If you are an artist who wishes to explore the basics of mandala construction and learn more about different theories and the symbolism behind the form, then you’ll be off to a head start and will romp through the content!

You will definitely need a journal, sketchbook or other paper upon which to create your mandalas.

You can make it as fancy or ordinary as you like – this is your mandala experience. I prefer to use sketchbooks designed for art, rather than journals designed for writing. These come in a variety of types and sizes – I like using UK size A4 or US size 12×9” and I like the books made by Stillman & Birn (Zeta series) and Strathmore Mixed Media. For this workshop I’m creating in my Moleskine A4 landscape watercolour journal. You can use a smaller book or paper, but you’ll find it quite limiting and soon feel the need to expand!

You will definitely need a compass, a pencil, a ruler and an eraser.

Additionally, you’ll need something to colour in your work. That can be as simple as some basic children’s art supplies – like coloured pencils or felt pens.

Although it’s tempting to go out and collect a whole boatload of new shiny supplies, it’s always best to interpret the lessons to make use of the supplies you already have, before you discover what supplies you actually want to work with.

During the five days, I’ll demonstrate primarily using inks and gouache paints. I will also use collage and alcohol markers. I prefer to use a dip pen with calligraphy ink for my text, but this is not at all necessary.

In my demonstrations I also use some drawing templates – a template with different sizes of circles, a template with pentagons and a circle radius template. These are not necessary, and you can trace around household objects or work freehand to achieve the same effect.

Typically, you can allocate about an hour to watch the videos and get started on your own mandala, depending on your style + experience. More likely up to two hours if you want to produce a more detailed page.

This workshop is delivered to you online, so as long as you have a valid email address and are able to access a computer with internet access, you are able to participate from anywhere in the world.

The content will be delivered on my website with a mix of writing and some video, so you will additionally need to be able to stream video and audio. I use Vimeo to host videos the videos and these are supported by closed captions in English.

The content is hosted on the website for you to access at your own pace for the duration of the workshop. There’s no need to show up at a specific time, so you won’t miss out if you’re in a different time zone, or need to login after your day’s work.

Absolutely! Access to the content will be delivered to you between 20th and 24th November, but there’s no requirement for you to complete all the exercises during that time.

You will have access to the lesson content until 30th November.

This edition of the 5 Days of Mandala Magic is called Circles, Cycles + Symbols and contains brand new content!

Even if you are familiar with my workshops, it’s worth refreshing your mandala practice and joining in with this exciting event along with hundreds of other art journalers across the world.

This is a free workshop. The entire five days will be delivered to you free of charge. You will not be asked to pay anything.

At the end of the 5 Days you will be invited to attend the next edition of Mandala Magic : Alignment, a year-long mandala art journal program. There’s no obligation to take part, ever.

1. Enter your name + email address – you’ll be redirected to a thank you page!
2. On Monday 20th November, I’ll send you an email with a link to your first lesson.
3. You’ll receive an email with a  link to content each day it becomes available.

I respect your right to privacy! Once registered, your email address will be securely stored in my classroom mailing list, serviced by Mailchimp. This is the email I’ll use to send you workshop information.

Your data is never shared or sold with any other person or business, I promise. You can read my Privacy guarantee here.

You will also automagically join the Solar Circular, my newsletter sent out on the 8 solar festivals of the Scottish year, with a few additions to let you know of special events/offers in between. You are free to unsubscribe from the mailing list once you’ve completed the program.

Yes, drop me an email and I’ll answer just as soon as I’m able. I’m located in Scotland so keep a GMT-related schedule.