Hi, I’m Kathryn Costa, artist, author, astrologer, and guide for soulful and creative living.
For more than 25 years, mandalas have been part of my creative and spiritual practice. What began as an interest in circles, patterns, and color became something much more meaningful: a way to slow down, listen inward, and find my center during times of change.
Today, through True North Arts, I share mandalas, sacred geometry, creative practices, and reflective tools that invite us to live with greater intention, curiosity, and connection.
At the heart of my work is a simple belief:
Creativity is not reserved for artists. It is a way of connecting with ourselves, with each other, and with what gives our lives meaning.
My Journey with Mandalas
Although I had been drawing mandalas for years, there was a time when I stopped creating altogether.
After losing both of my parents within a short period of time, my creativity went quiet. And it stayed quiet. It wasn’t until about a year after my father died that something began to shift.
During a visit with a friend in Colorado, I picked up a handmade journal and a small set of watercolors. As I moved the brush across the page, something about the feeling of those first brush strokes awakened a part of me that had been dormant.
My creative muse was waking up.
I began painting simple shapes and patterns. Before long, those spontaneous brush strokes began growing into mandalas.
Those quiet creative moments opened a door.
Within five months, my creativity had come roaring back. In 2014, I challenged myself to create 100 mandalas in 100 days and invited my online community to join me. That one creative challenge grew into an international community and eventually inspired me to create the book I wished I had, The Mandala Guidebook, published in 2016.
Since then, I’ve had the privilege of teaching thousands of people through workshops, retreats, online programs, and YouTube videos, including programs at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health and Omega Institute.
Yet the most important thing I discovered along the way was much quieter.
Mandalas became my sanctuary.
Inside the circle, I found a place to be curious about what I was feeling, to experiment without needing to know the outcome, and to meet myself with greater compassion.
That discovery continues to guide my work today.
What Guides My Work Today
Over the years, my interest has expanded beyond teaching people how to make mandalas.
I’m equally fascinated by what happens within us while we create them.
- How does creativity help us pay attention?
- What can we discover when we become curious rather than critical?
- What happens when we make space for reflection, ritual, beauty, play, and wonder?
These questions are at the heart of True North Arts.
Mandalas and sacred geometry remain central to my work, alongside meditation, journaling, astrology, moon cycles, chakras, and other reflective practices.
I don’t believe there is one right way to be creative or one path to a soulful life.
Sometimes our practice means…
- Sitting down with a compass and drawing an intricate geometric pattern.
- Filling a journal page with found words from magazines.
- Looking up at the moon and noticing where we are in our own cycle of beginning, becoming, releasing, or resting.
- And sometimes it simply means making a little space in an ordinary day for something that nourishes us.
What we create matters less than
what we discover about ourselves while creating it.
Celebrating 10 Years of The Mandala Guidebook
In 2026, I’m celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Mandala Guidebook by returning to something that has always been at the heart of my work: drawing mandalas, sharing stories, and creating together.
I created The Creative Pilgrimage, a free online soulful and creative journey featuring fan-favorite tutorials, some you’ll recognize from The Mandala Guidebook, along with Mandala Stories, Pilgrim Pauses, creative reflections, and invitations to make the journey your own.
You don’t need to be an artist.
You don’t need to complete everything.
You simply need to begin where you are.
You Are Welcome Here
Wherever you are on your path, you are welcome here.
- Perhaps you are picking up a compass for the first time.
- Perhaps you once loved making art and want to find your way back to it.
- Perhaps you already have a creative practice and are looking for fresh inspiration.
- Or perhaps you’ve arrived during a season of change and are looking for practices that help you slow down, reflect, and reconnect with what matters.
Explore. Create. Get curious. Make something imperfect. Notice what emerges.
You never know where one small creative act might lead.
It certainly changed my life.
Kathryn Costa
Instigator of Soulful & Creative Living
True North Arts
Short Official Bio
Kathryn Costa is an artist, author, astrologer, and founder of True North Arts, where she shares practices for soulful and creative living.
She is the author of The Mandala Guidebook: How to Draw, Paint, and Color Expressive Mandala Art and has taught thousands of people through workshops, retreats, online programs, and YouTube tutorials. Her teaching experience includes programs at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health and Omega Institute.
Kathryn’s work brings together mandala making, sacred geometry, meditation, reflection, astrology, and other creative practices that encourage curiosity, self-discovery, and meaningful connection.
See Kathryn’s Publications, Trainings, Recognitions, and Interviews →
“Kathryn’s retreat was life-changing for me as a teacher, mother, friend, artist, and spiritual seeker.”
Jenneth Waldek
Teacher, 30 Years
Keep Exploring
The Creative Pilgrimage
A free online soulful and creative journey celebrating 10 years of The Mandala Guidebook.
The Mandala Guidebook
Explore step-by-step projects for drawing, painting, and coloring expressive mandalas. It’s a perfect companion to spark creativity.
YouTube
Explore mandalas, sacred geometry, creative practices, and stories in my collection of free videos.
You must be logged in to post a comment.