Sunday, September 08, 2024

Several new pieces

(Above:  Mandala CCI.  Custom framed:  22" x 22".  Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt.  Objects include:  A brioche mold inside a yellow lid on a ViewMaster reel; green casino chips; goldware soup spoons; blue syringe plungers; yellow discs from a cookie press; oblong brioche molds; wooden, bird-shaped ornaments; furniture handles; shower curtain hooks; assorted beads and buttons. $450.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Often times, several mandalas are finished/framed on the same day.  This was the case a day or so ago.  Thus, this blog post will include four pieces!  I'm really pleased with the one depicted immediately above and below because the blue syringe plungers create a really lovely star shape.

 
(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCI.)
 
The drawer handles are likely the last things to be prepared using my cheap, little grinder.  I was given a much bigger and far better grinder by a friend whose wife bought it years ago.  Unfortunately, she died.  She was a big supporter of my artwork, and I think she'd be really pleased to know that her grinder will be used for art!
 
(Above:  Mandala CCI at an angle.)
 
I'm trying to take photos of these mandalas at an angle.  Such pictures really do convey the texture and dimensions much better than a straight-on image.
 
(Above:  Mandala CCII.  Custom framed: 21 1/2" x 21 1/2".  Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt.  Objects include: A set of Planter's Peanuts aluminum dishes; copper-colored coffee K-pods; gold and copper Mardi Gras doubloons; tan and brown, plastic game pieces/toys in the shape of elephants with warriors riding them; off-white hors d'oeuvre forks; Tinker toy connectors; small medical scissors; dice; Blonde Ale bottle caps; and assorted beads and buttons. $450.)
 
 Some of my found objects have quite a bit of relief ... like the Planter's Peanut dish in the center of this mandala.  Finding balance ... height-wise ... is one of the challenges I face.  For this piece, the copper-colored K-pods were used to smooth out the elevation change.  Their curved forms were the gentle transition from the rim of the dish to the flat quilt surface.  The Tinker toy connects did the same thing for the smaller dishes.
 

 

 
The "side view" really illustrates the different heights of the objects.
 
(Above:  Mandala CCIII.  Custom framed: 25 3/4" x 25 3/4". Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt. Objects include: A decorate "lighthouse" plate; wooden blocks; a round knitting loom; dominoes; Teamster buttons; glass prisms; coffee K-pods; squirt guns; pre-school plastic fish for some sort of math game; and assorted buttons. $600.)
 
Mandala CCIII was a challenge in elevation too!  I've had the round knitting ring for weeks but couldn't seem to find a way to use it because it was too tall for everything else in my stash ... until I got the squirt guns and the wooden block.  Yet ... the blocks were problematic.  They were just too tall and bulky looking with the other objects!
 
(Above:  The blocks ... all cut in half!)
 
I've used wooden blocks before.  So I knew how to solve the problem:  cut them in half.  Yet, this was risky!  No matter how firmly I braced each block under the blade of my miter saw, one side flew up and was damaged.  Plus ... doing this on a miter saw was DANGEROUS.  I don't own a table saw ... so I never would have figured out how to quickly, effectively, and SAFELY get them cut.  Thank goodness for the Internet!  I found a woodworker hobbyist living less than three miles away.  I contacted him via a private Facebook message.  He responded inside of a half-hour and later that afternoon cut all the blocks in half for no charge!  Now how lucky was that!
 
(Above:  Mandala CCIII at an angle.)
 
I'm also pleased with the colorful buttons around the edge ... so happy that I entered this piece in a local juried show.  I hope it gets in!
 
(Above:  Mandala CCIV.  Custom framed:  21" x 21".  Found objects hand-stitched to a block of a vintage quilt.  Objects include:  A stone heart on a ViewMaster reel; cardboard CocaCola slammer caps; shower curtain rings; salt and pepper shaker lids; pointed ellipse and diamond shaped beads; other beads and assorted buttons. $400.)
 
Mandala CCIV was a different sort of challenge.  There was once a square, beveled mirror in this rather fancy frame.  My task was to create a mandala that could fit the frame but not be overpowered by it.  I think I did pretty well!  

 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 

 


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