A warm welcome to Angie Renee, Creative Director at Rumriver Art Center. In this blog, Angie guides you to: Create a Mindful Mandala.
Mandala in Sanskrit means circle. Creating Mandalas can be a calming practice as your mind seems to silence as you are creating the colorful circles and then the patterns for your choosing. There is no right or wrong way to create Mandala’s, I do not strive for perfection but in calming my mind.
Below you’ll find images and guidance on how I create my Mandala’s. Feel free to go off with your own ideas as well. I allow them to be organic, my circles are not perfectly circular, and my designs are not the same shapes or sizes as I go, but I allow that as if I get stuck on them having to be perfect it will take me out of my enjoyment and the calm effect I desire. I ask you to release then need and just go with the flow.
Step 1- Gather materials
Watercolor paints-any kind will do.
Paint brush
Container of water
A variety of pieces of watercolor paper cut into squares.
Black pen or thin sharpie, you can use different colors as well.
I usually work in groups of 6, meaning I create 6 watercolor circles at a time to have on hand for when I feel like creating a Mandala. You can decide how many you want to create.
Step 2
Using just water paint a circle on your paper.
*Note: There was a lovely ray of sunlight shining through while Angie was creating. This appears as a white mark in the next few photos.
Step 3
Using a favorite color put paintbrush full of color into the wet circle letting it spread where it will like.
Step 4
Add a second color and let it spread and mix with the first color.
Step 5
Add another color or 2 if you like.
Step 6
Let your circles dry.
Step 7
Choose a circle and grab a pen.
Step 8
Create a starting point, sometimes I do a circle, a dot or a spiral.
Step 9
Next, I create flower petal shapes
Step 10
I connect the petals with an arch of some sort.
Step 11
I like to have some parts of the design black, so I darkened the petals.
Step 12 & 13
I created some point.
Next, I connected those with round arches.
Step 14
The space the arches created needed squiggly lines.
Step 15
I added more triangle points.
Step 16
It needed another dark area, so I added that here and then decided this is complete!
The more you practice creating the Mandala’s the more easily they will come, and you will find your thoughts drifting away.
You can start with a word in the middle or an image. There are so many ways to use shapes and lines. Have fun. Relax and enjoy the process. Remember there is no right or wrong.
Thank you Angie Renee, for this mesmerizing lesson!
Have you marked your calendar for the 6th annual Elmcrest Art Fair on Saturday, June 24, 2023?
Time: 10:00am-4:00pm
Location: Elmcrest Park
16303 Quicksilver St NW
Ramsey, MN 55303?
Immerse yourself in our vibrant art community:
- Interact with artists and their artwork
- Enjoy a free art class
- Grab a bite to eat from our Food Truck vendors
- Watch a live demonstration
- Music with Bach to Rock
For more information visit: https://rumriverart.com/programs/community-programs/elmcrest-art-fair/