Mandala CLX, the COVID-19 Rapid Test Mandala

(Above:  Mandala CLX. Custom picture framed:  35 1/2" x 35 1/2" when hung as a square; 50 1/2" x 5- 1/2" when hung as a diamond.  Expired COVID-19 Rapid tests hand-stitched to a section of a vintage crib quilt.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

When I received a very large bag of expired COVID-19 Rapid Tests, I was stunned.  I didn't know these things even had expiration dates.  I didn't know that there were various parts and steps to testing or that each piece was individually wrapped in air-tight foil pouches.  Frankly, Steve and I are among the very lucky people who have never had the virus, never needed to test for the virus, and were never knowingly exposed to it.  We've had all our vaccinations too.  Removing all the plastic testing devices from their foil pouches took a couple of hours.  I couldn't help but to think of all the people who were once so desperate for a rapid test.  Once upon a time ... in the not-so-distant past ... these were rare items in high demand.  Now, more than three hundred were past their expiration date and delivered to me as "art supplies".

(Above:  Ernie the Cat on the vintage, pink crib quilt.)

With such a large supply, I knew I wanted to create a Found Object Mandala on which only these rapid tests would be stitched.  I also knew exactly which vintage quilt would be the substrata.  The vintage pink crib quilt has been in my stash for well over a year.  That is actually "saying something"!  Because the stash of found objects and old quilts is so large, I must periodically sort through it and make hard decisions.  Things that haven't found a use in over a year are generally passed on to a local school or sent to Bill Mishoe's auction or taken to a thrift store.  It's a sad reality but a necessary "thinning" of supplies in order to actually see everything I've got. 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CLX.)

Yet, the pink crib quilt has been kept for much longer.  There's a reason, of course.  It was given to me by Bert Easter, a friend and fellow "regular" at Bill Mishoe's auction.  It came on a table lot at the auction house.  Bert took it home.  His husband Ed Madden, our city's former poet laureate, hand-washed it and attempted to remove the stains.  How could I then remove it from my stash even though it was never once considered for a mandala? (Personally, I'm not fond of pink!)

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CLX.)

I am now so very, very glad that I did keep it!  Pink is the perfect color for this mandala.  It sort of resembles flesh, an embarrassed blush, a baby's bottom, a trace of blood, a very "human" color.  Plus, it appears as a uniform background.  It took several hours to open each testing device, remove the indicator strip, snap the piece back together, and drill three holes.  Each device has a long red yarn straight stitch through two of the holes and a bead in the other.  I'm very pleased with this piece and sad that after today they are no longer guaranteed to be free to the public.