Art at Hosmer: Mandalas, Part 2

Friday, April 7, 2017

Mandalas, Part 2

Recently, 1st grade artists learned about the mandala and created collaborative mandalas using a variety of different materials. The following class, students began designing their own mandala drawings using a theme that expressed their interests and personalities. Some examples of themes that students chose were nature, shapes, sports, seasons and outer space.

Using rulers to help find the center point, students began designing their mandala starting from the middle and going outwards. We thought about how to make our design repeat in a radially symmetrical way, so that each section of our circle repeated all the way around. Many students found it easier to turn or spin their mandala as they worked, to help repeat their design in a radially symmetrical way.

Once they were done with their pencil design, they outlined the design in Sharpie marker and colored them in, thinking about how to create patterns using color, as well.

Students worked hard to make their colors bright and cover the white paper. Once they were finished, students cut out the circle and glued it onto a background, considering what kinds of colors would complement their mandala design. Here are some examples of our finished mandalas: