....be creative!

..... I had a wonderful, unexpected gift today. My friend Di invited me to a Mandala workshop hosted by an absolutely amazing art teacher, Carolyn.

I spend a lot of my time doing creative things, but I don't often get the opportunity to be 'taught' new things and to interact with like minded, creative souls.

I arrived at Carolyn's studio knowing exactly what a Mandala was, but I had no idea about the interesting twist she was going to apply to this exercise.

For those of you who don't know,

man·dala (mun′də lə)
noun
a circular design containing concentric geometric forms, images of deities, etc. and symbolizing the universe, totality, or wholeness in Hinduism and Buddhism. Often used in therapy.
Origin: Sans maṇḍala, is a Sanskrit word that means "circle"

Over the next 4 hours we followed a carefully crafted method which led to us creating the most beautiful and intricate circular works of art........each one totally unique but clearly reflecting the personalities of the creators.

I am used to Mandalas being painted or coloured in brilliant hues, but ours remained white and the patterns we created were lovingly and patiently outlined or filled in with a varying sizes of holes pricked through the paper with pins, screws, nails, paper piercers and even screwdrivers.

The end result was a phenomenal snowflake, doily effect when held up against the light.....unexpectedly beautiful and the whole process was so very soothing for the soul.

Photo to follow

Kathi