Mandala CXXIII

(Above:  Me with Mandala CXXIII.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

This Found Object Mandala is BIG!  When it was stapled to the larger stretcher bar, it was difficult for me to reach to the center and stitch the brass rooster trivet onto the underlying stainless trivet.  It was, however, worth the effort!  This piece also went through an "ugly phase", a time when I didn't think the vintage Drunkard's Path quilt was going to be visually pleasing. Yet, by the time I was finishing it, the balance between the found objects and the quilt worked out perfectly!

(Above:  Mandala CXXIII. Custom framed: 43 1/2" x 43 1/2". Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage Drunkard's Path quilt. Found objects include:  a brass rooster trivet; a stainless trivet; plastic forks and spoons; a "Barrel of Monkeys"; carved, wooden mules/donkeys; silver brioche molds; violin-shaped, plastic Christmas ornaments; large, wooden dominoes; orange, plastic circles cut from a six-pack beer yokes; neon green, plastic lids; red Tinker Toy connectors; decorative, copper baking molds; laminated Tampa Nugget cigar bands; assorted beer caps; felt hammers from an old, broken Steinway upright piano; keys; copper-colored, aluminum can tabs; Peet's and Starbucks single-serve coffee pods; brown rings of unknown function; and buttons.)

I am in debt to lots of people who have contributed to my stash.  THANK YOU ... each and every one of you!  Special thanks, however, goes to Brian Cuthrell, an archivist at the South Caroliniana Library.  He's been helping his Dad sort through the things his mother saved.  I hope she is looking down from heaven with a smile, seeing so many of her former keepsakes being transformed into art.  One of the things she saved was the Barrel of Monkeys which truly inspired this mandala.

(Above:  The vintage quilt used for this mandala.)

I've had the Barrel of Monkeys for several weeks.  I tried to use these colorful, plastic monkeys several times but they weren't quite right ... until I ended up with this Drunkard's Path quilt.  There was just something about "monkeys" and "drunkards" that just had to go together.  The odd assortments of colors on the quilt made it easy to cut too!  Seriously, the woman who made this clearly ran out of some of the materials!

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CXXIII.)

I am already stitching on the next mandala but it might be the last one for several weeks.  Why?  Well, Steve and I are very busy building crates and preparing for both a solo show at Artisans on the Square in Greenville, Georgia and for the Smithsonian Craft Show.  It's an exciting time!

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CXXIII.)

Brian's mother also saved the plastic forks and spoons.  There's no doubting that they came from the 1970s.  When else would one find harvest gold, avocado, and rust colored disposal utensils?  I am truly grateful for people like Brian's mother and for his generosity!

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CXXIII.)