The Circle Grid

Drawing Circle Patterns

Native to Nepal, India and Bangladesh, rangoli art is a traditional form of welcoming good luck.  Its popularity has remained unaffected over the years. Also known as Alpana, as well as many other names depending on the region they are from,  traditional rangoli designs are created on the floor or a table, using colored rice, flowers, colored sand or powdered paints. Rangoli and mandalas are very similar, using pattern and symmetry found throughout life regardless of the culture or community holding these designs. All of these symmetries and relationships of pattern can be found in the folded patterns of circles.

After spending a term folding circles and exploring the circle grid pattern - a triangular grid - students made a dotted triangular grid using chalk outside, beginning the design process in the same way  as traditional rangoli is started, by using a triangular or circle grid of dots.