Installation Art: Nature Mandalas
To develop aesthetic awareness and transient art skills through nature mandala creation.
- Framework: EYFS
- Unit: EYFS Expressive Arts & Design
- Learning area: Expressive Arts and Design
- Level: EYFS Reception
Objectives
- Creates circular pattern with intention
- Applies developing symmetry awareness
- Makes aesthetic decisions
- Understands transient art concept
Materials
- Collected natural materials: leaves, petals, stones, sticks, berries, seeds
- Large outdoor space or light table
- Reference mandala images
- Photography for documentation
Instructions
Gather natural materials on an outdoor walk. 'Collect things you think are beautiful — leaves, petals, stones, seeds, sticks, feathers. Think about colours, shapes, and sizes.' The gathering is the first creative act.
Show examples of mandalas and rangoli patterns: 'Mandalas are circular patterns. Many cultures make them as art — Buddhist monks in Tibet make them from sand. Hindus make rangoli for celebrations. We're going to make one from nature.'
Choose a starting point — one stone or flower at the centre. 'The mandala grows outward from the middle. What shall we put in the very centre? Then what next, going outward?' Demonstrate adding concentric rings of materials.
Support children to make aesthetic decisions: 'Does this leaf look good here? What if you turned it the other way? What about adding red berries alternating with the white pebbles?' Aesthetic questioning, not directing.
Discuss symmetry as it develops: 'Look — you've got three red leaves on this side. Should we put three here too to balance? Symmetry means the same on both sides.' Connect to mathematical thinking.
Photograph the mandala from above before it's disturbed. 'Transient art doesn't last — and that's okay. We've photographed it so it lasts as an image. Some artists make art that's meant to disappear.' This is a profound artistic idea.