Creative Wellness at Home - Week 2
Create a mixed media mandala from everyday objects around your home.
Welcome to week 2!
Our theme this week is Everyday Objects. We’re going to take everyday things you have around your home and re-work and re-imagine them into something new.
This week, we are making mixed media mandalas. Creating mandalas are a great mindfulness process with evidence-based benefits for stress reduction and improved mood and wellbeing. It is a recognised process of positive psychology. First invented by Tibetan Buddhist monks using coloured sand, it was further inspired by Psychologist Carl Jung to develop it as an early form of art therapy.
We’ll be making simple mandalas from everyday objects around your home. It will help to direct your attention to a positive focus of gathering objects and arranging them to create something aesthetic.
Here are the instructions
Step 1. Draw a medium circle on blank paper. You can use a suitable sized bowl to trace a circle on the paper. Just make sure it’s big enough to put your objects in (at least 10cm wide diameter). If you don’t want to draw a circle, you can also use a table to lay your objects in a circle.
Step 2. Pick any two colours. You can pick your favourite colours, or think about the simple primary colours (red, blue, green), or black or white. Find small everyday objects from around your home that match the colours you chose.
Step 3. Begin to place your objects into your circle. Start from the centre and make smaller circles with your objects, gradually expanding to fill the whole circle.
Or feel free to be a bit more random. Simply place objects in a circle to enhance spontaneity and stimulating creativity.
Step 4: Create the mandala and then view it, observe it.
How did these simple objects transform into something fun and creative?
Do the objects look different to you now?
Step 5. Photograph your mandala and share.
Send us what you captured and write 1-2 sentences about the experience. Why did you choose to capture this?
Send your submission with a short description, your name and suburb to creativeresilienceinnerwest@gmail.com
Practice some more mindfulness with your objects
This 2 minute practice will promote a sense of mindfulness of all the little ‘things’ you have around your home.
Pick one of the objects you found in your home.
Take the object in your hand and close your eyes. We’ll focus on our sense of touch.
How does it feel as you hold the object in your hand and run your fingers across it? Think about how it feels:
Hard or soft
Smooth or rough
Cold or cool or warm
Heavy or light
Focus on the object for a few minutes. Try to notice something about it you have not noticed before.
We want to see what you’ve created!
It can be a photo, a video, a drawing, a sound recording, an artwork, a poem, anything!
Whatever you are inspired to create, we'd like to see it. Send a copy to us along with a description or statement of what you did and your inspiration. Email to creativeresilienceinnerwest@gmail.com along with your name and suburb (age optional).
We encourage submissions in languages other than English.
If you need assistance or if you have questions, contact Susan Chen on 0470 593 207 or email creativeresilienceinnerwest@gmail.com.
Bonus resources
Learn more about Mandalas - 100Mandalas.com
Mandala drawing sheet (PDF) - from Amandalalife.com.au
Please feel free to comment here to let us know how you went!