Sunday, April 26, 2020

Zentangle #2- How to meditate through art

how to meditate through art
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Welcome to my Blog!
Mandalas to color
I am Maria hajj a meditative art teacher, a coloring book illustrator, a Youtuber and a blogger.
If you are a fan of Meditative mandala coloring books then please scroll down to find the links to my books.
Follow me on Instagram: @mandala_art_bymaria
Follow me on Pinterest:@mandalabymaria
Subscribe to my Youtube Channel
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How does doodling help you meditate?
When you are doodling, you are in fact emptying your feelings on the paper, you concentrate on the activity which stops your mind from wandering and help you achieve mindfulness. At this state, your levels of anxiety and stress decrease, because your are immersed in the present moment, in the Here and Now, leaving your past aside, and your future plans on the shelf, and letting yourself submerge in a beautiful and effortless activity that enhances your creative side.

On another hand, not every person can meditate by staying still for long minutes, and tuning off their thoughts and worries. Therefor, this technique helps you train for a deeper meditation by familiarizing with mindfulness and living the current moment. 

This art, meditative art, does not require any artistic skills. Every person has a small artist hidden within and he just needs the right key to unleash him and allow him to grow and shine. 
Every person is creative. 
Creativity is different than innate talent. Not every person has the talent but every person can be creative.
Meditative arts are an easy form of arts based mainly on doodling and repetitive forms. Whether you are creating a Mandala, a zentangle, or a zendala they all enter under the category of doodling.  And everyone can doodle.

Now, look at yourself in the mirror and say:" I am creative enough" and hit the play button of this video to start meditating through art.

For a better result, please read the following recommendations:
1- Take a comfortable seating position
2- Cut off any distraction (T.V., mobile, etc.)
3- Put on a soothing music ( here is a suggestion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbkMSoKfIjU)
4- Breathe through your nose (Fill your stomach with air on every inhale, and empty it on every exhale)
5- Remember that the joy resides in the activity itself.
6- No mistake is a mistake in art, but it's an opportunity to create something new.

Materials needed:

Mandala tutorials and meditative art tutorials
Materials needed for the Meditative Doodling Exercise
For this Meditative doodling tutorial, you will need the following materials (Check the brands I recommend)
- Stabilo point pens
- Pencil
-12" ruler
-A4 white paper


Directions:

1-Putting your paper in a landscape layout, divide it into 5 equal sections.
How to draw a zendala









2-Fill the first section with intersected diagonals, getting as creative as you want by diverting the orientation of the lines you trace.
meditative doodling tutorial

3-Second step is to fill the second section with waves and circles.








4-Third step, doodle intersected curved lines. Always using a different color for every new pattern.
Meditative doodling tutorial








5-Fourth pattern is the basket weave. Divide the 4th section into four equal vertical sections, then trace a horizontal line every 1 cm.
Start by tracing vertical lines on the first small square, then horizontal, then vertical until the end of the first row. For the second row, reverse the lines ( vertical under the horizontal and vice versa).

meditative doodling tutorial







6-Fifth and last pattern: spirals
Meditative doodling tutorial
Video Tutorial
Besides being a very relaxing exercise, doodling regularly helps discipline your sketching ability, and this will make a great introduction into Mandala drawing.
Drawing a mandala evolves around sketching a number of repetitive forms in a circular movement.
The basic shapes of Mandala are very simple, such as a petal, spiral, tear drop,etc.
You can check them in the link below:
https://youtu.be/ClDhOedokpw
Once you master sketching a simple Mandala, you can start creating advanced patterns.
Watch the video shared below and remember to subscribe and turn the notification bell on.

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My Meditative Coloring Books
As mentioned in the welcome message, if you are a fan of Mandala coloring books I invite you to add my books to your collection. Each book contains 40 original hand drawn designs and I am sure that coloring these Mandalas will make you happy and relaxed.
Mandalas to color

Saturday, April 25, 2020

How to draw a Butterfly Mandala

how to draw a simple mandala
This is a step by step tutorial about how to draw a Mandala, providing detailed tips on how to trace a Mandala grid and the different basic shapes of a Mandala. Check it out!
*****
Welcome to my Blog!
Mandalas to color
I am Maria hajj a meditative art teacher, a coloring book illustrator, a Youtuber and a blogger.
If you are a fan of Meditative mandala coloring books then please scroll down to find the links to my books.
Follow me on Instagram: @mandala_art_bymaria
Follow me on Pinterest:@mandalabymaria
Subscribe to my Youtube Channel
*****
Expand your creativity and learn how to sketch a butterfly by tracing three simple circles

This is a step by step tutorial, that will help, every person desiring to learn more about how to draw a mandala, see, step by step, how to start a Mandala, how to trace a Mandala grid and how to put patterns inside of the grid.
Drawing a Mandala is a very relaxing art, it helps you concentrate and stop your mind from wandering, which allows you as a result to achieve mindfulness.
This tutorial, like every other tutorial, leads you, in details, through the whole process of drawing the project. You will not only learn a new skill but you will gain a beautiful meditation technique, as in these arts, and based on the repetitive act, you enter a state of peace of mind that will help you alleviate stress, decrease your levels of anxiety and lower your blood pressure.

Materials Needed (Check the brands I recommend) A4 white paper
compass protractor ruler 12" pencil 0.4 fine drawing black pen thick black pen

Directions
This tutorial has few simple steps 1-Take the center of the paper. In order to do that, put a mark horizontally on the 14.7 cm. Then, from that point
2-Second trace a circle of a 9.5 cm radius.
3-Trace the mandala grid (CLICK HERE for more info about Mandala Grids)
4-Then trace two 9.5 cm radius side circles.
5- Concerning the patterns, watch the video shared below to replicate my butterfly mandala design.
if you need help improvising you can check the three following links:

The basic shapes of a Mandala: https://youtu.be/ClDhOedokpw
How to draw Mandala patterns- set #1: https://youtu.be/DpIWXblBZj8
How to draw Mandala patterns- set #2: https://youtu.be/2wUfegAY4ro


Video tutorial
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My Mandala Coloring Books
coloring books for adults


Tuesday, April 14, 2020

How to draw an Owl Mandala | A Step by Step Tutorial

this is the image of an owl drawn by joining three mandalas together and then tracing the ears and branch using a fine drawing pen
A step by step tutorial on how to draw a Mandala. this guided video and article, will lead you through every detail of tracing a Mandala grid, how to sketch an owl easily and how to fill the grid with beautiful Mandala patterns
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Welcome to my Blog!
this is the image of a smiling women wearing a boho dress holding two mandala coloring books in her hands
I am Maria hajj a meditative art teacher, a coloring book illustrator, a Youtuber and a blogger.
If you are a fan of Meditative mandala coloring books then please scroll down to find the links to my books.
Follow me on Instagram: @mandala_art_bymaria
Follow me on Pinterest:@mandalabymaria
Subscribe to my Youtube Channel
*****
How to sketch an owl Mandala
this is the image of an owl mandala placed on a fur table cloth

Whether you were a beginner or an advanced mandala artist, you will always find the pleasure in learning something new. Every tutorial might hold tips and tricks that may be new to you. Adding a twist to Mandala drawing helps expend your creativity even more and it opens the door to more creations. Drawing a Mandala on a daily basis or at least regularly is very crucial to the development of your creativity side. Creativity is not limited by drawing and creating art. A person needs creativity in every aspect of his life. A problem is solved at its best when you come up with a creative solution, a child's question is answered better when you come with a creative explanation, etc.

In this tutorial, I turn the owl drawing into an easy project. Every step is very well explained and illustrated, yet I made sure to keep the video short and fun.

Materials Needed (Check the brands I recommend)
  • A4 white paper
  • compass
  • protractor
  • pencil
  • ruler
  • fine drawing pen
  • eraser
Directions
1- Mark the center of the paper and trace a 9.5 cm radius circle.
2- Trace a horizontal line 4,5 cm away from the top border of the circle.
3- This line will be the diameter of 2 small equal circles that will form the eyes of the owl (check the video tutorial for more)

Video Tutorial
Find the tutorial below. It is a highly detailed video with all the measures and patterns needed to help you replicate it.
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My Meditative Coloring Books
Besides being a meditative art teacher, I illustrate and publish meditative mandala coloring books. Coloring a mandala is a very relaxing and simple activity that can be your gateway to meditative arts.
I hope that you will choose to add these books to your collection.
This is the image of two mandala coloring books place perpendicularly, one is beige and the other one is yellow with a fish mandala on its cover









Friday, April 10, 2020

Meditate Through Art | Circular Zentangle

this is the image of a zentangle blue and green drawn using stabilo fine point pens


*****
Welcome to my Blog!
this is the image of smiling woman wearing a boho dress and holding two mandala coloring books in her hands
I am Maria hajj a meditative art teacher, a coloring book illustrator, a Youtuber and a blogger.
If you are a fan of Meditative mandala coloring books then please scroll down to find the links to my books.
Follow me on Instagram: @mandala_art_bymaria
Follow me on Pinterest:@mandalabymaria
Subscribe to my Youtube Channel
*****
This channel of meditative art tutorials provides you with a number of free tutorials around Mandala drawing, doodling and many other therapeutic arts. The importance of meditative arts resides in their ability to boost your creativity while putting you in a state of relaxation and meditation. Getting in touch with your creative side is a very important method to exit the stressful daily routine. Mandala drawing by itself has proven to have a huge number of positive effects on a person's life. I offer you these tutorials trying to make this drawing technique easy and accessible to all.
No artistic skills are needed. Every person is creative and all he truly needs is to learn how to unleash his creativity.
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Why is this a Zentangle and not a Mandala?
There is an important difference between a Zentangle and a mandala. A Zentangle is a doodled, well defined shape, like the one we have in this tutorial. So even if it's a circle it doesn't make it a mandala.
When you have an ensemble of circles organized around the same center then you will have a mandala. 
Simple difference, no?

A4 white paper or cardboard
Compass
Protractor
Ruler
Pencil
Eraser
Stabilo fine point 88

Directions
This tutorial is divided into seven well explained steps.
1- In the first step you will trace a Mandala Grid.
For further info about how to do it you can check this step by step tutorial CLICK HERE 2- In the second step you will trace the right side of the zentangle. You can see in the picture that the pattern I chose is a wire pattern. To draw this pattern I took the intersection point between the circle and the vertical line. I drew lines connecting this intersection point with each and every point marked with the protractor. 3-The third step is to sketch intersected diagonal lines between grid lines.
4- The fourth step is to draw spirals between the grid lines.

Video Tutorial
Watch the tutorial video on my youtube channel to get a better idea of how to replicate this zentangle.
Remember to subscribe and to turn the notification bell on.
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My Meditative Mandala Coloring Book

If you happen to be a mandala coloring fan and would like to add to your collection creative and unique hand drawn designs, then allow me to introduce you to my Mandala coloring books.
this is the image of two mandala coloring books, one is beige with 40 original drawings and the second is yellow with a fish mandala on its cover







Mandala Tutorial n. 144 | How to Draw a Yin Yang Mandala | A Step by Step Tutorial for Beginners

***** Welcome to my Blog! I am Maria hajj a meditative art teacher, a coloring book illustrator, a Youtuber and a blogger. If y...