4 minute read
Cristy Rosario Peréz Mandala Project
by Renee Casentini ‘22, Carter Field ‘22, Megan Mawhinney ‘22, Benjamin Putney ‘22
In our Basic Beliefs and Values class, our group created a nature mandala. A mandala is a circular structure with a design that radiates out symmetrically from the center. We spent time searching for a spot to put the mandala, searching for materials to make it
Renee Casentini ‘22, Carter Field ‘22 and Benjamin Putney ‘22. Gathering the nature materials.
We used the Priory learning competencies throughout this project. We had the opportunity to think critically in many ways. First, we needed to fi nd a good spot for our mandala where we knew that it wouldn’t be bothered by people passing by. Next, we had to fi nd good materials that stood out to us. And fi nally, we created the meaning behind the mandala. We had to use resilience throughout the project, as we couldn’t use living plants in our mandala, so we had to fi nd many different materials on the ground and other places. We had to be creative in our design. We did this by making a mandala with a good message and a good design, with a consistent pattern. We had to communicate and collaborate throughout the project to create a mandala we liked, and to get the whole project done. To fi nd our mandala location, we thought about what locations connect most with nature. We wanted to have a good place to display our mandala to the public too. The fi rst spot we considered was on the path on top of the hill on the far side of the campus. We encountered a coyote and a Rhodesian Ridgeback while looking up there, but overall, the spot was a bit far to collect materials and bring them all the way up. We then walked down to the labyrinth. On the way over, we saw a jackrabbit run across the path. We followed the jackrabbit, and when we reached the end of the path, another group had claimed that spot. We had one last place to check out: a bed by the staircase next to the dining hall. We fi gured it would be the most convenient spot for our needs, so we started clearing the dirt. Suddenly, we spotted a kitten behind the tree next to our spot. We thought it would be a good idea to make our team name with an incorporation of all of the animals we saw. We put them into a word mixer app, then took all of the results it gave us and put them back into the generator. Then, it gave us our team name, Cocoy.
Mandala Project
with, combining all of our ideas to design one that represents our lives and beliefs and then fi nally building the mandala. There were many steps to create this mandala. Now that the fi nal product is done, we are excited to share it with all of you!
Laying out the mandala.
A sketch of the proposed mandala. An unexpected team member.
Our mandala represents life. Every step we took in constructing our mandala represented a new step in life. Through the close up lens, the individual parts of our mandala may seem insignifi cant, when everything is put together, one beautiful piece of art is created. For the design of our mandala, we fi rst decided to put one bigger rock in the center and then surround that with a variety of leaves. This consists of some cypress leaves along with regular leaves that fell from trees. Those lead to a circle of smaller stones, each a slightly different shape and size. After the stones, we put some pieces of dry grass and pine branches pointing outwards. Our mandala started with a rock in the center, to represent the fi rst stepping stone in life, a step that every person takes. Then we used the leaves to represent how we all take different paths in life but they all lead to the same goal or purpose, which was represented by a circle of stones. When we were young a lot of the goals that we had were very similar to each other, but as we got older they become more specifi c and began to differ from others, but all of us have the general goal of fulfi llment in mind. Then, using twigs and leaves, we fi nished the outermost layer of our mandala to represent how many different outcomes there are in life. How some may seem more beautiful than others, but they all are a great end or aspect to life in their own ways. In conclusion, our mandala-making process was spiritually fulfi lling. We spent time in nature, learned about our group members and ideated to build something with a message that was close to our hearts. We overcame challenges, disagreements and the rare occurrence of under-productiveness so that, in the end, we’d have a beautiful piece of art to share with the world.
