I work in IT.
And I dot every day.
For over 10 years, dot art has been my therapy, my ritual, and the most calming part of my day. I'm not a trained artist. I never thought I was creative. And yet here we are.
"If I can learn to do this while working full-time,
raising a life, and managing everything that comes with it,
so can you."
That's the whole point of this page. Not to impress you. To show you what's possible when you give yourself 20 quiet minutes and a dotting tool.
The dotting tool was already in my hand.
Long before I ever picked up a rock, I was doing my own nail designs. We're talking around 2010. The designs were intricate, detailed, and yes - mostly made of dots. I had a dotting tool specifically for nails and I used it constantly.
That same dotting tool is still in my studio today.
I didn't realize it at the time, but I had already been training my hand for years. The precision, the pressure, the rhythm of placing tiny dots exactly where you want them. When I eventually moved to rocks and mandalas, something in my hands already knew what to do.
Circa 2010 - excuse the quality, these are survivors.
IT professional · 10+ years dotting daily
I came to dot art
because I needed a way out.
Here's something that still makes me laugh: I actually have a Fashion Design degree. Never really used it professionally. But it gave me something I didn't realize I had - an eye for color, proportion, and what makes something visually satisfying. That part I carry into every mandala I make, even if I couldn't tell you exactly how.
By day I work in IT for a large non-profit. Before that, I spent years at a company I genuinely loved, an institution that shaped so much of my professional identity. But it came with enormous stress.
I needed something that would actually quiet my mind. Something that asked me to be fully present without asking me to perform or produce. Something that was just mine.
One evening I picked up a dotting tool and placed a dot on a stone I had found on a walk. Then another. Then another. I didn't stop for two hours. And when I finally looked up, something had genuinely shifted.
That was over 10 years ago. I have dotted nearly every day since. And I still get that same feeling every single time.
You might meet the cats.
They have strong opinions about dot art. They have walked through my palette, sat on my mandalas, and introduced their tails to paints I hadn't even opened yet. I have lost count of how many tails I've cleaned and designs I've had to fix. They have zero remorse.
"They have crashed lessons, walked through wet paint, inspected mandalas, and at least once tried to help with the dots."
I cannot tell you how many tails I have cleaned. I cannot tell you how many designs I have had to repair. What I can tell you is that they were not sorry. Not once.
Three cats. Zero remorse. Infinite tail prints.
I am not a
traditionally trained artist.
I have a Fashion Design degree that I got here in the US and never actually used. It gave me a sense of color and composition. What it didn't give me was any ability to create fine art with my hands. Before dot art I had no practical way to make something beautiful from scratch.
Dot art changed that. Not because it's easy - it takes real practice and patience. But it's structured enough that anyone can learn it, and open enough that your own sensibility comes through in every piece. My design background helps me see what a mandala needs. But the dotting itself is something I taught myself entirely. Ten years in, I am still discovering new things.
"If I can do this, I promise you can too. That's not encouragement. That's just the truth."
Why I still do it every day
after 10 years.
These aren't marketing claims. They're what I feel every time I sit down with a dotting tool and a blank surface.
Not just distraction. A genuine settling. The repetitive rhythm of placing dots one at a time does something to your nervous system that is very hard to explain until you've felt it. Stress doesn't disappear - it just doesn't feel so loud anymore.
I work full-time. I have responsibilities and people and things that need me. Dot art is the one thing in my day that exists entirely for me. Twenty minutes of complete creative freedom. Nobody needs anything from me during that time.
Every mandala you finish is evidence of something. That you made time. That you followed through. That your hands created something beautiful that didn't exist before. After 10 years, I still feel that every single time.
The part that means everything to me.
Emails, DMs, and comments - not testimonials. The real thing.
"Joining Lina's course was one of the best decisions I've made. Her soft voice and the therapeutic nature of dot art have been great for my anxiety."
"My art is my therapy and without Lina I would still be wandering the web, searching for how-to videos and wondering how can I do that?"
"Your soothing voice made each lesson a meditative experience. The mental health benefits have been profound."
"Learning dotting from you has been a game-changer. This course has also been a great tool for stress relief."
"After a few months I lost my mood. I think you woke it up."
"I finished in less than a week. It was like a good book I couldn't put down."
You don't need to be an artist.
You just need to start.
See all courses →
No art experience required · Beginner to advanced · hello@dotsbylina.com