(source: TASR)
Over late June and early July, a record mandala was created on the Interski slope at the Štrbské Pleso resort in High Tatras. There are two types of mandalas: a traditional pattern made in Tibet from coloured rice or sand into Buddhist images and then destroyed afterwards (to symbolise the ephemeral nature of all worldly things); or any circular image or pattern, which can be numerous and very old, coming from all over the world.
The resulting mandala was put together from 12,148 small mandalas that were drawn by children from all over the country and sent to the organisers. Children were asked to utilize traditional Slovak patterns, for example, those painted by older generations on wood cabins for protection and to ensure prosperity for the family.
“The mandala was 28 metres and 70 centimetres long, it took us 7 hours to put it together, and it beat last year’s record of 10 metres,” organiser Ľubomír Slejzák of the Elementary Artistic School (ZUŠ) in Spišský Hrhov told the TASR newswire. “The sun was hot, but we are happy that it did not rain,” he added. “Our creation is a sort of original Slovak themed mandala, as well as a large, open air exhibition of children’s work,” Slejzák explained. He said that most children wished to a draw mandala. “They mostly want to depict a dog, a horse, or [a piece of] electronic equipment, but some were concerned with world peace and the environment,” he concluded.
The public can participate in the project by choosing the most beautiful mandala. In September, an international jury will pick the other winners. The children’s mandalas can be seen at the www.mandalafortheworld.com website.
