This mandala is the result of several stories! First ... I almost didn't buy the Bullwinkle plate when I saw it ... months ago ... at the Pickens County flea market. Truly, it seemed "too big" for a centerpiece but how could I resist? I don't actually remember watching Bullwinkle cartoons but I also can't remember a time in my life when I didn't know the characters! So, reluctantly, I bought it for a whole dollar! LOL!
Finally, I figured out a way to make the Bullwinkle plate visually look "smaller". It took hours to line-up and drill holes and finally stitch the beer caps to the rim. They moved during the stitching. They weren't tight against the plate until a series of pulled knots tightened the attachments. Swearing was involved but it was worth it! The gold beads were how the plate was then stitched to the quilt. For something that looks so simple, this was complicated!
A more recent purchase from the Pickens County flea market was the four Smokey the Bear disposable ash trays. I do remember visiting Smokey the Bear at the Smithsonian National Zoo. (He died in 1976) And, I remember the night when the last cigarette ad broadcast on television. I wasn't allowed to stay up and watch it though! (The last televised cigarette ad was for Virginia Slims and shown on the Johnny Carson Show on January 1, 1971 at 11:59 PM.) Somehow or the other, I would never have imagined anything about Smokey the Bear and cigarettes being put together ... but someone must have!
Finally ... the rubber duckies! While I was in Montana enjoying a month-long art residency, Steve continued to go to the Pickens County flea market. One Wednesday, he bought a tub of assorted rubber duckies. The dealer claimed that there were at least three hundred in the tub. It took an entire afternoon to sort through them. These eight had little surf boards and were the first to be incorporated. I've been stitching rubber duckies ever since!
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