Mandala CLXXIII

(Above:  Mandala CLXXIII. Custom framed: 20" x 20".  Found objects hand stitched to the back side of a vintage quilt. Found objects include: A red vinyl 45; vintage scissors; ballpark seat tags; red checkers; four, vintage diecast cars; gold and brass belt buckles; and assorted buttons. $325. Click on either image to enlarge.)

Lots of things came together for this Found Object Mandala.  First, I had a stick of wide, black linen liner in the closet near my sales counter.  Why it was in the closet and not the garage is anyone's guess.  Recently, I cleared out the closet.  After all, we will hopefully be moving into the renovated church at the end of January.  It's high time to investigate closets, under beds, the pantry, etc.  Well ... I asked Steve to cut and build it into the largest square possible.  He did.  Then, I started looking around for "something" that would be a great focal point for a Found Object Mandala that would fit into the liner.  Because the liner is rather wide, I wanted something proportional, something "big".  I wasn't having any luck until Steve suggested the red vinyl 45.  He had saved five of them for a future Found Object Mandala ... but not in the mess-of-a-room where my stash is stored.  Basically ... I started with two things that weren't in their proper locations. 

At that point, I remembered the donated of ball park seat tags but couldn't find them. The nice lady who gave them to me came in person.  We looked at them while standing beside my dry mount press.  It was well over a year ago.  I'd looked for them on several occasions and actually thought I lost them somewhere in that mess-of-a-room where my stash is stored ... but NO!  I found them ... still right beside the dry mount.  For over a year, I simply overlooked the Altoids tin in which they were put.  So ... one more thing that wasn't in its proper place was used.

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CLXXIII.)

I'm guessing that the ball park seat tags were "lost" because they were simply waiting to be used on this piece.  I also used the back side of the vintage quilt ... all blue.  The diecast model cars came from a thrift shop in Florida.  They were well loved!  The silver belt buckles also came from another thrift shop in Florida.  I drilled holes in the black linen liner to stitch them in place.  All in all, I'm rather pleased with this Found Object Mandala, especially since it incorporated so many "lost" and now truly "found" parts!