BLOG Karen L French - Karen L French

THE BINDING FORCE OF RINGS - Tolkien exhibition

5/31/2018

All encompassing circle

Rings, or Circles, bind everything within as one. It is the nature the circle to encompass, hold and support whatever is contained within it, like a bowl. All geometric shapes are constructed with their corners touching the Circle from which they originate and are maintained. Indeed, all forms of existence shaped by geometric principles are contained within the circular vessel of reality.

THE GRID OF TIME

THE SUN is active, radiating out light that contains colours. We are made of light, we reflect light so that others might see us, light sustains us, colours provide vibrance and meaning to our life. Our inner 'light' radiates out to illuminate us and provide us with strength.

Light, and the fire creating it, have been revered for many generations. Coming together in a Circle we share a special moment that binds us together as a group and, ultimately, as part of the One Circle. Fire was frequently placed in the Centre, or another important item, or person, that was central to holding the Circle together. When removed the Circle dissolves away.

TIME is the abstract feature of reality give form by the circle. Binding all time within the eternal, vast circle on the perimeter that is centred around the immediate moment of the central Point. It is the Point that provides an axis around which all circles of every duration can rotate, like a wheel. The minute, hour, year, eon...eternity; every cycle revolves around the elusive, immediate moment.

THE INTENT and nature of the Centre radiates out in all directions, as light does. So if it is negative, or "rotten at the core", this also spreads outwards. Much like the inner Circles around a source of dark power when corrupted will influence outer Circles to eventually affect the whole community revolving around this source. Light and love will permeate the Circle, so whenever you are central to a Circle radiate out positive, loving intent.

For more on the characteristics of Circles and other geometric shapes please refer to my books in The Gateway Series.

The Lord of the Rings

The famous Bodlaien libraries in Oxford, UK, are holding a major exhibition of JRR Tolkien's work from the 1st June 2018, including his illustrations, poems, letters and personal items. As a fan of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, which I have read several times, I am looking forward to gaining an insight into the creative process of this gifted author. The binding power of rings and the significance of the intent of the ring bearers, being destructive dark or healing, loving light, are central to the success these epic stories.

from the Bodlaien libraries website

Crystal Grids and Alchemical Art - fusing sacred geometry, light and the Elements

5/11/2018

Alchemical art

Alchemical Art is transformative, changing anyone who works with them. This can happen merely by looking at the artwork or being in its proximity. Each piece is contained within the sacred space of its boundaries and is a fusion of the dynamics of geometric forms, emotive colours and one or more of the Classical Elements. The latter may be symbolically represented in the image or made out of specific materials due to their symbolism or vibration. In this instance crystals were placed on four paintings of my alchemical art paintings to incorporate their qualities. The results were stunning to look at and to work with. It would have been interesting to add further Elements, such as bowls of water and burning essence for air and fire, and also to use sound to activate them.

Each of the alchemical art crystal grids were made by some participants of a crystal group run by Karin Bain. Karin has written an e-book called Networking With Crystals that will soon be available in paper form as well.

Crystal Grids

Crystal grids take many forms, they can be simple, intricate or complete. Invariably there is sacred geometry in their layout and so they are actually a yantra, or "thought form", the principle of all man-made sacred geometry artworks and structures. By adding the vibrations of specific crystals the crystal grid yantra becomes a pulsating vehicle for connecting your Mind to the underlying basis of reality. The effects are very personal.

Yantras are covered in detail in The Gateway Series books and I also recommend the book Yantra by Madhu Khanna.

Any sacred site using sacred geometry and specific earth materials brings additional vibrational qualities to their function and use. For example, Stonehenge and its bluestone rocks that were deliberately brought a great distance for their vibrational purposes. In the aerial image below notice how the central stone grid is enclosed within a larger Circle. It is part of a larger site that has several smaller yantra that all work together. This sacred structure is a huge crystal yantra that still has the capacity to draw thousands of people to it.

Aerial view of Stonehenge (Google Earth)

Man-made Circles and Spheres

1/3/2018

In celebration of the creativity of humanity here is a gallery of our PROLIFIC uses for the circle and sphere. From the invention of the wheel and construction of simple round buildings, using minimal materials and gaining maximum space, our uses for this most basic geometric construct are extensive. Simple and stunning, the sphere is the vessel of all geometric forms.

Art as an Embodiment of the Universe - the Circle, Square and Triangle

7/18/2017

Archetypal symbolism using a variety of geometric shapes is ancient, stretching back to the dawn of man's earliest artworks as seen in petroglyphs around the world. Our ancestors’ simple drawings on rocks and artefacts gave tangible form to the harmonious patterns of life and the intangible order uniting the Universe. They give 'form to the formless' and are abstract expressions of the science manifesting reality.

Zen calligraphy is viewed as depicting ‘pictures of the Mind’ and your degree of enlightenment is seen expressed in the flow of the ink. The renowned calligrapher Sengai (1750–1837) produced a vast number of works. Perhaps the most famous Zen painting in the world, comprising only a square, triangle and circle, he saw as the embodiment of the Universe. The 3 forms overlap a little, suggesting their interconnectivity.

Ueshiba Morihei (founder of aikido):
“The body should be triangular, the mind circular. The triangle represents the generation of energy and is the most stable physical posture. The circle symbolizes serenity and perfection, the source of unlimited techniques. The square stands for solidity, the basis of applied control.”

Down the generations all cultures have used simple shapes such as these and they, like Zen artists, had the same profound understanding that the simple patterns shaping the Universe were themselves sacred and empowered. Other examples, used extensively in my books, are yantras and mandalas. Tantra Yoga is the path of union with the Absolute through geometric visualization in Tantric Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Central to Tantrism are elaborate and precise geometric patterns, known as mandalas or yantras, some of which are thousands of years old. In this tradition the triangle, circle and square were significant Vedic forms which symbolised spirituality, evolution and the Earth respectively. Additionally in both Indian and Japanese esoteric teachings, such as Mikkyo, these shapes represent earth (square), water (circle) and fire (triangle).

Simple shapes embodying intricate complexity, the circle, square and triangle structure and bind the 3 profound concepts of time (evolution: Mind, serenity and perfection:water), space (Earth:Body:earth) and being (spirituality:solidity and applied control:fire). The empty circle, the vessel for all geometry shapes, when totally empty is the essence of enlightenment.

Here is my version of these timeless concepts:

'Circle, Square, Triangle' by Karen L French

Insights from my art

12/28/2016

Every image I create is imbued with symbolism - sacred geometry of shapes and patterns, light and colours, flowers, animals, Gods & Goddesses… All are visual expressions of the science manifesting reality. Images for connecting into with your Mind to enhance your experience of reality. To see more in my abstract and conceptual art look beyond the surface images and think of them as a 'thought forms' to blend into and work with.

I often post one of my pieces with a short interpretation and insight for that day. As examples here are a couple that I posted on my facebook page in December 2016. Enjoy!

Infinity and Emotions

Emotions colour our lives. Every time you are triggered by events in your life to feel blue (sadness), see red (anger, hate), feel green (with envy).... they happen to reflect back and show you the inner work you need to do along the Spiral path towards the inner, central Self where unconditional Joy is experienced.

Look at the subtle images within the paintings, which were not created intentionally. For example I see a swan at the centre. Swans symbolise grace, the awakening power of the inner Self, balance, inner beauty and the 'rising glory' of a new day.

Unfurling Potential

As 2017 approaches here is a thought for the new year. Allow your potential to unfurl to reveal you in all your splendour. Awaken your senses, exeperience the colours of life and learn from them.

Humour in sacred geometry!

7/4/2016

The Grid of Life in ancient art

7/4/2016

INDONESIA - Solo River banks in Java
Excavated in the 1890s, the site in Java revealed bones of what appeared to be an ancient human, surrounded by animal remains and shells dated between 1m - 700,000 years old. Similar fossils have since been found in Africa and elsewhere in Asia. Palm-sized shells found alongside the body's are very interesting as they are decorated with abstract geometric patterns. These are the earliest evidence of abstract art.

AFRICA - Blombos caves ochre
The Java art is very similar to the 70,000 year old ochre etchings found in the Blombos cave Africa. This astonishing cave is home to a veritable stash of art materials. Read more here.

These first examples of abstract art are similar to the triangular Grid of Life, and basis of what it is 'to be', a design that is found in the symbolic systems of every culture and also in nature. 3 creation, 6 fertility and 9 maturation - this is the trinity of numbers linked to the Grid of Life.

Egypt - memories of 12/12

6/21/2016

In Dec 2016 it will have been 5 years since I went on a truly incredible trip to Egypt. I am posting this now as the organiser, Barbara Meicklejohn-Free, is doing another trip in February 2017.

12/12/12 - at dawn we find transport (thankful I had a horse as the camels misbehaved), 12 of us headed into the desert to view the pyramids. A once in a lifetime experience!

Never boring! Typical sites in Egypt: camel trains, fishermen, wildlife, pet crocodiles in a Nubian's front living room and camels in a truck. There is always plenty to buy - trinkets, jewellery, rugs, high quality oils, spices, cotton products......or just relaxing on deck watching the banks of the Nile drift past.

Salah El-Masekh explaining some texts in Luxor. He is the site dig manager at Luxor where they had just started unearthing a huge bathing area outside the main temple entrance. An article he wrote about the baths appeared in the Ancient Egypt Magazine (Vol 12 Issue 6 June/July 2012).

Exploring the temples and sacred sites of Egypt requires long hours in transportation, walking and lots of climbing! Not for the faint of heart, we even crawled along narrow tunnels of lesser known pyramids (there are over 100 in Egypt alone), usually home to several bats. Frequently we were at temples as dawn broke, which generated some lovely photographs and meant it was quiet. Saw and photographed the infamous 'flower of life' drawing. Sadly it is very faint and in an inaccessible spot - in an archway over water - so it is a long distance shot.

Diamond Grid - wonderful picture of rainbow diamonds in light pouring from behind the Sphinx, mirroring the pyramid behind.

Sacred geometry in India - it is everywhere!

6/15/2016

For fun I am sharing a small selection of photographs taken on a fantastic trip to India Nov 2013, organised by Jazaro-Nur. In every image there is an example of sacred geometry, which is a vital feature of the Indian culture and everyday life that goes back many centuries.

Overt geometric symbolism in Gustav Klimt's art

6/13/2016

GUSTAVE KLIMT was a pioneering symbolist artist of art nouveau whose style was controversial due to its erotic elements. Symbolism, including that of geometric shapes, was used extensively and overtly in his art. Never subtle, he used symbolism imaginatively in a way that generated criticism since he was so far ahead of the time period. Klimt is best known for the style of his later works, which includes the use of gold paint/leaf, abstract space in the art and exotic symbolism of the female figure.

The Tree of Life (above), symbolic of the union of Heaven and Earth, is a well known Klimt masterpiece. This stunning painting is full of geometry in the patterning and in its underlying structure. The figure for 'Anticipation' (left hand side) has triangles directing you to look at her face, which itself is looking at a desired future of 'Fulfilment'. Symbolically triangles are associated with eyes and directed intent. The embracing figures of 'Fulfilment' (right hand side) are united in an oval. Note the yin/yang male/female faces and within the robes. There are interesting geometric patterns within the males robe, such as the square grid. Dynamic spirals of the 'Tree of Life's' branches unwinding enfold the two sides and also, like a labyrinth, tell the story of life as it progresses.
Click here for a more analysis of the painting by Samui Art Gallery.

Golden Adele Bloch Bauer is the most famous portrait by Klimt. You will note how the head, with eyes, is at the top of an underlying implied triangle in the structure. Eyes within vesica piscae, themselves within triangles, are in a pillar and the triangles point towards the top, head. An Eye in a triangle symbolises our mind frozen in a physical body; the eye of the expansive Mind looks out of the triangular window into a reality perceived by the 3-Eyes (two physical ones and the third inner eye). Spirals of manifestation surround her head, much like those of Buddha. In the background squares of the physical realm provide strength and stability.

1893, Gustav Klimt and Matsch were commissioned to paint the ceiling of the cathedral in the new university of Vienna. Many of the pieces that were designed for the university were met with distain, including 'Medicine' (on the right), due to the extreme symbolism in the art.

'This detail from Klimt's Medicine shows the figure of Hygeia, the mythological daughter of the god of medicine. Klimt was loyal to traditional depictions of the goddess, providing her with a snake and the cup of Lethe. However, above Hygeia, Klimt painted a large column of light, and placed on either side several nude figures and, most notably, a skeleton to symbolize Death. For this Klimt received much criticism from physicians and university officials who were offended by what they saw as his lurid, almost pornographic depiction, of the human form, and for suggesting that the healing arts were unable to prevent death. Klimt's University paintings, of which Medicine was a part, were some of his first works to explore the female form in vivid detail.' www.theartstory.org

Gateway to the Heavens
A glorious work that fires the imagination and helps us appreciate the truth of our reality.
NEXUS magazine (Aug - Sept 2014)

'Do you realise you actually shape your destiny and shapes influence your destiny. If you want to understand how this works ask Karen to give a talk about it or read her excellent book. You may have hated even the mention of geometry at school, but Karen's simple and illustrated explanations will give you a real insight into this fascinating topic.'
Jo Pelle, NSFH

The Hidden Geometry of Life
The harmony in our world and the cosmos is awe-inspiring, and is brilliantly portrayed here in images and words which reveal the connection between art, geometry, science, consciousness and spirituality.... An illuminating book indeed!
NEXUS magazine (June - July 2012)

'The attentive audience was enthralled by Karen's introduction to the principals of this truly multi-dimensional topic ... The energy in the room, by the end of the evening, was well and truly charged!'
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