What Does Your Mandala Look Like?

You won't know until you create it!

Apr 15, 2022

Soon after I started working in the bookstore in Brevard in 1994 I met an artist who sometimes opened her studio to friends who wanted to learn to paint mandalas. But I think she would have said, “They were open to discovering their mandalas”.

I never accepted her generous invitation because I’m not good at group creativity, but I’ve often wondered about this art form. So I was delighted when our daughter Amy surprised me with a gift of two small rocks she had painted on both sides with four mandala designs.

This painted rock is 2” square and fits in the palm of my hand.

I asked Amy if she would share some of her studio drawings, her instruction books, and her thoughts about making mandalas. What attracted her to creating these intricate designs?

Having parameters instead of a blank canvas makes it easier for me to be creative. I’m also drawn to the meditative aspect. I enjoy exploring different colors and botanical, symmetrical and geometric shapes that I can put together into a satisfying design. Symmetry is visually satisfying to me. I enjoy the concentration it takes to make it close to perfect.

This one measures 3” by 2”. The “koru” spiral design is at the center.

I’m always interested in studio materials and tools, so I asked Amy what her drawing table looks like.

I keep a collection of tools and supplies, giving me a variety of choices for my creation. Rocks, paper, wood, inspirational books and pictures. Pens, pencils, inks and paints. Tools to create circles and shapes.

In Deborah A. Pace’s book Creating Mandalas, the author writes,

There is no need to know how to draw. It’s about slowing down and opening up to your creative inner flow. It’s for enjoyment. Relax and play. Have fun.

Pace outlines a way to begin. On a 6-1/2” by 6-1/2” piece of paper draw light lines for a center point, as in Amy’s sketchbook above. Draw a freehand circle or concentric circles. Work from the center out. Add color. Give it a name. If you don’t like the way it’s going, try again. Look around you for ideas and keep a small notebook.

Amy described how she begins.

I begin drawing a mandala by laying out the circles. I decide the size of and space in between each circle depending on the size of the paper or rock and with a rough idea of what patterns I’ll be using. So far I haven’t made one larger than on an 8" by 11” paper. I’ve used paper mainly for practice. I enjoy painting on rocks the best.

If you’re interested in the traditional use of mandalas, Maria Arango offers a little background in Meditative Mandala Stones, another of Amy’s books.

In Sanskrit ‘mandala’ means ‘circle or center’. It’s a tool to establish internal order through relaxation and concentration. Spirals, dots, crosses and concentric ripples are all basic forms. The koru spiral, resembling a coiled fern frond, is a Maori symbol for life and creation, growth, new life, beginnings, hope and harmony.

Amy told me,

Creating a mandala is a meditative process. I use any symbol that speaks to me. I’m drawn to geometrical and botanical symbols. Designs from nature are my favorite. Creating a mandala produces creativity, concentration, curiosity, joy and satisfaction.

Simple tools like a pencil, paper, paints and an openness to natural forms, can become a quiet center close at hand for anyone, especially at times when joy would be most welcome.