Creativity during Covid 19 – Young & Old – Free Downloads #2

April 15th, 2020

Creativity in the Time of Covid-19 – Mandala Coloring – Free Downloads #2

This blog post is part 2 of mandala coloring downloads from Mandalas Every Day Coloring Book for Children & Adults.  I’ll share more of these and other mandala downloads in weeks to come. Instructions* and notes** about printing the PDFs, sending via the internet or snail mail are at the end of this blog.

All Ages – No Right or Wrong

Coloring Mandalas can be done by any age. Also there is no “right” or “wrong” way to color. Here is a group of wise women who have lived many years, using markers to color mandalas from my coloring book.

This kindergarten student is also using markers to color one of the mandalas offered in PDF form in this blog.

This group of kindergarteners  decided to make mandala tokens for all of the students in their class. I was visiting the class the day they made these.  This was a project they designed on their own. They used math skills to figure out how many to make. They colored the mandalas in the usual way of coloring within the lines and also colored expressive marks over the entire area.  I love both ways of creative expression.

A dear friend took some of my mandala designs with her on a day trip with friends to her summer cottage. She and her friends spent a few hours coloring and chatting during the warm summer afternoon.

We are all Artist and Creators

All of us are artists and creators.  How we express our creativity is unique and different for each person.  There is no “right” or “wrong” way.

Ironically I created this coloring book after my children were grown and no longer lived at home. I refused to buy them coloring books when they were young because I didn’t want them to learn they had to “color within the lines”.   Now as adults they aren’t working in the “arts”, but they are very creative in the work they do.

Downloadable PDFS

Here are free PDFs of two more mandalas from my coloring book Mandalas Every Day Coloring Book for Children & Adults.

 Here is a PDF download of the Four Petals Mandala

 Here is a PDF download of the page with 4 –  Four Petals Mandala

Colored Pencils were used to color these mandalas

Below is the mandala titled Four Directions. It has a large center spiral and a “birth” shape at the north, south, east and west directions.

Spontaneous shapes seem to come out of nowhere often in the creation of mandalas.  Many of these shapes have been found in different cultures through the ages. Carl Jung, the famous Swiss Psychologist, began to create mandalas for his own personal growth. He had his patients also create mandalas as a way for them to find wholeness in their lives. Jung felt many of these shapes were part of the Collective Unconscious. These shapes are found throughout time in ancient cultures with little or no known contact. They are still part of our present day psyche and offer clues to our growth and wholeness.  My favorite book about some of these shapes is titled Signs of Life, The Five Universal Shapes and How to Use Them by Angeles Arrien. There are many books sharing a deeper understanding of what spontaneously arises from the creative depths when a person creates a mandala.

Shapes and Symbols in Mandalas

Below is the mandala titled Four Directions. It has a large center spiral and a “birth” shape at the north, south, east and west directions. According to the above book, the spiral shape “symbolizes the process of growth and evolution. It is a process of coming to the same point again and again, but at a different level so that everything is seen in a new light.”   The center of the four direction shapes is a mandorla, an almond shape that signifies birth and rebirth. It is used in Gothic churches in doorways and windows. Many images of Christ and the Holy Mother are shown surrounded by this shape.

Here is the  PDF download for mandala Four Directions

Here is the PDF download for 4 mandalas– Four Directions

This Four Directions mandala was colored using oil pastels and watercolors.
It was printed on heavier cardstock. Instructions about printing are below.

Let these mandalas in this blog and the ones you color bring relaxation, enjoyment, calm and healing.

Stay well. Stay safe.
Linda

*These PDFs are sized for 8.5×11 sheets of paper. Regular printer paper works with crayons, colored pencils, markers and oil pastels. All these art materials also work with cardstock paper. Watercolors work best with heavier paper, like cardstock. Most printers will print 65 lb. cardstock paper.

Take a photo of what you create and send via the internet. If printed on card stock, the paper is heavy enough to be cut into postcards and send via snail mail. This info from the USPS: As long as your postcard is not larger that 4¼″ x 6″ (but at least 3½″ x 5″) you can mail them at the 34¢ rate.

Send what you create (via snail mail or internet) to family, friends and others who could use a bit of beauty in these trying times. Send especially to the heroes who are working to keep others alive and healthy and those working in their jobs to keep our world going.

** These mandala images are for personal use only. They are copyrighted by me. Please honor this request.