Artist: Irina Artamonova

Location: Moscow, Russia

Found on page: 134

Title of Art: Fairytale Mandala

Materials: Pitt pens, gel pens and felt-tip pens/markers

How did you get started drawing mandalas?

I started to draw mandalas in summer of 2014 when a friend of mine invited me to a Sacred Geometry course that she ran. It was soon after I had quit a job, and was emotionally and physically burnt out, full of self-doubt and feeling lost. For a few months, I was drawing yantras and mandalas almost every day, step by step recovering my inner balance and discovering my hidden emotions and feelings. Mandala practice helps me in many ways, for example, it teaches me to relax and let go of internal critic: as a perfectionist, I was never satisfied with whatever I did and suffered big time! With mandalas I realized that imperfection can be beautiful. I became less controlling and more accepting, less demanding and more grateful, less rational and more intuitive. And I returned to my abandoned passion – drawing – after almost a 20-year break!

Irina is a self-taught artist from Moscow, Russia. Since 2014, she has been studying sacred geometry and mandalas. Her artwork includes drawing ornaments, illustrations, yantras and mandalas, and sewing tilda-dolls.

“The Mandala Guidebook: How to Draw, Paint, and Color Expressive Mandala Art” by Kathryn Costa is available from North Light Books.

Meet the other contributors at the online Book Launch Party.