A six-week workshop paying homage to nature’s divine proportion. Create art pieces that sing with golden geometry!
Overview
Programme type: Online course with live sessions
Topic: Contemplative geometry
Dates: Six classes (of 3 hours duration each) once per week from 17th January 2026 through 21st February 2026
Language: English
Instructor: Daphne Charles
Course Overview
A long time ago, the significance of the golden mean was understood as a “precious gem” and THE “divine proportion”. It was a science and body of knowledge that was used not only to design sacred works in every culture, it was also a door to understanding life, harmony and the interconnected divinity of all things.
While its significance has diminished through time, the golden mean is much more than a mere symbol or mathematics formula. It remains as a gift bestowed upon us by our ancestors that is worthy of our attention and contemplation, especially in this day and age.
How are the pentagon, fibonacci numbers, golden mean and golden spiral related? Why bother including golden geometry into your creation blueprints? Find this out and so much more during this six week immersion into all things Golden Geometry. Enjoy
the calming effect of creating weekly patterns and art pieces
observing how these principals are expressed in nature and holds the energy of living growth
learning how and why this knowledge was applied to human-made creations, art and architecture
learning the skills to apply golden geometry in your creations
For the creators and designers amongst us, this course provides an understanding of the benefits of rooting your designs in nature’s design principals and teaches the skills necessary for its application.
The approach of this course is through active learning i.e. this “divine proportion” is experienced through the doing of it as we engage our heads, hearts and hands to learn, draw, contemplate and create forms that “sing” with golden meaning. In doing so for a period of six consecutive weeks, we expand our understanding and unveil new dimensions and connections unique to our own experiences and journey.
What is Contemplative Geometry?
Contemplative Geometry is the holistic study of the relationships between shapes and forms as they occur in nature, and as expressed in art, in design, and in architecture. The word ‘contemplative’ highlights that we are taking a reflective, investigative and philosophical approach to this exploration of shape and form. This includes our own place in the world of shape and form — how we are affected by the geometry of patterns, and how we can bring that awareness and sense of peaceful manifesting and creating into our daily lives.
Contemplative Geometry is also the foundation of contemplative/sacred architecture, and as such it is the starting point for explorations of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional design in harmony with nature’s patterns and proportions.
"Come into the light of things;
let nature be your teacher."
— William Wordsworth
Who is this course for?
This workshop is open to all.
Each activity is presented in a step-by-step manner and is suitable for those with no prior drawing and geometry experience and also those that are already familiar with the subject and are seeking to engage themselves with the topic for a dedicated period of time in order to reveal deeper meaning and develop embodied understanding.
Dates & times
About your facilitator
Weekly classes (held on Zoom) are scheduled for every Saturday at 9am - 12pm IST (India Standard Time).
Sample time zones:
Here are the timings in a few popular time zones:
US WEST COAST (PST/UTC-8): Fridays 8:00-11:00pm
SINGAPORE (SGT/UTC+8): Saturdays 11:30-2:30pm
MELBOURNE (AEDT/UTC+11): Saturdays 2:30-5:30pm
What to do if you miss a session?
Participants will have access to video recordings of the live online sessions during the duration of this course. This is useful if you are unable to make one or more live sessions or if you would like to re-watch a session and/or redo your drawings.
Video access ends two weeks after the last Zoom session.
Essential equipment & supplies
A good drawing compass that can
hold its setting
make small adjustments
large enough to draw a 14cm radius circle
(examples: Steadler Mars, Rotring Master Bow, )
A ruler (suitable for working on A3 sized paper)
Range of pencils (4H-4B)
Cartridge paper - A3 size (120gsm and above)
Eraser ( Zero Eraser or equivalent)
Colouring materials, e.g. colour pencils/markers
Masking tape
Drawing pens (useful to have, but not essential)
Paints and brushes (optional)
Paper of your choice (optional): You may choose to prepare your own selection of cartridge / sketchbook / watercolour paper. Thick paper sufficient for use with your colouring medium of choice.
Tuition fee
Dharmalaya Institute is a not-for-profit charitable and educational organisation, and as such seeks to make its programmes accessible everyone. Recognizing that our participants come from diverse backgrounds, we are providing a sliding scale with three tiers, to make it possible for each participant to give according to their means.
Total fees for this ten-week programme at each of the three tiers are as follows:
Standard rate
(For most participants)
Rs 13,500
Subsidized rate
(For low-income participants who can’t afford the standard rate)
Rs 9,000
The deficit inherent in this rate might be covered by participants who choose to pay the ‘Supporter rate’ to the right.
Supporter rate
(For those who can afford to help subsidize low-income participants)
Rs 18,000
Those who choose this rate will be supporting lower-income applicants to participate at the subsidized rate. We thank you sincerely for your generosity in choosing this rate if you can.
We do not want cost to be a barrier to anyone’s participation, so if you have exceptional financial hardship and cannot afford even the lowest subsidized rate, you can contact us to let us know your situation and your needs.
(Please note that the cost of purchasing the basic art supplies you’ll need for the course is not included in the tuition fee above; you would need to do acquire those supplies on your own.)
Application & registration
Space in this programme is limited. Participation is by application and is subject to acceptance.
STEP 1 — APPLY: Submit the application form using the button below.
STEP 2 — WATCH YOUR INBOX: After we review your application, we’ll contact you with instructions for making payment for the course.
STEP 3 — PREPARE: After we receive your payment, we’ll send you more detailed information about the programme and how to prepare for it.
We look forward to connecting with you!