Esther Collins

My Saboteur Mandala 2022 7” x 7” Hand stitching NFS estherjcollins@yahoo.co.uk www.esthercollins.co.uk #esthercollins5679

One archetype I have paid particular attention to this year is the Saboteur. As the art focus of the group has been abstraction, I decided to set myself the task of creating a symbolic/abstract embroidery of how I personally visualize my Saboteur. I set limitations such as the number of colours, the circular shape, and that the stitch design had to be meaningful.

In the centre is a dot, which in mandalas typically represents the self. Contained within the circle is a finely balanced design, with the pressure of sabotaging thoughts and behaviors being held at bay by my four mantras; ways of keeping the Saboteur in check. Although I don’t often use words in my work, I felt they served as a powerful summary of this archetype. I now keep this on my desk, as a reminder of what I need to do.