To celebrate Pride this month, AUS Art Therapy student, Beckett Weeks*, drew a mandala for everyone to color in as they see fit. He says of his design:
“The symbols in top and bottom center are the transgender symbol, and the symbols in the center circle are the Alchemical symbol for Mercury/Quicksilver. In Alchemy, Mercury was believed to be the “First Metal,” from which all other metals were derived, and in mythology Hermes/Mercury was one parent (along with Aphrodite/Venus) of Hermaphroditus, from whom we get the word “hermaphrodite.” Not a scientific or biologically accurate term for intersex people, but it is a term from Western mythology for people outside the gender binary.”
Grab the medium (markers, watercolors, colored pencils, etc.) of your choice, download the free mandala, print it out, and celebrate Pride!
About the artist:
Beckett attended the Columbus College of Art and Design before, inspired by his own experiences with therapy and art-making, transferring to the University of North Texas to pursue a degree in psychology. Before attending Antioch, Beckett was an art instructor at a children’s art studio and at a women’s rehab facility. Beckett is in seventh quarter of Antioch’s Clinical Mental Health and Art Therapy program; he currently lives under a bridge, where he enjoys making comic books and yelling at the internet.
*Please note the mandala is copyright ©Becket Weeks, 2017.