About the Author: Eileen Rose has studied the art of the mandala with traditional teachers and contemporary artists and experts. She developed the techniques in this book and has used them in her work as an art instructor with children and in workshop settings with adults. Abby Rose Dalto, a creative writer of literature for adults and children, holds a B.A. in Women's Studies from Purchase College, SUNY. Eileen and Abby are mother and daughter. Book Description: Mandalas are sacred symbolic images traditionally used as meditational aids in Buddhism and Hinduism. The Create Your Own Sand Mandala kit provides everyone from the beginner to the professional artist with the materials and know-how to create beautiful mandalas to aid meditation, relaxation, and personal growth and to use in prayers and healing rituals. Once they?ve been made, sand mandalas are scattered, symbolizing life?s impermanence. Many people find the dismantling and scattering ceremony very moving. The kit includes five bags of colored sand, a funnel and brush, paper templates, and a base for constructing sand mandalas. The accompanying full-color book gives all the background history and spiritual aid the reader needs. This step-by-step guide to creating sand mandalas, from preparatory meditation to scattering, is based on traditional methods used in Tibetan Buddhism and other cultures. Create Your Own Sand Mandala provides a wealth of history, tradition, spirituality, and art, while reminding us that life is as beautiful and transitory as a sand mandala. A unique interactive kit that shows you how to make your own personal "mandala" sand paintings.