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Monday, September 9, 2013

Patterns... not my forte

When I got my pans of iridescent watercolor I did the background for this in my watercolor sketchbook, just playing with the colors and splotching them around (I'm not sure you can see them very clearly in the pictures).  Then I used a compass and pencil and made a circle, and it basically sat that way for a couple of months.  

The plan was to make a mandala over it.  What's a mandala?  The word is Sanskrit for "circle."  It's a meditative ritual in Hinduism and that's basically my use for it here.... they're very relaxing to create once you get into a pattern, somewhat like Zentangles but better because of the meaning and symbolism involved in creating them.  I plan on making more.  Here's my Mandalas Board on Pinterest.


The other day I had an idea to use the compass some more, so I traced these circles in pencil, then retraced them without the compass in ink (fountain pen).


Then I filled it in with dip pen and India ink.  Except I messed up that one line... darnit.  Good thing this is in my sketchbook.  


And then... as I picked up my dip pen to clean it I flicked a blob of ink on it.  Grrr... note to self.  Put the artwork safely away before you clean up.


 But, it was a fun exercise that I may revisit either in watercolor again (larger this time), or maybe, if I'm brave, henna impasto.  Wouldn't that be wild looking, with a tie-dye background... or maybe tie-dye impasto paint, a concept I've wanted to try out for some time.

I have a bunch of typing to do today and I really have to get the jump on jewelry for my huge show coming up in October, but I'm hoping to sneak back into the studio later today if I can manage it.

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