When I first saw pictures of dot mandalas, they were painted onto rocks.

I was looking for interesting groups on Facebook, and ran across this one: Rock Painting Ideas and Resources where many “rockers” created “rock mandalas.” If you haven’t heard of rock painting and hiding the rocks in the community, you should check out the concept. It’s really pretty interesting. My focus was the collection of beautiful designs painted on the rocks: out of dots! Until then, I’d never heard of dot painting and had no clue what a mandala was. But the beautiful colors and circular designs lured me in to discover a whole new artistic and spiritual existence.

Here is a Google screenshot of a few of the endless dot mandala design creations. (Not my creations.)

In Sanskrit, mandala is translated as “circular” and in its simplest definition, it’s basically designed to connect our inner world with the outer world around us and create wholeness. The circular shape of the mandala represent the concepts of balance and connection and offer a spiritual foundation for the Eastern religions of Buddhists and Hindus as well as for those who practice yoga and meditation. If you’re so inclined, you can learn more about mandalas here and here.

The spiritual connection of the mandala is an ongoing journey for me, one that I’m learning to appreciate with every dot mandala on canvas design that I create. As a 55-year-old woman, I’ve finally reached a point in my life’s journey to seek moments that offer the most peace and inner growth. Each time I sit down with a canvas, dotting tools, and either music or a movie, just the simple act of watching the dots take shape into a balance of sizes and colors to create a harmonious project, I feel a sense of calm and purpose.

I modeled this design after a dot mandala that I found online and added my own design of the dots here and there.

This design was strictly mine. I’m still learning to create a dot design that evokes a certain feeling or image. I’ll get there. 🙂