Miya Ando, the renowned New York minimalist artist, has created a special series of five mandalas to be auctioned online to raise funds for the Tibetan Nuns Project, a registered charity based in Seattle and India.

All proceeds of the sale of the works, after the small fees from the auction house, will be donated by the artist to the Tibetan Nuns Project and will be used to provide food, shelter, education, and health care to over 700 Tibetan Buddhist nuns living at seven nunneries in northern India.

Miya Ando’s Dark Red Small Bodhi Leaf Meditation Mandala, 21×21 inches, framed, dyed bodhi skeleton leaves, monofilament, ragboard, 2015.

Online Auction of Unique Mandalas by Miya Ando
May 26-June 9 2016

Miya Ando has created a series of mandalas in the colors of Tibetan prayer flags. To create the works she’s used skeleton leaves from the Bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa) that she has bleached, dyed, and sewn.

Miya Ando’s five prayer flags made from Bodhi leaves being auctioned online through Paddle8 from May 26 to June 9 2016 with proceeds going to the Tibetan Nuns Project

The heart-shaped leaves have a deep Buddhist significance because it was under a Bodhi tree that the Buddha attained enlightenment. Bodhi trees are planted in close proximity to every Buddhist monastery. By creating prayer flags out of these leaves, Ando has combined two deeply meaningful Buddhist symbols. Prayer flags are an iconic symbol of Tibet and are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom.

Miya Ando’s Bluel Bodhi Leaf Meditation Mandala, 21×21 inches, framed, dyed bodhi skeleton leaves, monofilament, ragboard, 2015.

The special series will be auctioned over a two-week period from May 26th to June 9th 2016. The online auction link is http://paddle8.com/auction/tibetannuns

This is the third time that the award-winning artist has created a series of artworks in support of the Tibetan Nuns Project. In 2013, she generously made and auctioned a series of 5 glowing prayer flags. The backs of the paintings with phosphorescence so they absorb light during the day and at night emit a soft glow for 5 hours, like a soft halo or aura. And again, in 2015, Ando created a special new prayer flag series on metal in support of the nuns.

Miya Ando is a descendant of Bizen swordsmiths and was raised in a Buddhist temple in Japan and a redwood forest in Northern California. The foundation of her practice is transformation of surfaces.

Miya Ando’s White Bodhi Leaf Meditation Mandala, 21×21 inches, framed, dyed bodhi skeleton leaves, monofilament, ragboard, 2015.

She is the recipient of many awards, including the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2012. Her work has been exhibited extensively worldwide, including a recent show curated by Nat Trotman of the Guggenheim Museum.

Here is a wonderful video made by the Tricycle Foundation about Miya Ando that they have kindly allowed us to share in this blog post.

Miya Ando: The Alchemist from Tricycle on Vimeo.