Drawing and painting was never my forte, at least I had thought that for me. I had assumed that I was no good in this beautiful branch of Arts. There are many negative blocks in my head, and this was one of them until I decided to let go of my fears of not being able to do it or being good at it. Anagha Mahajan, my friend from Stuttgart, is a hobby painter and she is damn good at it. She is very humble and doesn't agree that she is outstanding at this art. But I consider her to be one of the budding talents in Stuttgart. She has done many exhibitions, workshops for small kids. She has recently ventured into drawing Mandalas. And that's precisely the title of my blog post, which in my view, the meaning of Mandala is.
Anagha was my inspiration, and she showed me what fun is it to dabble with watercolors and bookmarks. I have made bookmarks in the past, but not with watercolors. For my new venture, Urja (I will write about it soon, it's pending since long), I made different bookmarks for the ladies participating in the inaugural event which we had done on 07.03.2020. I had fun dealing with watercolors and different techniques for doing them. Youtube videos came handy! I also painted one greeting card for my German neighbor's 75th birthday with watercolors! Who would have imagined me doing that a few years ago?
My interest got piqued, and I started watching videos of different artists who are quite famous on YouTube. They have many followers, and they share their experiences and techniques with the people who are open to learning a new art. I would like to quote a few incredible artists and their YouTube channels:
1) Makoccino: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEYTvzdLrD1bx1NTOO4nwpA
2) Ameys Design Space: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn4UnDM6EKCx9qblVX89N1w
3) Charvi Ashtekar: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGQyAj-8FMWJR93zdw2oU2w
These people are too good in their craft, they are gifted, I am sure. Watercolors and painting is something that comes to them with practice and perseverance. And while watching them do their wonderful workpieces, I often wonder if I will ever be able to do an art piece like them. But then I shrug the thought and relax and realize that I am doing this for my own good, for my own bliss and not to show to the world how good I am at it. I am good at many other things, and painting and drawing might be something I would achieve after practice.
A year back, I was introduced to coloring Mandalas. I don't remember who did that, but I am thankful that I got organized. I have been coloring Mandalas whenever I had little time in the past.
And now, in this quarantine period, I got to know more about this circle of life, where people paint Mandalas with dots. Different colored dots adorn the Mandalas. Wouldn't it be a beautiful sight? With different shaped and colored dots all over the circle of life? I started researching and ordered my set from Amazon for doing dot mandalas. I did two Mandalas, and they clearly show that I am a beginner, and it will require a lot of practice to be good at dotting.
There are many groups on Facebook for people interested in Dot Mandalas. The groups are all-inclusive and encouraging, and various suggestions are given to the people for improving their craft. It's like a meditation for me when I do the dotting with different colors. One can concentrate on what one is doing and forget the rest of the world. It gives immense pleasure, and it doesn't matter if I create my best piece or not. I am just a novice in this field. Important is that I give it a try, I give myself a chance to do something else which is not in my comfort zone. I keep my brain active, and I learn something new.
That's what I think is the circle of life.
Trying to learn a new craft, doing the background research, getting ready with the necessary equipment to learn the art, to practice and practice and practice, derive happiness, and get better with the artwork. Evolve as a human being, move up in life, and lift others too!
Anagha was my inspiration, and she showed me what fun is it to dabble with watercolors and bookmarks. I have made bookmarks in the past, but not with watercolors. For my new venture, Urja (I will write about it soon, it's pending since long), I made different bookmarks for the ladies participating in the inaugural event which we had done on 07.03.2020. I had fun dealing with watercolors and different techniques for doing them. Youtube videos came handy! I also painted one greeting card for my German neighbor's 75th birthday with watercolors! Who would have imagined me doing that a few years ago?
My interest got piqued, and I started watching videos of different artists who are quite famous on YouTube. They have many followers, and they share their experiences and techniques with the people who are open to learning a new art. I would like to quote a few incredible artists and their YouTube channels:
1) Makoccino: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEYTvzdLrD1bx1NTOO4nwpA
2) Ameys Design Space: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn4UnDM6EKCx9qblVX89N1w
3) Charvi Ashtekar: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGQyAj-8FMWJR93zdw2oU2w
These people are too good in their craft, they are gifted, I am sure. Watercolors and painting is something that comes to them with practice and perseverance. And while watching them do their wonderful workpieces, I often wonder if I will ever be able to do an art piece like them. But then I shrug the thought and relax and realize that I am doing this for my own good, for my own bliss and not to show to the world how good I am at it. I am good at many other things, and painting and drawing might be something I would achieve after practice.
A year back, I was introduced to coloring Mandalas. I don't remember who did that, but I am thankful that I got organized. I have been coloring Mandalas whenever I had little time in the past.
And now, in this quarantine period, I got to know more about this circle of life, where people paint Mandalas with dots. Different colored dots adorn the Mandalas. Wouldn't it be a beautiful sight? With different shaped and colored dots all over the circle of life? I started researching and ordered my set from Amazon for doing dot mandalas. I did two Mandalas, and they clearly show that I am a beginner, and it will require a lot of practice to be good at dotting.
There are many groups on Facebook for people interested in Dot Mandalas. The groups are all-inclusive and encouraging, and various suggestions are given to the people for improving their craft. It's like a meditation for me when I do the dotting with different colors. One can concentrate on what one is doing and forget the rest of the world. It gives immense pleasure, and it doesn't matter if I create my best piece or not. I am just a novice in this field. Important is that I give it a try, I give myself a chance to do something else which is not in my comfort zone. I keep my brain active, and I learn something new.
That's what I think is the circle of life.
Trying to learn a new craft, doing the background research, getting ready with the necessary equipment to learn the art, to practice and practice and practice, derive happiness, and get better with the artwork. Evolve as a human being, move up in life, and lift others too!
Love your new hobby... hope to see more mandala designs from you.
ReplyDelete