The mandalas can also be gicléed onto acid-free art paper, giving a finished quality so high that these prints are almost indistinguishable from the original artworks. In this case, the print is of the original mandala, on a plain white background, and is sold unmounted.

The standard sizes and prices (including postage) of these paper-based gicée prints are:
large designs
16in x 16in (approx 40cm x 40cm) – £150
medium designs
12in x 12in (approx 30cm x 30cm) – £80.

While the prints on paper give more the feel of the original painted artwork than the canvas prints, the artist now considers the Photoshop-generated backgrounds to be very much an integral part of the works, as explained in the About my mandalas section in the About mandalas page of this website.

Greetings cards, approximately 15cm x 15cm (6in x 6in) in size, of most of the designs, printed on 300gsm card and packed with square envelopes and cellophane display covers are also soon to be available. The back of the card shows a detail of the design and carries an inspirational quote. The inside is left blank.

Prices are under adjustment, but are expected to be approximately £2 each, or £16 (plus postage and packing) for ten assorted designs).

Three of the designs – Meditation in the marketplace, The Spring of my lord and The Alchemy of crystals – are also available as 5in x 5in printed greetings cards. They come with slightly rustic, square, white, Indian-made envelopes (you need to add glue to seal them).

These greetings cards cost £6 (plus p & p) for a pack of six (two of each design) and £10 (plus p & p) for a pack of 12 (four of each design).

Prem Shashi is happy to conduct occasional mandala workshops. These focus on the creation of mandalas as devices for centring and meditation rather than as a form of art therapy. Although the process certainly can be therapeutic, it is not intended in any way as emotionally cathartic or dealing with personal stories, being more concerned with a quest for a supra-personal, cosmic sense of harmony.

 

A variant workshop combines the quiet contemplative Buddhist approach to centring that is the mandala with the active Sufi approach that is whirling, with time devoted to both meditative practices.

The artist is also currently devising a healing spectacle featuring whirling, performed to the accompaniment of beautiful Sufi music, against a backdrop of projected moving mandalas.

This spiritually refreshing, emotionally touching and visually dazzling show would normally run for about 30 minutes, and can be enjoyed equally as meditation, therapy or entertainment, although it is primarily intended for performance at centres or events dedicated to alternative therapies and arts.

 

In such spaces, it could be arranged to coincide with workshops in either mandala-making or whirling or both.

The performance is ideally suited to a raked seating arrangement rather than a raised stage area, as the circular whirling skirt – and the whirler – look more impressive seen from above than from below. Digital projection facilities are required in order to run the mandala ‘movie’.

Develop your meditation, your creativity and your ability to stay centred through techniques borrowed from Sufi dervishes and Tibetan Buddhism.

In these meditation-based workshops, participants will be initiated into two powerful and complementary centring techniques – one serene and contemplative, originating in Tibetan Buddhism, the other active and ecstatic, a part of Sufi mystic tradition. Both use the circle as a key in the search for the eye of the chaotic whirlwind within our minds, the silent centre that is the seat of the being.

The intention of the workshops is not specifically therapeutic or cathartic; it is not about delving down into the dark, unconscious side of the mind. Its approach is rather to reach upwards towards the superconscious, to the joyous, serene spaces beyond the ordinary mind, spaces that are attained by meditation. In essence, it is a celebration of creativity, of dance, music, colour and form, enjoyed as natural expressions of the being.

While neither whirling nor mandala-making can really be taught in detail, the basic principles can be introduced and certain helpful practical tips imparted. Each individual then evolves his or her own technique in the two practices gradually.

From the start, however, both activities act powerfully as centring devices, aiding with awareness, and a deeper understanding of who we truly are.

The workshops include an introduction to meditation and the ultimate purpose behind it, as well as simple techniques for awareness, in an approach based on the vision of the Indian 20th-century mystic, Osho.

Workshops combining both mandala-making and whirling will consist in an alternation of sessions of whirling (or dancing) and of mandala-making, such that each activity is progressively enriched by the experiences and insights of the other. For those few who discover that whirling is definitely not for them, watching others whirling, and listening to the beautiful heart-centred Sufi music, forms an effective alternative form of meditation. Or they may choose to continue working on a mandala with the whirling dance and music creating an inspirational background.

Where whirling is envisaged, a relatively large, clear space with a smooth, level floor is a pre-requisite. The minimum duration of a workshop is one day.