vimeo.com/7777767

What is a Mandala?

The word "mandala" comes from the ancient language of India, Sanskrit. It means, roughly, a "circle of completion". In many cultures throughout the world, such circular artwork is meant to represent a connection between the mundane and the divine, or, the manifestation of God into the world.

How to make Ojo de Dios or God's Eyes

What You Do:

1. Select your base sticks and place them in a cross shape. Put a noose knot in the first yarn and tighten it around the intersection of the sticks. Wind the yarn in a figure eight around the intersection (I found this technique worked on the bamboo skewers but not on craft sticks), or alternatively wind the yarn several times, first from right to left diagonally, then from left to right. You want to cover the center of the sticks as shown here in Fig.1 (at left).

2. Now begin weaving your first round. I worked anti-clockwise, moving the yarn behind the top stick, back over the top stick, behind the left stick, over the left stick, behind the bottom stick, over the bottom stick, and behind and over the right stick to complete one round. See Fig.2 (at left) and Fig. 3 (at right).

3. Continue in the same way to complete as many recessed rows as you like (Fig.4 at left). Many Odo de dios are done completely in recessed rows, which show the shape of the sticks. However, I alternate recessed and raised rows. To do this, you need to reverse direction. Basically, I reverse, and turn my work over, so I am working on the back. This creates a raised row on the front. See Fig. 5 (at right).

Raised rows are formed in Fig.6 (at left) and you see a rear view of the work in Fig. 7 (at right).

4. Change colors by knotting the new color to the old one, so the knot forms on the back of the sticks. Do not clip off the old color until you've worked over it for a few rows and you're confident the knot is secure. Fig. 8 (at left) and Fig. 9 (at right) show a front and back view of the new colored rows taking shape.



5. I reversed again with the new color, and you can see the finished Ojo de Dios sample in Fig.11 (at left). On the right, another completed God's Eye in different colors of yarns, using kebab skewers as the base.

Jay Mohler has a great Ojo de Dios site, with beautiful step by step photos and instructions on Making your own 8 sided Ojo de Dios. This is a wonderful site for adults who are ready to make more complex Ojo designs.