants it or not. It does not stay in the identity of the individual, but is naturally connected to the country and the people. We also infer his country and people from his name. In other words, if you put the traditional patterns of your country in your name, which is an important indicator, it will be a good experience to confirm your roots through your name.

 ​For this purpose, I synthesized traditional patterns in the name and configured it to be colored like a coloring book.

 ​And below is a sunflower drawn with watercolor paint using traditional Korean patterns.

 ​Korean traditional patterns contain reverence for nature and a mystical feeling, and this mandala includes elements such as flowers, leaves, stems, and water among natural objects.