Radial patterns like this blue one above are very satisfying to create and to live with. Cultures from diverse countries have historically made radial patterns for many reasons. They are calming, meditative and centring.

Radial refers to the pattern you get when straight lines are drawn from the centre of a circle to a number of points around the edge. Spreading out from a central point. This creates a clear focal point. Drawing the eye in and out. Giving a sense of harmony and balance.

To create one stand in front of your chosen space ie: a feature wall or above your bed.

• Find your focal point..is it the center of the wall, the center of the space between your bed head and the ceiling?
• Mark the centre with a chalk dot or simply place one sticker there. Voila. You have begun.
• Use a piece of string, or a large ruler, a broom handle…something that help you measure equal distances from the centre mark/sticker. Mark your circle edges with chalk.
• Divide your circle into equal sized wedges ie: 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12. Define your wedges with a light chalk line.
• Now play. Use one colour or many to create a pattern in one wedge then replicate it exactly in each wedge.

That’s a hard and fast plan. My own approach was more organic.

I marked my centre with a sticker, defined the edge of my circle equi distance from the center with stickers…too impatient for chalk, then played in a circular fashion. My approach requires less measured planning but resulted in the need for more finessing as the pattern built. Both work. After all. The stickers are re-positionable, so if I ran out of space I simply backtracked a bit and adjusted the spacing of my stickers. Pick which way works for you.

*You can always spend a little time, maybe while you wait for your stickers to be delivered, and research mandalas or radial patterns on Pinterest or instagram…wherever you like to gather wool. Maybe make your own mandala reference board for reference. Or don’t plan at all and just play.

** Check out snowflake patterns. Heaven.

Blue mandala

Mandala’s are a spiritual and ritualistic symbol in many cultures including Asian, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Aboriginal, Indian, Christianity and American Indian. The circle represents the enormity of the universe externally and internally, as well as the cyclic nature of life. Circles surround us in many energetic and powerful forms. The earth is a circle, as is our atmosphere, the moon and sun are circles and journey in circles, our life cycle is circular as are the seasons.

Mandala’s are an artistic representation of higher thought and deeper meaning. They serve as a tool for creating balance in our lives, creating focus through meditation, a reminder of the connected nature of all things and a conduit for tranquility.

I love the idea of annually creating a large mandala in the home or workspace as an act of honouring self and space. A mindful refocusing and redefining of the power we possess to create and recreate the life we wish to live. Why not pick a day that’s significant to you. Your birthday or New Year and make a mandala. Both our Ellipse and Dotty packs are perfect for this. Ellipses create a more organic free form mandala. Dotty packs provide more opportunities for symmetrical balance and geometrical precision. Our wall stickers are perfect for this, if your walls are clean you can reuse them between 10-14 times, for an annual recreated mandala this is 10-14 years of mandalas.

Fantastic as a team building exercise too. Any chance to work together creatively is a treasure trove for building positive communication, calm and strength.

Rainbow Mandala at ‘Oxtravaganza’, Darlinghurst

Here are a few ways of creating a mandala.

1. Assess your wall. Pick a central point for your Mandala. (Eye height is good) place a sticker on this point. Now create a circle around this point with stickers. Keep repeating until your Mandala is the size you want. Your choice on whether to evenly space the gap between circles or to let those repeating circles repeat organically.

2. Mark your central point. Measure out the perimeter with a broom handle, mop handle, large ruler or string…mark it lightly with chalk. Divide your circle onto halves, quarters then eighths. Place a sticker on one of these lines. Recreate this on every line or every alternate line…play…experiment.

3. This third type, well, I’m not even sure it is a mandala. It is circular and vibrates with energy. Mark a center point, draw a circle. Fill it with circles. Dotty packs are perfect for this. The example below was created by Leanne and Ruby with help from Sam and Freddy. I drew the circle and left them with some wall stickers. Leanne didn’t feel arty enough to do it but soon discovered it was easy and fun. As simple as sticking dots on.

NB: You can make a mandala as simple or complex as you please. If you layer stickers be aware that separating those layers later will leave a sticky residue on the sticker below.

Tips:

• play calm music
• keep hydrated
• step back every now and then to assess your work
• listen to your intuition