CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Mandala is a geometric configuration used by many spiritual religions as a form of meditation. Some believe that observing a repeating pattern can help people quiet their minds and relax their bodies.
Brooke Charolla, owner of the small business Mother Earth Mandalas, actively embraces this belief and paints mandalas every week for Cheyenne community members.
“I’ve always been attracted to mandalas,” she said. “They’re so beautiful and I love looking at them. That’s why I paint, because I can get lost in the mandala and meditate on it for hours.”
Charolla founded the business last year after posting her creations on Facebook and receiving purchase requests from viewers.
“I had a lot of positive feedback from people who loved it and wanted to buy mandala things,” she said. “The amount of people interested in it made me keep going.”
Although the designs look complex, Charolla said all she needs to create them are tubes of acrylic paint, multiple dotting tools and her colorful imagination.
“The designs kind of come from my imagination,” Charolla said. “When I start, I get my different colors ready, do different dot sizes and then go one row at a time to see what fits best. I make it up as I go.”
Various items, including stones, cups, keychains and candleholders, are all mediums that Charolla can paint mandalas on.
The mesmerizing projects can be purchased at 307 Made, a downtown storefront where people sell homemade products, and custom orders can be placed through Charolla’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
Born and raised in Ohio, Charolla went to college in Colorado and worked in California until settling down in Cheyenne with her family in 2018.
No matter where she lived, Charolla always had a passion for practicing meditation and promoting simple beauty, both of which she hopes her mandalas can do for people.
She hopes to one day host mandala design classes locally or online, as some of her customers have requested.
“People have been so great and so encouraging and it feels good,” Charolla said. “I’m spreading joy and love and good vibes.”
