Creating Mandalas [Paperback]

Susanne F. Fincher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1991

     The traditional designs known as mandalas were recognized by C. G. Jung as symbolic representations of the Self. This book is a practical guide to mandala drawing for personal growth, stress reduction, and creative expression. Fincher introduces the history and ritual use of mandalas in cultures all over the world; offers guidance in choosing art materials, techniques, and colors for the creation of personal mandalas; and discusses the symbolism of shapes, colors, numbers, and motifs, such as birds and flowers, that may appear in mandalas. She also presents several illustrated case histories of people who successfully use her techniques.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Every once in a while a book appears which, right away, becomes a 'classic' in its field. Until it gets into print, we don't realize how much it has been needed, because there has been nothing available to remind us that there is a gap in the existing literature. Such a book is Susanne F. Fincher's Creating Mandalas."—Journal of the American Art Therapy Association



"A wonderful fusion of ancient and contemporary observations and wisdom."—Peter London, author of No More Secondhand Art



"Susanne Fincher's practical guide gathers European, African, Eastern, Native American, and other mythological perspectives and blends them with Jungian theory and her personal experience. This anatomy of the mandala will be useful to artists, therapists, and others who enter the magic circle."—Shaun McNiff, Professor of Expressive Therapy, Lesley College, and author of Art As Medicine

About the Author

Susanne F. Fincher, MA, is a Jungian-oriented psychotherapist, a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Board Certified Art Therapist, and an internationally known expert using mandala-making for self-exploration. Through her workshops on creativity, people are able to engage their inner resources for insight, healing, and self-expression. Visit her web site at www.creatingmandalas.com.  

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1 edition (October 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877736464
• ISBN-13: 978-0877736462
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #280,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Susanne F. Fincher is an art therapist with more than twenty-five years experience guiding the personal growth of adults. Through her workshops on creativity, people are able to engage their inner resources for insight, healing, and self-expression. Susanne has written several books on mandalas, circular designs that evoke wholeness. She maintains a private practice in Atlanta, Georgia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun & Excellent Resource!, January 21, 2001

By 

"alabasterwoman" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creating Mandalas (Paperback)

I bought this book AFTER I had done several mandalas in an art therapy class. I was amazed by the insight of the author into art (and mandalas) as a healing & exploratory tool, and by the extra dimensions Fincher's writing helped me to find in my art work. Using her book as a guide, I'm continuing to create mandalas... and am using her research to augment the interpretation of my OTHER artworks as well. I highly reccommend this book -- especially to folks who want to access and improve upon the instinctive, artistic side of their nature but fear that they "don't know how to draw". You'll find, using Fincher's book, that sometimes simply WHERE you put a blob of color on a piece of paper, and WHAT color you're using is far more important than whether or not you've drawn something that looks "perfect" or "realistic". If you want to learn more about YOURSELF, buy this book. It's a fabulous and fun tool!

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Opening the door to your inner life, March 7, 2002

By 

Marshall Hudson Knapp (Fair Haven,, VT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creating Mandalas (Paperback)

I met Suzanne Fincher at a conference sponsored by Journey into Wholeness some fifteen years ago. I did not know it but I was in the first round of a fight for life: midlife crisis. My old life was crumbling before my eyes, and I went to Suzanne's workshop on making mandalas. We drew a circle and used crayons to just let things happen. Somehow, again without my knowing it until later, all the floating pieces of my life found a place within this circle called a mandala. It gave me a profound sense of peace, AND as I learned from Suzanne's teaching and this book, about how to work with my mandalas, they have provided me - throughout the years - a powerful vision for what is happening within me. I have shared this book with small groups and classes and people seeking wholeness and healing for many years with great blessing to each person who worked with it, and I continue to recommend it as the best single resource for mandalas, and a pivotal resource for sensing the moves of the Spirit within us. Suzanne's other book, Coloring Mandalas, is a delightful coloring book that offers many diverse models of mandalas representing places on the great round of the mandala.

One of the encouraging dimensions of regular creation of mandalas is the opportunity to see "progress" or movement within our lives when we are going through changes. I remember encouraging a friend to draw mandalas one time when they felt very alone and lost. After a couple of weeks when she thought she was going nowhere and learning nothing we sat down and compared her creations with the great round of the mandala and she and I could see her movement around the cycle, charting in a most beautiful way the progress/growth/movement within her life that she could not otherwise see, It provided a deep sense of peace and encouragement on her path.

Through the years innumerable folks have found a similar vision of their inner life through mandalas. May Suzanne's book help you start on that path! A small candle, some peaceful music, some crayons or colored pencils, and a piece or paper are all you need to begin.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent browsing or reference book., April 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Creating Mandalas (Paperback)

There is a lot of information in this book, presented in an easy to read style. It explains the history of mandalas and the practical use of them. The text has headings on colours, symbols and numbers that appear commonly in mandalas when people create them. The text also has headings on the form or design of the mandala. Under the headings, the author draws on her own extensive research and insights to explain how each colour, symbol and number and form can be interpreted.