Writing, Divination and Magick

Runes, and an "artist, non-artist". The next person sharing this project with me is Elbee. She is not a professional artist, but she does some heavy duty scrap-booking, and has definite artistic flair. Elbee is the only one in this group so far that I have met in person, as well. I have known her since we were 14, in fact. So, we have a self-proclaimed (because I don't think it matters that much) non-artist up next. Elbee and I have decided to use an 8" x 10" format, and go a more 'found objects' route with the mandala. I think this project is shaping up to be very diverse...

Scrap-booking example
Elbee, Tallahassee, Florida

Hand-gathered stone, hand-painted Runes
Elbee, Tallahassee, Florida

Hand-gathered stone, hand-painted Rune (detail)
Elbee, Tallahassee, Florida

Everything you ever wanted to know about Runes can be found here. And over at pbs.org you can write your own name in Runes. It's a fun activity for a grand new year!

Celtic Mandala/Triad

"Celtic Mandalas, with their special content from the art of the ancient Celts, invariably have a dual-dimensional format, relating to the belief that it is possible to travel from the earthly realm into the Otherworld of Celtic legend."

This is an excerpt from medieval magic, which you should check out because it goes into details about each, basic, Celtic Mandala pattern.

Incidentally, one of the examples of a Celtic Mandala, the Triad, originally came from Asia. It was an ancient oriental symbol representing the 'world soul'. Later on, it was adopted by the West, and is still considered the mandala of Catholicism: 'father, son, and holy ghost'. (However, I prefer the older, Druid Threefold meaning of 'maiden, mother, crone'.) This symbol is also currently used by the US Department of Transportation. Really.


AND, I found free Celtic Mandala coloring pages from whats-your-sign.com. (all in pdf format, just scroll down near the bottom of the page, and download) ENJOY.

...That Carries Countless Tensions

I love this part. Today in the mail, I received another artist's first mandala piece! Danielle Garzelloni has sent me something complex and wickedly precise. (I actually uttered "ooooo, complex!" when I opened it) I tend to think of stained glass when I look at it now. Both of these pieces will eventually make it to 18x24" size, as one of us has overshot the agreed upon size, and one of us has undershot it, purposely. This snafu will just add a new element/layer into that piece, I think. Danielle has started her mandala on what looks like patterned wrapping paper, with gesso or white paint thinly applied over the top. I think it was reflective paper originally. She then helpfully drew a complex web of circles as a guide for me to possibly follow, beyond the ones that she perfected in black.

And speaking of webs, the piece I started for D. had some key words included in the package. The words I gave her are: "Grandmother Spider", which is a reference to a Native American tale. Grandmother Spider made the stars in the sky. I thought this was such a sweet, and yet powerful concept. The story, and the character of her legend reminded me of my own strong grandmother. So I drew upon imagery from her (and my) ancestors for the concept of Grandmother Spider in this mandala. We'll see what D. chooses to do with the information, I'm not holding her down to that plan (but I hope she considers it). Here we go...

Cycle 3, Round 1:

D. Garzelloni to Shana R. Goetsch
(Chicago, IL to Milwaukee, WI)

Shana R. Goetsch to D. Garzelloni
(Milwaukee, WI to Chicago, IL)

A Single Tension

If there were a winner, Heather would win. But there's not, so she'll just have to be happy with the fact that I'm super impressed and extremely nervous. These two mandala pieces are so vastly different right now. This will be challenging and fun for me, as she has forced me into drawing my ass off. Heather has started with an intricate graphite drawing on paper...and I have started with a glued piece of paper that has random watercolor drippings on it (*rolls eyes at self*). But hey, this is what I asked for, a project, and an experiment. On with the show!

Cycle 2, Round 1:

Heather Gordy to Shana R. Goetsch
(Houston, TX to Milwaukee, WI)

Shana R. Goetsch to Heather Gordy
(Milwaukee, WI to Houston, TX)

A Modest Form

Wassily Kandinsky and the Circle

I was alerted to this by a Milwaukee area artist, Todd Fillingham via twitter @reply.

"I also learned of Kandinsky’s growing love affair with the circle. The circle, he wrote, is “the most modest form, but asserts itself unconditionally.” It is “simultaneously stable and unstable,” “loud and soft,” “a single tension that carries countless tensions within it.” Kandinsky loved the circle so much that it finally supplanted in his visual imagination the primacy long claimed by an emblem of his Russian boyhood, the horse."

-from The Circular Logic of the Universe, by Natalie Angier

I feel kinship.

Given and Received

I must admit, I am extremely excited to start doing this. And I will be just as soon as I officially post this. Here are the products of the very first mandala swap! We both used the color orange, and I started with acrylics. The mandala I sent was on un-primed, brown, loosely woven linen, and Wes has started with watercolor on pre-primed, cloth-backed, canvas-grained paper.

Cycle 1, Round 1:

Shana R. Goetsch to Wes Way
(Milwaukee, WI to Harrisonburg, VA)

Wes Way to Shana R. Goetsch
(Harrisonburg, VA to Milwaukee, WI)