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Buddhist monks return to St. Petersburg to make sand mandalas

 
LUIS SANTANA  |   Times A Mandala on display at Florida CraftArt in St. Petersburg handmade by Tibetan monks using millions of grains of colored sand. Eight Tibetan monks from the Drepung Gomang monastery in India dissolve their sacred mandala, which was on display at Florida Craft Art this weekend. The Mandala was designed by the Dalai Lama and depicts all religions in harmony. After dissolving their Mandala, the monks led a procession to Demen's landing in St. Petersburg where they poured a portion of the sand into the water. A limited amount of envelopes containing sand from the Mandala were given to the group of hundreds that gathered to watch on Sunday, February 5, 2017.  [Photo Luis Santana | Times]
LUIS SANTANA | Times A Mandala on display at Florida CraftArt in St. Petersburg handmade by Tibetan monks using millions of grains of colored sand. Eight Tibetan monks from the Drepung Gomang monastery in India dissolve their sacred mandala, which was on display at Florida Craft Art this weekend. The Mandala was designed by the Dalai Lama and depicts all religions in harmony. After dissolving their Mandala, the monks led a procession to Demen's landing in St. Petersburg where they poured a portion of the sand into the water. A limited amount of envelopes containing sand from the Mandala were given to the group of hundreds that gathered to watch on Sunday, February 5, 2017. [Photo Luis Santana | Times]
Published May 30, 2018

Record crowds turned out at Florida CraftArt gallery last year when the Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery in India came to create one of their incredible sand mandalas on their Sacred Art Tour. The monks have returned to the gallery this week, and are currently in the midst of creating the Sacred Green Tara sand mandala, the female representation of the Buddha of Compassion. They'll be carefully pouring colored grains of sand into the design all week, and will chant daily at 10:15 a.m. and 4 p.m. A number of events surround their appearance.

• A guided group meditation with Tampa Bay Times' Bay magazine Creative Director Pegie Stark will complement the monks' teachings. Free. Bring a pillow. 4 p.m. Friday in the gallery.

• The monks lead a workshop painting Tibetan symbols on rocks at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday at the gallery. $25, $20 members. The Unitarian Universalist Church will lead a free panel discussion with the monks from 7-8 p.m. Saturday at 100 Mirror Lake Drive N, St. Petersburg.

• The mandala is finalized at noon Sunday, and the monks begin the Dissolution Ceremony at 1 p.m. That's right, after a week of painstaking creation, the mandala will be swept up and carried in a procession to the bay where it will be deposited with a Buddhist ceremony.

Admission to Florida CraftArt, 501 Central Ave., is free. Hours are 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. (727) 821-7391. floridacraftart.org.

CROSS CULTURAL: CORALETTE DAMME AT AMERICAN STAGE

American Stage Theatre Company continues its support of local artists by featuring the work of Coralette Damme in the lobby for the duration of its new production Strait of Gibraltar. Damme, a.k.a. the Crafty Hag, primarily works in block printing, sometimes adding other media to her pieces. Her work is rooted in symbols, folk legends and the natural world. The exhibition contains a piece she specifically created for the play, which centers around the love affair between an American woman and an undocumented Moroccan man. Reception at 7 p.m. Friday at 163 Third St. N, St. Petersburg. americanstage.org.