Five Days of Mandala Magic is designed for anyone who would like to make art journal pages using the form and symbolism of the mandala. You will be someone who is drawn to the mandala symbol and wishes to build it into their creative practice. You may be an experienced art journaler, or a beginner. Either way, you value your inner experience as part of living a full life.

You don’t need to be “good at art” to enjoy the Five Days and beginner art journalers are very welcome.

This isn’t a class for accomplished artists, although you’ll get the most out of it if you already enjoy creative exercises and have a desire to create drawings and images that carry meaning for you.

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!

In each lesson I provide a full list of the materials I use, but encourage you to use your favourite supplies + what you already have!

Here’s what I recommend you gather beforehand:

1. Sketchbook/Paper:

I recommend using paper or a journal designed for mixed media or watercolour.  The work is best recorded in a format of UK size A4 or US size 12×9”.

Here are some of my favourite journals:  Moleskine A4 Watercolour Album ; Seawhite A4 Watercolour Travel Album ; Strathmore Mixed Media Journal ; Stillman & Birn Zeta Journal ; Canson Mixed Media.

2. Compasses:

Any drawing compasses, with a radius to fit your chosen paper size will work. For some hints + tips on compasses, please see a video I created on this for last year’s 5 Days of Mandala Magic.

e.g. Ecobra Universal Compass ; Helix Drawing Set ; Rotring Convex Compass

3. Ruler:

Any 30cm/12inch ruler will work. I often use a t-square ruler.

4. Pencil:

Any ordinary graphite pencil will work.

I prefer to use erasable coloured pencils like these from Prismacolour.

This is my favourite pencil sharpener.

5. Eraser:

Any eraser you use to rub out your pencil marks will work.

These are some I use in the workshops; Derwent soft art eraser ; Tombow MONO Zero.

6. Pens:

A range of pens is useful for journaling and any fineliners, gel pens or pigment pens will work in this event, though I prefer to use a dip pen and ink for writing, in the main.

Here are some I like to use: glass dip pen ; uni Pin fine line ; Uniball Signo broad pigment ink pen.

7. Paints/Markers:

Basic colouring supplies will work for this event, and I use a range of paints, inks and markers to offer flexibility throughout. Please adjust to suit your current supplies and preferences.

If you’re brand new to this work, a basic set of watercolours will be more than enough to get started with.

Here are some of the materials I like to use: Pitt Artist pens ; Tombow Dual Brush Markers ; Winsor & Newton Drawing Inks ; Winsor & Newton Designer’s Gouache ; Coliro Finetec Watercolour Shimmer.

8. Extras:

Scissors + a glue stick or glue tape – for some collage work.

A selection of literature you can use to cut up that contains words and images. You will also find it useful if you have access to a printer and can print off some images of the moon, but this isn’t a requirement.

In my demonstrations I also use some drawing templates – a template with different sizes of circles, and a template with pentagons.

These are not necessary, and you can trace around household objects or work freehand to achieve the same effect.

Don’t forget some brushes if you choose to work with ink or paint!

Please note: some of these links are affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you purchase the item. I have only listed items I have personally used and recommend.

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 pre-recorded and 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.

It is designed for your participation over the five days, so will only be available for a limited time after the 5 days has ended.

Absolutely! Access to the content will be delivered to you between 17th and 21st 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 is the same as the free event published in 2019 and 2020.

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 and receive an email confirmation.
2. On Wednesday 17th 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 occasional email newsletter. 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. FYI, I’m located in Scotland so keep a GMT-related schedule.