Mandala CCXXII

 

(Above:  Mandala CCXXII.  Custom framed: 41" x 41".  Found objects hand stitched to a section of a vintage quilt.  Objects include:  Twelve, bright orange squeaky crab toys; half of a birch bark container on which a metal medallion is stitched; a porcelain plate; brass hinges; orange and blue plastic lids; Tinker Toy connectors; honey tasters; textile loom perns/spindles; blue casino chips; antique Hill Toy yogurt lids; four (upside down) deco ashtrays; red Monopoly hotels; blue Mardi Gras doubloons; expired medical devices in clear/blue plastic containers; assorted buttons and beads. Click on any image to enlarge.)

Yesterday I blogged an almost forgotten Found Object Mandala.  Mandala CCXX was designed, stitched, mounted, and framed in a single day.  Okay ... it's small ... just 16" x 16".  Some pieces miraculously come together in short burst of time.  Mandala CCXXII isn't such a piece!  This one took weeks.

 

(Above:  The unfinished crib quilt.)

I knew it would take time from the moment I lay this vintage quilt top out on my floor.  I bought it at an antique mall for twelve dollars.  Generally, quilt tops don't interest me.  I need the quilt, as in the thickness and strength of three layers.  A flimsy quilt top just doesn't work as the substrata of a Found Object Mandala.  Yet, this one sort of called to me.  It was entirely hand pieced ... nice, straight, tight stitches.  The fabrics used weren't all ideal ... remains of a few dresses or other household fabrics that had outlived their usefulness.  This was truly "patchwork" ... the origin of modern quilting, the ultimate way to use and reuse what was on hand, the touch of yesteryear, the way "second life" resonated with some anonymous woman.  I had to buy it.  I ironed it.  In my stash, I found a never-opened piece of batting for a crib quilt!  Quickly, I stapled a piece of a vintage damask tablecloth to my stretch bar. Next came the batting, then the quilt top, and finally a layer of bridal tulle/netting over the top (to protect the fragile seams and areas of slight damage).  Then, I quilted it.

 

(Above:  The piece in progress.)

After several evening, I was ready for the found objects.  On the floor, I'd laid out the center, the circle of crabs, and even the vintage yogurt lids.  I thought this would fill most of the area, leaving only the corners needing additional attention.  But, more space was left open.  I wasn't sure how I wanted to fill it.  The piece was leaned against the living room wall for more than a week.  I just looked at it, occasionally laying it flat and trying other objects.  I didn't like anything until curved lines of layered buttons occurred to me!  Voila!  I could finish the stitching!

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXII.)

After the last button was attached, I mounted the work.  Often, I know which framing material will by used by this point ... but not this time!  That took more thought ... and more time ... too!  I liked the slate bluish gray moulding a little but not a lot.  Finally it occurred to me that I needed the blue liner between the artwork and the outer frame.  Of course, I didn't have a blue liner (and frankly, I don't even know of a company producing the perfect blue liner!) but a little acrylic paint did the trick.

 

(Above: Mandala CCXXII seen from the side.)

It's magical when a piece flows perfectly together in a single day, but it is also wonderful that some pieces need time for careful thought!  I'm really pleased with how this Found Object Mandala turned out!

Mandala CCXX

(Above:  Mandala CCXX.  Custom framed: 16" x 16".  Found objects hand-stitched to a block of a vintage quilt.  Objects include:  A brioche mold on a decorate china dish with an antique button; green and purple toddle snack lids; rabies tags; blue toy men on horses; brass screw eyes; pull tabs from cans; four fabric swimming men; assorted beads and buttons.  Click on image to enlarge.)

Well ... I almost messed up my system!  How?  Well ... I forgot to blog this piece.  I also forgot to put it into my inventory book ... but I did create a label for the reverse side.  The title is on that label.  So ... it is now blogged out of order! LOL!  Perhaps happened because this was one of those mandalas that flowed perfectly from initial idea to last stitch.  Honestly, it was designed and stitched in a single day.  Sometimes that happens.  Sometime a piece takes weeks!
 

Lancet Windows CCXXXVI and CCXXXVII

(Above:  Lancet Window CCXXXVI.  Framed:  31 1/4" x 11 1/4".  Layers of polyester stretch velvet fused on recycled synthetic packaging felt, stitched with 100% black cotton thread, and exposed to melting techniques. Click on any image to enlarge.)

Getting ready for April's Smithsonian Craft Show means making new work and that's what I've been doing.  It is really fun here in our renovated Cateechee mill village church because I can go back and forth between various projects.  Retirement is wonderful!

(Above:  Detail of Lancet Window CCXXXVI.)

In the last twenty-four hours, I framed this piece, finished and framed the next Lancet Window, designed a new Found Object Mandala, melted a skinny In Box piece (new idea!), and am working on a mandala that was designed over the weekend. Before retiring, I could never have done all this in such a joyously short amount of time ... and also because I now have more than one table on which to work!

 

(Above:  Lancet Window CCXXXVII. Same info as above.)

It's hard to know, however, exactly what I ought to create!  My best selling size has always been these Lancet Windows.  Perhaps this is because people can generally find a place for a tall, skinny piece!  Yet, at the last big show, not a single Lancet Window found a new home.  

(Above:  Detail of Lancet Window CCXXXVII.)

I've started to photograph many of my pieces at an angle ... just to show the texture, the layering, and the depth of the velvets ... but ...

... I'm trying to remember to also take a photo with Steve holding the artwork ... for scale!

Altar Boy is going to Kentucky!

(Above:  Altar Boy. Found vintage photo altered with a metallic and gold painted 2-ply paper halo, beads, and buttons.  Hand-stitched.  Framed:  23" x 20".  Click on any image to enlarge.)

I'm very happy to announce that Altar Boy was accepted into Fantastic Fibers at the Yeiser Art Center in Paducah, KY.  This national juried show will be on view from March 18 to May 3, 2025.  When I first finished this piece, I blogged about it HERE.

 

Lancet Window CCXXXV

 

(Above:  Lancet Window CCXXXV.  Custom framed:  32" x 12". Layers of polyester stretch velvet fused on recycled black industrial felt.  Machine stitched with 100% black cotton thread and then exposed to various melting techniques. $395. Click on any image to enlarge.)

Getting ready for April's Smithsonian Craft Show means turning my attention to the various sizes and styles in my Fiber Stained Glass Series.  Right now, I've finished two Lancet Windows but haven't photographed the second one.  This was the first Lancet Window I've made since moving to Cateechee.  It is based on motifs found in Owen Jones' Grammar of Ornament, a 19th book showing accurate designs from various periods in history ... all over the world.  

 

(Above:  Detail of Lancet Window CCXXXV.)

The Greek vases that inspired Owen Jones were those in black, white, and orange.  In polyester stretch velvet, I've translated the palette into green, silver and rust with a few gold accents. 

(Above:  Steve holding the finished Lancet Window.)

For scale, I shot this photo of Steve holding the finished artwork.  Now ... back to my ironing board! More Lancet Windows are under construction!
 

Our recent trip to DC

(Above:  Reception for Full Circle at the Strathmore Mansion in North Bethesda with Dominie Nash, Eleanor Levie, me, and Linda Syverson Guild. Click on any image to enlarge.)

I've been meaning to write this blog post since we returned from a whirlwind trip to Washington, DC and to the opening reception of Full Circle at the Strathmore Mansion in North Bethesda.  It's been good intentions for just over a week.  I guess the adage is correct:  Better late than never. 

 

(Above:  A couple looking at one of my Found Object Mandalas.)

I had three of my Found Object Mandalas in this juried show.  One of them earned an honorable mention.  Steve and I had a great time watching people look at my work.  We had a better time hanging out with some of the other artists, especially the fiber artists!

(Above:  Whistler's Peacock Room at the Smithsonian Asian Art Museum.)

We spent all day on Saturday like tourists.  Of course we visited my favorite room in the world, Whistler's Peacock Room!

The Smithsonian Asian Art Museum is connected underground to another favorite place, the Smithsonian African Art Museum.

 From a distance, I though this large, circular sculpture was some sort of giant tire.  On closer inspection, it was a giant snake eating its own tail ... made entirely from recycled, plastic gas containers.  I forgot to snap a photo of the label but I was very impressed by the statement.  This artist said that he's expected to make masks ... just because the assumption is that all African artists make masks.  So ... he makes masks but this sculpture is what comes from his soul.

Nearby was a glorious piece by Ghanaian artist El Anatsui.  I've seen others but never one so close at hand.  I was mesmerized.
 

We ordered time entry passes (free, of course) for Osgeneos, a major exhibition at the Hirshhorn by Brazilian twins who started out as graffiti artists.  It was incredible ... so very detailed, colorful, and imaginative.

I was enchanted with Mark Bradford's enormous installation called Pickett's Charge.  It went entirely around the inner circle at the Hirshhorn.

Yet it was Laurie Anderson's installation that captivated me most.  At age seventy-eight, this multi-discipline artist worked ten hour days for over two weeks to totally cover the floor and all the rooms of a very large space with stream-of-consciousness paintings, quotations, symbols, and signs.  We also went to the Kennedy Center for a free concert on the Millennial Stage and to Wooley Mammoth Theater for a one-man performance billed as a comedy despite the fact that it was a presentation focusing on the hideousness of gun violence and the aftermath of life after losing a child. 

(Above:  Image from GUAC ... and yes ... photography, videos, and any other way of sharing the experience was allowed ... in fact, it was encourage.)

The show was called GUAC and was written and performed by the father of a young student murdered in the Parkland school mass shooting.  I laughed and I cried.  Below are just some of the other artworks we saw during the trip!

 

Cemetery Flags going to SDA's exhibition at Florida CraftArt

(Above: Cemetery Flags. 9'1" x 4'8". Assorted US flags retrieved from cemetery trash bins free-motion embroidered onto a discarded casket flag.  Click on image to enlarge.)

I'm very happy to announce that Cemetery Flags was just accepted into SDA's (Surface Design Association's) upcoming juried show, Spaces Between.  The exhibit is being held in partnership with Florida CraftArt where the work will be on view from March 28 to May 17, 2025.

 

This was once a piece that got started in 2011, was put away for years, and finally finished in December 2022!  I blogged about it HERE. 

 

School Days commissioned mandala

Above:  Mandala CCXXI.  Custom framed: 27" x 27".  Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt. Most of these objects were collected by the client.  Objects include:  A child's device to learn to tell time; round, wooden numbers from 1 to 36; short, colored pencils; cookie cutters; dominoes; toy whistles; letters A to H; miniature pinball toys; rubber stamps; toy car wheels; Mallo Cup tokens; owl-eyed paper clips; game pieces; wheat pennies; 12" rulers; keys; tiny, toy airplanes; assorted buttons and beads. Click on any image to enlarge.)

Several months ago, I was contacted by a nice lady who wanted a mandala created from nostalgic objects that reminded her of elementary school days. She was willing to collect these items herself.  Then, she mailed them to me.  I went through the box, laid out a potential design, and sent a photo for her approval.  Almost immediately, she wrote back and I went to work.

 

(Above:  Laying out the numbers around the lid of a pot!)

In order to form a circle around the "teach time nursery clock", I used a lid from one of our pots.  It was just the right size and provided an edge against which I could line up all the wooden numbers.  Each number was pre-drilled and then held in place by a stitched bead.

 

(Above:  Mandala CCXXI in progress.)

The next thing I had to figure out was the size of the button circle.  It needed to create the space for the stubby colored pencils.  Then, I attached the rulers and the elements selected for the corners.

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXI.)

Some of the colored pencils had to be sharpened to shorten them.  Some were a little shorter than the average length, but finally I got them all stitched in place.  The points went between the wooden numbers.  A gold bead went at the end.

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXI.)

The next two concentric circles were stitched according to the original design.  Yet when they were finished, I added several other elements.  This generally happens.  It is a rare time when my initial plan isn't altered.  I start out with a clear idea but end up working intuitively.  Thankfully, my client knew this in advance and loves the results.  It's in a box and whizzing its way to its new home!

Now ... I should have already written a blog post about last weekend.  Steve and I went to The Mansion at Strathmore in North Bethesda for the opening of a juried show called Full Circle.  Three of my Found Object Mandalas were in the show.  One received an honorable mention.  The trip was great and we spent a fabulous day in nearby Washington, DC visiting the Hirschhorn, the Smithsonian Asian Art and African Art museums, and turning in my metro card for a senior pass.  Wow!  Half fares from now on!  We also saw a free concert on the Kennedy Center's Millennial stage and went to Wooley Mammoth Theater for a one-man show called Guac, a presentation by the father of a student murdered during the Parkland school shooting.  Believe it or not, it was billed as a comedy despite the very serious and compelling topic addressing gun violence.  I laughed and I cried.

Four new Lunettes

(Above:  Four new Lunettes ... framed and ready to go to April's Smithsonian Craft Show!  Click on any image to enlarge.)

For the last week or so, I've been constructing these four Lunette Windows.  Today was "framing day" ... which is an odd thing.  Before retiring and moving, every day was "framing day".  I don't miss running our custom picture framing business!  In the past, I would construct, melt, mount, frame, photograph, and blog each piece ... one at a time.  That's all the time each day permitted.  Now, however, it makes more sense to cut and build all the frames at the same time.  Below are the four new pieces.  I'm really pleased with them!

 

(Above:  Lunette LXXV.  Framed with anti-reflective/UV filtering glass:  22" x 28".  $525.)

Each piece is layers of polyester stretch velvet fused together on top of black, synthetic packaging felt.  The stitching is done with 100% black cotton thread.  The work is exposed to soldering irons and an industrial heat gun which melts through the synthetics.

(Above:  Lunette LXXVI. Framed with anti-reflective/UV filtering glass. $525.)

Each piece is mounted by hand-stitching it to a piece of acid-free mat board ... literally, holes through the mat board.

 

(Above:  Lunette LXXVII. Framed with anti-reflective/UV filtering glass. $525.)

This weekend, Steve and I are going to Washington, DC for the opening reception of a juried show called Full Circle at Strathmore in North Bethesda.  I have three Found Object Mandalas in the exhibit.

(Above:  Lunette LXXVIII. Framed with anti-reflective/UV filtering glass. $525.)
 

 

Button Tidal Wave in Black

 

(Above:  Button Tidal Wave in Black.  Custom framed:  31" x 31".  Assorted buttons hand-stitched to a section of a vintage curtain.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

I truly adore this old fabric.  It was donated to me by a friend.  It was originally a curtain.  I'm not sure if it is the color, the pattern, the thickness, the way light reflects on its surface or just the sensation of yesteryear's luxury that draws me to it.  A small section became the substrata of a small Found Object Mandala. (Click HERE to see it.)  Stitching on it was as wonderful as my adoration.  I had to use more of it.  Button Tidal Wave in Black is the result.

(Above:  Detail of Button Tidal Wave in Black.)

Because of the dense stitching of buttons, I knew that the fabric would "shrink" a little in that area.  This always happens when there's lots of stitching in one section.  The manipulation of the weave, the pulling of the thread, and the very minute gathering just happens.  It isn't a problem ... except if there's a large area with no stitching.  That area will very slightly pucker.  It generally doesn't matter ... except with fabric that has a high sheen like this damask.  So combat it, I backstitched the outline of the pattern.  The gentle pulling of these stitches allowed the area to lay perfectly flat. 

 

(Above:  Detail of Button Tidal Wave in Black.)

I really like this piece and am amazed at the way light really does bounce off it.  Even the field of black buttons reflects a lot of light as can be seen in the image above.  These really are BLACK; the buttons look much more accurate in the other two shots.

 

Mandala CCXIX

(Above:  Mandala CCXIX. Custom framed:  27 3/8" x 27 3/8".  Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt.  Objects include:  A decorative plate onto which a muffin tin and gold button are stitched; out-of-date rabies pet tags; golf tees; metal washers; beer caps; eight, model train cars; aluminum coasters on which coffee K-pods are stitched; toy car wheels; wooden blocks; thread spools on which anonymous photos are collaged; folding travel scissors; vintage fabric yoyos; pale orange Gatorade lids; large blue plastic lids on which are stitched circles of crochet with vintage poker chips; and assorted buttons and beads.

There was something very special about stitching my last Found Object Mandala, the one on which I placed all eighty-eight keys from my long neglected piano.  (Click HERE to access).  I knew I gave "second life" to the musical instrument. I knew that my piano now has a better chance to survive a generation or more, possibly long after I'm dead, because I dismantled it and used the parts for art. 

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXIX.)

Well ... that got me thinking about the quilt that came from my Great Aunt Janet.  Her mother stitched it but it had never been used until Steve and I started sleeping under it.  How did I know that? First, the faint pencil marks for the hand quilting were still there on the surface. Second, Aunt Janet said she had always kept it in her cedar chest.  It was precious to her though she advised us to USE IT ... to sleep under it ... to give it a life outside in the world instead of closed up where no one could see it.  

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXIX.)

Over the years, some of the feed sack fabrics and dress material used in the Dresden Plate pattern got threadbare.  Recently, I noticed that some of these places were totally tattered.  It was time NOT to keep using this quilt.  That also meant that this special quilt needed a new lease on life.  In my hands, that means using sections for my Found Object Mandala series.

(Above: Detail of Mandala CCXIX as seen from an angle.)

The first cut was the hardest, of course, but the results are wonderful!  I hope Aunt Janet is looking down from heaven and seeing this mandala.  She might see serendipitous connections with many of the found objects.  Her father-in-law (my great grandpa) worked as a carpenter for the railroad.  He did the cabinetry work in first class train cars.  The out-of-date rabies tags might remind her of the hunting dogs Uncle Howard dearly loved.  The anonymous photographs were mostly from times in their younger days, long before my birth.  The thread spools, fabric yoyos, and the little folding travel scissors would definitely make Aunt Janet smile; she was a fine seamstress. Aunt Janet was thrifty and fiercely logical about using what one had instead of pining away for something one didn't have.  In my heart, I know she'd be pleased.  I will not waste the rest of the Dresden Plate quilt.  More mandalas will be created on this beautiful surface.  That I can promise!

Mandala CCXVIII

(Above:  Mandala CCXVIII. Custom framed:  33 1/4" x 33 1/4".  Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt. Objects include: A metal clock face; black curtain hangers; a trivet; a biscuit cutter; red, plastic lids; buttons and beads; and all eighty-eight keys from my former piano in their correct order.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

On Christmas Day 2023, I dismantled the piano I grew up playing.  It had a broken sound board even before I moved it from my parents house back in 1991.  It moved from our first house in Columbia to Mouse House, our home/business ... where it sat in the dining room ... rarely ever played.  I meant to start playing again but it didn't happen.  I have no regrets about this.  After all, I was never a competent player.  I simply adored practicing and imagining the music sounding better than the incorrect notes I was forever hitting. 

(Above:  The eighty-eight keys ... whole ... lined up in order.)

There was no reason to move the piano to our new location in Cateechee. It only made sense to save parts for future artwork.  So ... reverently and with Christmas music in the background, I dismantled it.  I saved felt hammers, all the keys, and a couple other parts.  A friend and her son (who had the right wrench to loosed the strings) came and collected the strings for her artwork.  I knew I could use the keys for a Found Object Mandala.  After all, I was once commissioned to create a mandala for Carolina Steinway.  (CLICK HERE to access it.)  Yet, I really didn't want to make another one quite as large as that!  Piano keys are long!  A circle of them is therefore BIG!

 

(Above:  All eighty-eight keys ... after being cut ... still lined up in proper order.)

 

Perhaps the issue with the size of the keys prevented me from using them since moving.  Christmas was sneaking up on me again ... a full year after dismantling the piano.  So ... on Christmas Day 2024 ... I lined up the keys, looked at them, and decided to cut them near to the length one actually sees on a piano.

 

(Above:  The design laid out on the same work table.)

 

Soon enough, other found objects fell into place including the metal clock face that once hung in the sanctuary here in Cateechee.  The size was manageable and the design looked very promising!

 

(Above:  Stretcher bar on a vintage quilt.)

 

Ordinarily, I start with the substrata already selected but not this time!  I had to look in my stash to find something that would go well with the bold, high contrast design.  Lo and behold, I found this vintage quilt my my stash. (It looks perfectly good in the photo but trust me ... many of the pieces of fabric making up the hexagonal star shapes were in dreadful condition!)  I'd had this quilt for at least two years but never used it because it was just too bold, too high in contrast.  Bold with bold!  High contrast with high contrast!  Perfection!

 

(Above:  Stitching the curtain rings onto the clock face.)

One of the trickiest part in creating my mandalas is planning how to stitch it.  In order to attach the curtain hanging rings to the clock face, four holes per each ring were drilled.  Each of the red lid were also drilled ... and a hole in the clock face for them.  The trivet was to be held in place by the biscuit cutter which already had two holes large enough for two shank buttons.  All the was needed was two holes in the clock face to work with the holes in the biscuit cutter.  Then, there were the holes along the edge.  They were needed in order to stitch the altered clock face to the quilt.  In all, there were ninety-eight holes drilled through the clock face.  It is little wonder that I purchase 1/16" drill bits by the handful! LOL!

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXVIII.)

In order to attach the keys, more holes were drilled.  Each key has two holes drilled through it.  When all these holes were drilled, it was almost time to stitch!  First, the section of the quilt was stapled to the stretcher bar.  Then, a layer of orange bridal tulle/netting went over this surface.  The tulle/netting protects the fragile pieces of fabric.  In this case, it also cut a little of the contrast on the quilt.  Finally, I started stitching ... but then ... we went to Pasadena for the Rose Parade on New Years Day.  

 

(Above:  Mandala CCXVIII as seen from an angle.)

 

After returning from California, I returned to this piece.  Finally, it was mounted, framed, photographed, and got its signed label on the reverse side!  The mounting is very important and also time consuming.  The work is removed from the stretcher bar on which it is stapled for stitching.  It is then stapled to a smaller stretcher bar, one that matches the dimensions of the predetermined perimeter.  This smaller stretcher bar includes a piece of acid-free foam centered board glued over it.  Why two stretcher bars?  Well ... I can't stitch through the wooden stretcher bar.  So the first one has to be bigger than the final size of the piece!  Why the acid-free foam-centered board?  Well ... I stitch through it and the quilt so that no part of the quilt is supporting more than a few square inches of the front.  The holes along the edge of the clock face are double stitched ... one stitch to attach the clock face to the quilt and one stitch to attach the clock face and quilt to the underlying foam-centered board.  Each key is also double stitched.  There is no way that the weight of these keys is going to cause the quilt to sag or tear from the force of gravity!  I'm very pleased with this piece and especially how it has given my beloved piano a "second life".  I stitch much better than I ever played!