Radial Design & Symmetry

Symmetry is where one part of an image is balanced or mirrored by the other side.

Lots of shapes are symmetrical… Rectangle Trapezoid Circle Hexagon Isosceles Triangle

RADIAL SYMMETRY radial, radiate, and radial balance - Radial means anything of, relating to, or arranged like rays.

Some objects have more than one line of symmetry… These flowers have rotational symmetry, too! This means, that you can rotate or turn them, and they will still look the same.

Nature contains an abundance of radial symmetry and balance, from plants to water swirling down the drain.

Artists also have used symmetry, from old cathedral windows …

…to watermelons!...

As an artform, radial symmetry is commonly found in the works of MANDALAS, such as the sacred sand paintings by Tibetan monks.

From all the artistic traditions of Tantric Buddhism, that of painting with colored sand, ranks as one of the most unique and exquisite. In Tibetan this art is called dul-tson-kyil-khor, which literally means "mandala of colored powders." Millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place on a flat platform over a period of days or weeks. When finished, to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists, the colored sands are swept up and poured into a nearby river or stream where the waters carry the healing energies throughout the world.

These are by an artist known as Aya. Mandala painting has inspired contemporary artists to create many of their own radial images. These are by an artist known as Aya.

Alex Grey

Toni Arnon

Create a PRINT of a MANDALA! YOUR TURN! Create a PRINT of a MANDALA!