For The Love Of Crafts: Mandala 2

The Akumal and area craft club “For The Love Of Crafts” held Session 2 of the “Mandala Message Stones” class. The workshop was held in the lovely community of Paamul on Saturday, November 16 in the community’s Church, a large, open-air Palapa.

We had a small group of crafty ladies who dove into learning how to be Dot Artists. After painting our practice disc and stones black, we set about making homemade dotting tools out of everyday supplies, such as bobby pins, q-tips, skewers, pencils, tacks, and more. We practiced making dots then created a “key” that showed the size of dots from smallest to largest. Everyone put their first dot down on their practice disc and we were off, dotting a pre-determined pattern of a basic Mandala design. Some stuck strictly to the pattern and others veered off in their own random direction, and that is the great thing about Dot Art – there are no rules!

At times the crafty ladies were full of questions, at other moments, we fell into silence, everyone focused and concentrating on their piece. Randomly, now and then a voice would break the silence, “Oh darn, I just smushed my dot”, “My dots aren’t walking properly”; and at other times, we talked out loud to ourselves about what our next step was going to be. The best thing about the whole day was the casual, comfortable, and friendly company of the people attending. Some pieces turned out as expected, others did not, but it did not matter because we had fun!

If you are interested in getting more information on future classes, email Brenda at [email protected]. Course costs are based on supplies only, as workshop leaders are volunteering their time and knowledge, which helps to keep our course costs down. If you have an artsy or crafty skills you would like to share and would be willing to teach to a group of eager learners, email me. Our next class is “Bejeweled Sea Shell Christmas Decorations” on Wednesday, December 4 and will be held near Akumal (class locations vary). Email me for example photos and more information on this course.