By Ade Inoira Raphael
This coloring book “Ode to Bahavani: A Journey of Creation Meditation” is an invitation to all artists, whether you are an artist in practice or just in mind, to open themselves further and more deeply. This is an invitation to meditate on these lines and their significance to self. It is an invitation to one’s own creative impulses and celebration of self. It is an invitation to express and create - these lines serve only as guide posts. My belief is that every individual desires and deserves expression and the ability to value self through them. This life is so full of wonder and each individual holds worlds of life expression reaching to be felt, heard, and valued.
Embedded within this coloring book are pieces of art and a poem. The poem, “Ode to Bhavani” is a celebration of creation itself and an exploration of the universal energy known as “Om” in a few of its principle forms. Poetry provides portals between our internal and external worlds. This piece is a coalescing of the alchemy of word and the colors, sounds, emotions, and connection between them and language as the individual knows it and grows through it in shared and unique ways.
If a picture paints a thousand words, a single word can paint a thousand pictures. This is merely a reflection of the expansiveness of human consciousness and experience of life.
The word “Bhavānī” translates to "giver of life", meaning the power of nature or the source of creative energy. She is an aspect of Parvati and considered to be a mother who provides to her devotees and also plays the role of dispensing justice by killing Asuras (“celestial”/divine beings). She is considered an embodiment of both “mercy” and “ferocity” and is considered present through all of the universe that she shares in the credit of creating. Bhavani exists in multiple cultures, religions and histories.
“Om”, symbolized by ॐ in Sanskrit, holds many meanings and values. At its most universally accepted understanding, it is the source sound of the universe and the most basic element of matter and energy. Om is light, color, breath, life, and all things. Om can hold many meanings at once - ranging widely and infinitely. There are basic tenets of practice with this sound and symbol and I encourage each reader to seek deeper understanding of what “Om” can mean. Within the poem narrative, Om is reflected on through various realms of “reality”, universal creation narratives and reflexive valences. Like the individual, there hosts a multitude within Om every moment with a universe of potential and value. This poem is a story of Bhavani and Om in co-creation, from silence to full sentence to song.
The pages of art are from two separate pieces in a specific series, and together they create “H.E.R.Mitt”. “H.E.R” is a rendering of an interpretation of universal creation as expressed in various forms across the canon of human culture and creativity. “Mitt” is an expression or iteration of that raw energy as it bridges the gap into life as it exists between space-time, fueling what we make of the materials and “magix” gifted us from spiritual universal progenitors. The art is parsed into multiple sections and I invite the artist journeying through coloring to take them out and put them together however feels right (think puzzle within a coloring book). The movement and shapes embodied within the lines of “H.E.R.” And “Mitt” are specific representations and suggestions at the same time, and hold value based on the movement of perception through it. Each moment is meant to be experienced through observation and active choice. Every perception is unique and the art provides invitation to unlock meaning and significance through many lenses. Through actively choosing colors and the shapes they hold may the person creating their colored rendition create something unique that is theirs and theirs alone (unless they decide to gift it).
To the artist journeying through this coloring book meditation, thank you!
Adé Inoira Raphael (she/her) is a Caribbean born and raised artist with roots in St. Croix, USVI and Dominica. Adé draws inspiration from the physical and spiritual world, seeking to create renderings that express the connections and explore the intersecting definitions of worlds “seen” and “unseen” in every sense. Ade’s artwork handles themes of meditation, divinity and the alchemy of the self. While the pieces hold specific narrative, they also challenge the audience to discern and create their own in reflection.