Mandala-love

I've read about mandalas, but I didn't really have the guts to try them. The circular designs intimidated me, because I figured I couldn't draw them - I, of course, didn't think of using them as templates because I thought it was kind of like cheating.  I was in the States a couple of weeks ago, and was in a Borders Bookstore that was going out of business.  I got a book (The Mandala Colouring Book) that was full of over 150 blank, ready-to-fill-in mandalas for $4.  With the acquisition of my new printer/copier/scanner, I was able to copy a couple of these blackline masters & use them to play with.  I still have the original blanks, so that I can photocopy them for my students.

Within the last few hours, I've completed 2 of these mandala-tangles. And I kind of love them and want to do more.  They turned out beautifully!  The nice thing is, with the design already established, there's still flexibility in the design. Lines can be added with ease, and patterns can overlap the existing lines if necessary.  I've found that they take a great deal of time to complete, but they're definitely worth it.

I'm planning to have copies of the templates available in my classroom.  I want my students to have the opportunity of picking them up at any time to experiment and play and draw. They encourage patterning, rotational symmetry, repetition, movement, and various other elements and principles of art.