When Art Meets Nature: Mandalas on Grewen Plaza
By Kim Waale
Visiting Professor and Artist-in-Residence
Is creativity essential for wellness? Can engaging with art truly enhance our well-being? Does exposure to nature contribute to our health? These questions form the core of Art + Wellness, a first-year seminar I have been teaching since 2023. In this class, students explore the concept of biophilia – the innate human connection to nature and non-human life – while examining the relationship between creativity and health. As part of this journey, they transform Grewen Plaza into a vibrant temporary public art installation. (Waale is pictured above with Biology Professor Jason Lucier.)
Exploring Art, Wellness, and the Beauty of Impermanence
For one day each October over the past three years, the Le Moyne community has gathered to witness these student artists construct impressive mandalas using only natural materials gathered from the Le Moyne woods and surrounding areas. Community members are also invited to participate, creating mandalas with an abundance of available materials – multi-colored leaves, black walnuts, fuzzy Staghorn sumac, leaf stems, field corn, berries, acorns and more.
Mandalas, rooted in a Sanskrit word for “circle,” are traditionally a Buddhist art form used in rituals aimed at devotion and spiritual enlightenment, although their contemporary forms and functions can vary widely. This is reflected in the way our Art + Wellness mandalas transform Grewen Plaza into a contemporary art installation that encourages contemplation of humanity’s relationship to the natural world, especially during seasonal change.
In Tibetan Buddhism, sand mandalas are intentionally impermanent; after meticulous construction, these detailed artworks are swept into a pile and returned to nature in a Dissolution Ceremony, reminding us that all things in life are transitory. Our mandalas also embrace impermanence, ultimately returning to nature through elements like wind, rain, and particularly playful squirrels – who were notably fond of the hickory nuts featured in one of this year’s creations. Shown here are Sabri Thabet and Ramzi Thabet.
Mandalas on the Plaza is an ephemeral artwork representing a harmonic convergence of creativity and nature, that for one glorious day in October brings Grewen Plaza to life with blazing fall color. It serves as experiential research for the Art + Wellness students, who investigate whether creating and experiencing art – in nature and of nature – enhances well-being. Tim Kelsey, a student participating for the second year, reflected, “It’s incredibly calming to engage with nature on a brisk morning. I was feeling super stressed that day, but working on that mandala for just 45 minutes helped center me and get me back on track.” From left, Marissa McCloud, Professor Lucier and Iris Horowitz.
So, mark your calendars for next October when the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp. Join us for Mandala Day on Grewen Plaza, where everyone is welcome to either observe or create mandalas, embracing the fleeting beauty of nature while fostering mindfulness and enhancing well-being.
