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In many eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, a mandala is an image that a person creates to help him or her meditate. The mandala represents the entire universe. It is the palace in which a god lives, so at the center of each mandala is a symbol or picture of that particular god.
Surrounding the god are the walls of the palace. The palace always has four, decorative gates—one on each wall. Around the palace are more circles. Each represents something different.
As a person creates a mandala, he or she meditates about every part of it.
Mandalas can be made out many different materials but the most impressive are sand mandalas. Tibetan monks place grains of colored sand, one-by-one, on a flat surface. Four monks work together on large sand mandalas. Each monk works on one quadrant of the mandala. All four monks must work at the same speed so that they all finish at the same time.
Go look at the pictures on this website to see monks creating a mandala. I especially like the close-up of the mandala. You really can see every grain of sand.
When the monks have finished creating the sand mandala, it is swept into water. This is meant to release the god from the mandala.
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Today, make your own Talavera-inspired coasters! I love this project. It’s simple, inexpensive, and fun.
Yesterday you learned about how Talavera pottery is made. It would be tough to go through all those steps at home. Most of us don’t have kilns in our houses. Instead, pick up a couple of small tiles from your local hardware store and paint your designs with glass paint.
Supplies Needed:
Small Tile
Glass Paint
Paintbrush
Pencil
Rubbing Alcohol
Cotton Balls
Cover your work space with newspaper. Clean your tile with rubbing alcohol and let it dry. (This is something an adult should help you with.)
Decide what you want to paint on your tile. If you need some inspiration, check out this site. Draw your design lightly, in pencil.
Fill in your drawing with glass paint. I filled in all the blue parts, let them dry, then filled in all the red parts and let them dry. It took a little longer to paint in sections like that, but I didn’t end up with paint all over my hands.
If you want a quicker project, try using only one color. You can find Talavera pottery that is only blue and white. Maybe those pieces will inspire you.
Glass paint needs to dry for a long time. Read the instructions on your paint. Some paints give you the option of baking your artwork. In my experience, the paints that you can bake stay on better than the ones you have to let air dry.
When your tile is completely dry, use it as a coaster or have an adult frame it and hang it on the wall.
Coasters make nice gifts for parents and grandparents.
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Around 1500, the Spanish began making beautiful, hand-painted Talavera pottery. The Spanish monks liked the pottery so much that they introduced it to their new colony in Mexico. The people of Puebla, Mexico perfected the technique and today they are famous for their Talavera pottery.
A Mexican or Spanish artisan begins by kneading together two different types of clay. The clay air-dries until it can be molded into shapes. The artisan then shapes the clay with his hands, on a pottery wheel, or in a mold. The pottery air-dries some more and then is fired in a kiln. Next, the artisan glazes the pottery and then hand-paints it using six specific colors (red, green, black, brown, blue, and yellow). Finally, the pottery is fired again.
This is a long and complex process, as you can see. People love Talavera pottery and are willing to pay a lot of money for it. Because of this, some people in Mexico began making fake Talavera pottery. Real Mexican Talavera artisans have to pass tests twice a year. They also have to follow certain rules and sign every piece of pottery they make.
Click here for some examples of Talavera pottery.
Tomorrow I’ll show you how to make your own coasters inspired by Talavera pottery.
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You learned yesterday that the Japanese consider paper cranes to be lucky. In The Paper Crane, Molly Bang tells a wonderful story a one family who experiences the luck of a paper crane.
The family’s once successful restaurant is not doing well. A highway has been built very near the restaurant and now cars just drive by. People don’t come in to eat anymore. One day a stranger comes in and the restaurant owner serves him a meal. To repay the owner for his kindness, the stranger folds a paper crane out of a napkin. When the crane comes to life the restaurant is suddenly very popular. Everyone wants to see the paper crane that has come to life!
The illustrations are perfect for the book. Molly Bang created paper collages and then photographed them. These images became the illustrations.
I hope you enjoy this picture book as much as I do!
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Now that you have folded some of your own origami, take a look at the art of some origami masters. I have no idea how they do it, but it’s incredible.
Robert J. Lang’s origami looks more realistic than a lot of clay sculpture that I’ve seen. I especially like the humming bird and the people. Click through the list on the left side of screen so you don’t miss anything.
Above are some of the origami books that Robert J. Lang has put out.
Kamiya Satoshi folds huge sheets of paper into complex creatures such as dragons and whales. Check out this 4 minute video to see Satoshi at work. Please note the video is in Japanese and sped up. It’s pretty cool, though. Satoshi begins with a 70cm. by 70cm. square piece of paper and ends with a phoenix.
Enjoy!
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