The Love Mandala & The Cosmology of Love
In 2018, I collaborated with Laura Smith-Biswas and Stephanie Wood-Miller of The Love Mandala to provide a visual language for Laura's book The Cosmology of Love, and companion book Affirmations of Love. She created over 70 Ways of Loving, put into 5 categories - Ways of Being, Ways of Acting, Ways of Speaking, Ways of Thinking & Ways of Touching. I called on the history of henna design from around the world, and chose 'base symbols' for each category to build the visual language. The paisley represented the mango shape used in Indian henna design, the triangle for the straight lines of Moroccan henna design, the lotus for decorative Arabic henna design. I chose the spiral as a more universal symbol, relating to countless cultures around the world, and the infinity symbol rounded out the lexicon. The Ebooks were re-released on Amazon in 2021, earning best-seller status. I use the symbols today to create custom talismans in my Ceremonial Henna work. Take the Ways of Loving Quiz here!
In 2018, I collaborated with Laura Smith-Biswas and Stephanie Wood-Miller of The Love Mandala to provide a visual language for Laura's book The Cosmology of Love, and companion book Affirmations of Love. She created over 70 Ways of Loving, put into 5 categories - Ways of Being, Ways of Acting, Ways of Speaking, Ways of Thinking & Ways of Touching. I called on the history of henna design from around the world, and chose 'base symbols' for each category to build the visual language. The paisley represented the mango shape used in Indian henna design, the triangle for the straight lines of Moroccan henna design, the lotus for decorative Arabic henna design. I chose the spiral as a more universal symbol, relating to countless cultures around the world, and the infinity symbol rounded out the lexicon. The Ebooks were re-released on Amazon in 2021, earning best-seller status. I use the symbols today to create custom talismans in my Ceremonial Henna work. Take the Ways of Loving Quiz here!