Join artist, educator, and poet Sheniz Janmohamed for this virtual workshop where you will learn about a mandala and its various manifestations in arts and culture. You will be invited to draw upon your senses and memories to create your own mandala, imagining your heart as a city. You will then use shape, colour, pattern and texture to denote landmarks, buildings, parks and roads—all centred around the heart of your city/mandala.
What is a mandala?
A mandala translates as “circle” from Sanskrit. The mandala is often used as a symbolic tool for ritualistic practices in Buddhist and Vedic traditions. Nature mandalas are created by sourcing found materials in nature and allowing patterns to develop through the act of making, rather than planning. Mandalas are destroyed/taken apart after being created, as a reminder of the impermanence of all things.
Meet the Facilitator
Sheniz Janmohamed is a firm believer in fostering community through collaboration and creativity. A poet, artist educator, spoken word artist and nature artist, Sheniz is a graduate of the MFA in Creative Writing program at the University of Guelph. Throughout her career, Sheniz has had the good fortune to be mentored by authors Dionne Brand and Kuldip Gill. Sheniz’s first book, Bleeding Light (Mawenzi House, 2010), is a collection of English ghazals that explores a woman’s journey through the night. Sheniz’s second collection of poetry, Firesmoke (Mawenzi House, 2014) traces the inception and annihilation of the sacred fire and explores the meaning of truth and the self, finding them both in form and emptiness. Sheniz has performed nationally and internationally for over 10 years, and her writing has been published in Arc Poetry Magazine, Descant and CV2. She is a regular reviewer for Quill & Quire, and the founder of Questions for Ancestors, a blog that encourages BIPOC writers and artists across Turtle Island to ask questions of their ancestors and provide advice for their descendants.
