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Kolam 2021 Primer
Introduction Dear Friend, We are delighted that you will be part of Inauguration Kolam 2021, a group art project to welcome President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to the White House. With your help, we’ll be creating a huge kolam (art work) on the ground near the White House. You’ll learn all about kolams, get to practice some of your own and then create your own tile that will be connected to hundreds of other tiles to form the Inauguration Kolam. Happy Kolam-ing! CONTENTS: All About Kolams Kolam Elements Kolam 2021 Instructions – Design & Assemble Your Tile Kolam 2021 Instructions – Printable Pattern Templates Additional Activities
All About Kolams
A kolam is a traditional artwork made on the ground using dots, lines
and repeating patterns.
. Pic by S Nayyar.
Where are kolams from?
Kolams are from India. Floor art is practiced
all over India and other names include
Rangoli, Alpona and Muggulu. The type of
Kolam we are focusing on comes from Tamil
Nadu and consist of dot grids and certain
repeating patterns.
What are kolams made of?
They are typically made of coarse rice flour
but ground up rock or brick powder are also
Tamil Nadu used.
All About Kolams Where are kolams drawn? Kolams are typically drawn right outside the front door of a home on the ground. The ground is swept clean and dampened with water so the kolam will stick well. They are also done at temples and for special holidays or occasions like weddings. They even have kolam competitions on the streets! How do you actually make a kolam? You can use dry or wet rice flour. The dry powder is applied directly by hand – you let the powder even dribble out of your pinched fingers. The wet mix uses a rag cloth and requires a floor (its usually done in on decks or in apartment buildings). Both types take practice! You start with a set of dots evenly spaced and then draw curves, lines and twists. Kolams are almost always symmetrical.
All About Kolams
How long do kolams last?
@sgurumurthy , twitter, Dec 30, 2015
They usually only last for a day due
to wind, people walking on them
and birds and insects eating them.
Even if they do last, they are
cleared away the next day to make
way for a new kolam.
.
Who makes kolams? And when?
Tamil women and girls usually make them early in the morning. It is a
tradition handed down from one generation to the next. Some families even
have hand-made kolam books that list all their family designs!
Why are kolams made? Do they mean anything?
• This beautiful welcoming symbol helps you leave your worries outside and
enter the home with a positive attitude.
• Kolams are a symbol that all are welcome in this house….even the insects
and birds that feed on the rice flour.
• Kolam dots represent challenges and if a woman can weave her way through
these dots with lines, she will be also be able to successfully deal with the
various situations in her life.
• Kolams also remind us that nothing lasts for ever.
• They highlight the cycle of creation and destruction much like Native
American sand paintings or Buddhist mandalas.
All About Kolams
Do other cultures have similar artforms?
Yes! There are many line drawing traditions around the world! Celtic drawings,
Chinese knots, Sona drawings and Vanatu sand drawings all have similar design
elements.
Celtic drawings Chinese Knots
https://za.pinterest.com/pin/183521753540006561/
Sona sand drawings from Central Africa
All About Kolams
What can we learn from kolams?
Mathmaticians study kolams for their symmetry and fractals (repeating
patterns). Computer scientists' study kolams to figure out how to teach
computer languages. Like real languages, the “picture language” of kolam
has a set of building block units and rules on how to put the units together.
So teaching a computer how to draw a kolam meant that they could better
understand how languages work.
Finish this kolam!
You can use symmetry to
complete this kolam. There are
several axes of symmetry in this
kolam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal
UKEDCHAT.COM/MATHSRIGHT.COM
A fractal is a pattern that
repeats.
Kolam Elements
Kolam elements include sikku (knot), padi (step) and pulli (dot). These
elements are combined to create complex kolams.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgbq5UJnN6A
Sikku kolams twist around the grid of Padi kolams consist of parallel lines
dots like a knot and eventually close.
https://stylesatlife.com/articles/12-dots-
rangoli-designs/
Pulli kolams include the dots as part of the shape. Common shapes include
lamps, conches and lotuses.
Kolam 2021 Instructions:
Design & Assemble Your Tile - 1
1. There are 2 pattern templates, A and B.
2. These 2 patterns are put together in various configurations to form 6
different shapes.
3. The shapes are then assembled to form the
final kolam.
Kolam 2021 Instructions:
Design & Assemble Your Tile - 2
Required Materials for
Print Version:
• Old Corrugated Plastic
Campaign Sign (at least
12”x12”) OR cardboard
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Glue
• Paper to print
• Markers or Paint . Use whatever you have
on hand but keep in mind water-colors,
crayons & color-pencils will be less visible
from a distance. Also avoid materials that
smudge easily like oil pastels.
Instructions:
1. Watch this video first to get a step-by-step
guide to making your kolam tile.
2. Prepare your backing sign. Cut a 12”x12”
(use a ruler!) square from your sign or
cardboard. Ask an adult for help using the
scissors if you need to. Measuring from a
corner will give you perfect straight edges
for 2 sides.Kolam 2021 Instructions:
Design & Assemble Your Tile - 3
Instructions:
3. Confirm the shape you are doing (check with your teacher, group leader
or your sign-up email. If you are unsure, please write to us at
2021kolam@gmail.com).
4. Print the required pattern sheets for your shape on ordinary white
printer paper (US letter size):
SHAPE PRINT OUT
SQUARE 4 X PATTERN A
CIRCLE 4 X PATTERN B
SPINDLE AND CUP 2 PATTERN A, 2 PATTERN B
FAN 3 PATTERN A, 1 PATTERN B
DROP 1 PATTERN A, 3 PATTERN B
Ensure that your sheets print at 100% scale and are not sized up or
down. Confirm this by measuring the outer dotted line square cut-out
on your prints. They must be 6”x6” exactly or the pieces won’t fit
together properly at the end.
5. Before you start working on your patterns, make sure you know which
areas to work on and which to leave blank. The following image shows
you areas to work on (the shaded areas).Kolam 2021 Instructions:
Design & Assemble Your Tile - 4
ONLY FILL IN THE SHADED AREAS ON YOUR PATTERN SHEETS!
THERE WILL
ALWAYS BE A
BLANK AREA
NEXT TO A
FILL-IN AREA.
LEAVE THE
QUARTER
CIRCLES IN THE
CORNER OF THE
PATTERN SHEETS
BLANK
DID YOU NOTICE
THESE TINY
LITTLE TRIANGLES
AT THE EDGE OF
THE PATTERN B
TEMPLATES?
LEAVE THOSE
BLANK!Kolam 2021 Instructions:
Design & Assemble Your Tile - 5
6. Design your patterns! Get creative here! You can paint, color, draw, collage,
embroider, use stickers, etc. You are free to do anything, though deep and
bright colors are best. Avoid using materials that smudge like pastels, whites
and light colors. We really want to make the white kolam dots and lines pop!
7. Once you are done coloring/painting all your four patterns, cut out the 6”x6”
squares.
8. Place the 4 squares together to form your
shape. Rotate your squares as required.
9. Glue your squares to the sign in the right
configuration. If you find that your sign is
not exactly 12”x12”, make sure the you
align the 4 squares so that the white circle
in the center is totally lined up. Let dry and
then take 2 pictures: of the tile itself, and
tile + artist. Tag us @2021kolam and your
tile might be featured on our website and
in the after movie.
10. Give completed tile to your group
leader/teacher to drop at a designated
location (TBD) by 10 January 2021.Kolam 2021 Instructions:
Gallery
Sample Finished Tiles
Square Circle Spindle
Cup Fan DropKolam 2021 Instructions:
Printable Pattern Templates
Please ensure that you print the following patterns a 100% in size (no
scaling) on ordinary white printer paper (8.5”x11”). The outer dotted
line squares MUST measure 6”x6”.
PATTERN TEMPLATE A
PATTERN TEMPLATE BAdditional Activities:
DONE WITH YOUR TILE?
Check out the following activities to
learn even more about kolams!Additional Activities:
1. Watch this video to learn more about Shanthi Chandrasekar who
designed the Inauguration Kolam 2021. You can also see her doing a
workshop here and some of her kolam gallery here.
2. Write your name kolam style. Write you name in uppercase dots and go
around the dots with kolam lines.
3. Check out Shanthi’s kolam lessons here.
4. Print out dot grids here and see if you can complete a full kolam design
without lifting your pencil once! Combinations of dots include 1-3-1, 1-3-
5-7-5-3-1, 3-3-7-7-7-3-3 and 2-2-6-6-10-10-6-6-2-2. These numbers refer
to the number of dots in each column.
1 3 1 1 3 5 7 5 3 1 3 3 7 7 7 3 3 2 2 6 6 10 10 6 6 2 2Additional Activities:
5. Make your own rice flour mix and do a kolam at home! Practice with
these beginner kolams and then create your own!
• Dry Mix Recipe:
Some people use store bought rice flour or make their mix white sand
with store bought rice flour. Use about 3 tablespoons of rice flour per
cup of sand. Or you can use regular flour mixed with play sand. You
could even use chalk. Learn how to release the kolam powder smoothly
here.
• Wet Mix recipe
Soak raw rice and blend it in a blender with water till it has milk like
consistency. Learn how to use it here.
Gandhi Memorial Center
6. Check out the following worksheet from twinkl.com on different kinds of
symmery using kolams.You can also read
