For my personal mandala, I added elements that reminded me of Arizona such as the sun, cacti, and geometric shapes which were inspired by the petroglyphs and other rock art that I’ve seen while hiking.
Learning how to create our own mandalas was an incredible experience because it allowed me to portray something in art form that I have not been able to express in my other work. The state of Arizona is really important to me because it feels like my second home. My family travels there at least once a year, every holiday season, to visit my grandparents and aunts and uncles. Most of the projects that we do at Freestyle are based on a theme or genre, so I was never able to convey my appreciation for the culture of Arizona before. However, this assignment allowed me to combine what I’ve learned in history class with my personal experiences and memories. I cherished the freedom that we had in the creation process for the mandalas and that everyone was able to distinctly draw out their personality and values.
When I designed my mandala, I realized how calm it made me feel. Much like coloring, drawing different patterns and designs was therapeutic and even though I’m not the best artist, I think it turned out pretty good. It was cool to see how small brush strokes looked like when reflected and repeated all around the circle because of the clipping mask that we created. The skills that we learned when making our mandalas are important because they allowed us to explore more of the tools available on Illustrator.
Related website
