Giant chalk mandala brings color and collaboration to Lake City
On Tuesday, June 9, Sandy Forseth was down at Ohuta Park with her chalk and paint, transforming a plain walkway near the splash pad into a community canvas. Forseth, an Eden Prairie-based community mandala artist, was carefully chalking out a circular outline, 18 feet in diameter. Her goal? To create a vibrant, ever-changing work of interactive public art.
The word mandala is Sanskrit for “circle” or “center.” While mandalas originated in ancient India, they have evolved into a universal art form used worldwide for meditation, stress relief, and community connection.
The hope for this giant mandala is for it to become a collective experience. It’s designed for kids and adults alike to sit down, grab a piece of chalk, and color in different sections, contributing their own personal touch for the community to enjoy.
What makes Forseth’s work unique is her collaborative approach. She partners with schools and communities, mainly across Minnesota and North Dakota, to lay down the groundwork for public creativity.
How does she map out something so massive? First, she places a weight at the exact center of her planned design. She attaches ropes to the weight, each with loopholes marked at varying distances. By placing a piece of chalk through a hole and walking the perimeter, she can draw perfect circles of increasing circumferences around the center.
While at face value, a mandala is a visual work of art, Forseth appreciates the mathematics involved—the symmetry and the geometric harmony required to make the patterns align. Once the final layout is sketched, she makes the design semi-permanent with white tempera paint. The hope is for the paint to hold up against the elements so the design can last through the summer.
Forseth creates a new design for each mandala based on the location or theme of the project. Ohuta Park’s mandala is called “Lakeview Dala” because it comes with a beautiful view of the lake.
Because Lake City Area Arts sponsored the project, the mandala’s patterns feature arts-themed imagery, from paintbrushes and musical instruments to theater masks. A few dogs and dog houses can also be spotted, a nod to local supporter, DogHouse Books.
Lakeview Dala will look different all the time. Throughout the summer, many will contribute to this collaborative coloring project, and many will enjoy its beauty. Inevitably the chalk will be faded and washed away with rain, water from the splash pad, and foot traffic from the beach, leaving just the tempera paint outline – only for the process to begin again.
Everyone is invited to leave their mark on this community art project. Sidewalk chalk can be found in the Art Box stationed next to the mandala. (The sign on the box asks that you please return the chalk when you’re finished so it stays dry!)
You can also pick up chalk at the DogHouse Bookmobile on Thursdays during the summer Market by the Lake or stop by DogHouse Books at 128 S. Washington St. during the store’s open hours.
Next time you’re at Ohuta Park – maybe at Market by the Lake on a Thursday evening – take a moment to admire Lake City’s shared work of art. Or better yet, grab a piece of chalk and add your own colorful touch.