Mandala Completed!

I have just received images of the second mandala to be completed in this project! If you'll remember, this mandala made an extra trip to and fro...and so when I got it back, I added the hanging device real quick. Artist Heather Gordy has sent along an explanation of what she did for this final round:

"It's painted with acrylics and water soluble crayons. Most of it is painted directly on the linen except for the added beetles. I first sketched the beetle using pencil. Then I scanned the picture and made the beetle into two different sizes and printed it out. I used the water soluble crayons, matte medium and iridescent paint to paint the four beetles. They were then applied on top of the purplely color circles. The entire painted area is finished with a semi gloss acrylic varnish."

Now let's take a look back at this mandala's humble beginnings...


Cycle 2, Round 1:

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

Cycle 2, Round 2:

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

Cycle 2, Round 3:

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

Cycle 2, Round 4:

Heather Gordy and Shana R. Goetsch
Mandala completed in Houston, TX

Completed in Texas...yeehaw!

And the Circle is Complete

The first mandala is finished! This particular mandala, is the one that Heather originally started (part of the intrigue of the deal). What I did to finish, was handled mostly in watercolors. I also managed to find an image of a bird with its mouth open for the center circle (that's a photocopy and acrylic), Really though, it was mostly watercolor work. I really felt that this piece, need not be so afraid of color, so I went with it and drove it hard. Now, let's take a look at the mandala from its inception, shall we?

Cycle 2, Round 1:

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

Cycle 2, Round 2:

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

Cycle 2, Round 3:

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

Cycle 2, Round 4:

Shana R. Goetsch and Heather Gordy
Mandala completed in Milwaukee, WI

In your face, Universe!
*triumphant squawk*

Circling More Than It Should

So, because of a major mailing snafu, Heather has not received her mandala from me yet. I checked the tracking, and it is getting sent back to me again! (*shakes fist*) This ruins the whole system, U.S. Post Office! Anyway, I still received her piece today, so I will be posting them both now.

Heather has continued the tree motif and filled up the circle. She then added on the few extra inches needed to make the pieces equally sized. The pieces of paper she applied on the edges are torn, rather than cut, and look like they have water based media on them. I am excited to finish this one up. She has still left me with a lot of free reign.

The one that I sent to Heather (which will be re-sent, when I get it back....and they had better not lose it in the meantime.), I think is the best one that I have contributed thus far to this project. I decided on a scarab beetle image (see previous post) because of many references to it being the "creator" in so many cultures and religions. Also, I felt that I needed something with wings, that maybe wasn't a bird also. This is a jeweled scarab, in fact, complete with a ring of dung balls, for her jeweled scarab embryos. In-person, and up-close you can see that I incorporated a metallic, acrylic paint into the beetle shell. I have always loved beetles, and I have one tattooed on my back. This was me infusing a little meaning into the mandala. I hope that whenever Heather actually receives this(!), that she is pleased to finish it up.

Cycle 2, Round 3:

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

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

Birds of a Feather

What I did here, was duplicate Heather's original art, and make the circle a bit smaller, so that everything was symmetrical. Then I added some color, envisioning the circle as the sun, or a fire ball (Ring of Fire). What Heather did was use her imagination. (I am sooo getting shown-up by her.) She made colored wings on paper, and then glued them on. Then she glued even more stuff on. It's sort of Harley Davidsonesque, but a very good solution, I'm happy with what I got here, and happy to expand upon it. And I'm not too worried about the (lack of) what I sent to Heather this round because, guess what? That's the mandala I get to ultimately "finish". The finishing seems like the best fun, and I am a perfectionist. That last round may take me forever.

Cycle 2 Round 2:

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

Shana R. Goetsch to Heather Gordy

(Milwaukee, WI to Houston, TX)

...and, just for kicks, Social Distortion covers Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire

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)