Senior Series- Expressive Arts Mandalas

Nature Surrounds Us: Elemental & Collective Mandala Making, Ages 55+ are welcome

Karen Knight, Instructor

Class Description:
This hands-on session celebrates our connection to the living world through found objects and collaborative creation. Inspired by the rhythms and wisdom of nature, we’ll use natural materials to
create personal and shared mandalas that express our relationships to the elements of nature. Guided by Nature as Teacher, Healer, and Legacy, we’ll honor both individual stories and our shared belonging. Participants will create a small personal mandala to take home and contribute to a collective piece to be displayed at Lost Pines Art Center.

Creative Outcome:
• A personal elemental mandala reflecting your unique connection to the natural world
• A collaborative group mandala celebrating interconnection and community

Materials Provided:
• Natural bases for mandala building
• Spices, stones, bark, twigs, moss, etc.
• Glue, paper and markers
Please Bring:
• A journal or notebook
• Small, meaningful nature items (gathered respectfully) such as leaves, petals, feathers, twigs, shells,
or stones Note: Please gather with intention and permission, following principles of the Honorable Harvest (Robin
Wall Kimmerer).  We will provide materials as well, if needed.

This class is subsidized by our generous donors.

**Refunds and credits are issued only for class cancellations or postponements.

Karen’s Story:

Karen Knight is a local Bastrop-based expressive arts guide who invites you to explore the wild joy of creativity as a pathway to connection, renewal, and delight. With a Master’s in Expressive Arts
from the European Graduate School of Arts, Health & Society, Karen leads playful, nature-infused experiences designed to awaken fresh perspectives and possibilities.
We’ll dance with a sensorial palette of mixed media, storytelling, writing, color, sound, and reflective play—gently guided, lightly held, and wide open to wonder. Karen lives just down the road at Ardor
Wood Farm, where the goats roam, the longhorns graze, and the starry night skies reminds her that nature is the original artist and we’re all part of its masterpiece.

Her work in Cities Connecting Children to Nature and training in biophilic design draws from an indigenous understanding: that nature isn’t something “out there,” but something in here—woven
through breath, rhythm, memory, and imagination. As one class participant shared, “It gave me an outlet to be fully imaginative and creative… I realized how closely related emotions are with nature.”
No art experience needed—just curiosity, presence, and maybe a splash of courage. Come play, and rediscover what’s been blooming inside you all along.

Karen Knight