Movable

I have another update from Whitney-Anne Baker. Whitney, much like Heather Gordy, works fast. I am used to holding onto these things for months...but not with Whitney-Anne. She receives it, works on it and sends it...and then lets me know it's sent. My reaction is always akin to, "Oh crap, better get moving!" So, I did send hers out, and she received it again. The mail (or "the post" as Whitney-Anne says) seems to work pretty fast between here and there, which is fantastic. Now onto the show!

Cycle 7, Round 2:

Whitney made the mandala movable! How awesome is that? It looks like she took the mandala, cut out the center, sparingly applied some gold paint, mounted it all on some bright, aqua painted cardboard, and then made it move by clipping it to the back. Genius! I would never, in a million years, think of that, but it seems to be the most natural state for a mandala - changeable.

Whitney-Anne Baker to Shana R. Goetsch

Brixham, Devon, England/UK to Baltimore, MD, USA

Here I am moving it around with the tabs provided. Right now, it reminds me of a compass.

For my round, I again utilized some recyclables. I had been saving the playing card I used (for the red/white portion) for quite a few years. I originally saved it because it has cute little winged creatures on the back. Beyond that, I ripped some of the cloth off of the mandala that Whitney-Anne sent to me. I did this because I knew that the glue she used would leave a nice residue and create another pattern. Then I literally just covered the whole thing in my dirty watercolor water. The remnants of my watercoloring were a nice purpley-red color this time. 

 Shana R. Goetsch to Whitney-Anne Baker 

 Baltimore, MD, USA to Brixham, Devon, England/UK

 Sssshhh, don't tell anyone my watercolor water is that dirty. I am the worst about using actual clean water.

BTW, Whitney-Anne also sent along this postcard which gives us a visual of the town she lives in...

Now we all know about how quaint Brixham is, thanks Whitney-Anne!

The Sixth Cycle

Well, I feel as if we're chugging right along. I have the update here between Brian and me and I was very excited to get this package, as I am with all packages. I'm always at school when I get the mail, so I'm opening them in front of others to triumphant and impressive effect. I should mention before I start the unveiling, that Brian and Momo Luna always send nice little notes and cards and brochures (!) These two are the fanciest, I always feel as if I'm completely lame and disheveled in comparison. Especially after I know I just sent something with no extra bling, and it's way too late to remedy my lack of it. So I'll have to say now, I really appreciate and am thoroughly impressed by the bling. I'll just have to strive to be more motivated...and get more print material. Speaking of, I'll have to make new postcards for the ATCTE project too.

Now on to the show. If you'll remember, I presented Brian with a bunch of recyclables, all stuck together. And he presented me with a very nice primed canvas with a geometric pattern. Well, here's what happened next! Brian painted over the corrugated material very neatly and applied a similar element, tiny outlined circles, which corresponds to our other piece...continuity! With the piece I worked on this round, I also used acrylics, and created more of a loose wash rather than a thick coat. Some of the colors I used blended with what he used originally, creating new colors and shades. Right now, these two are the antithesis of each other, while still retaining a semblance of unity; mine being a chaotic well of a whirlpool, his being very orderly, crisp and business-like.

This round was fun, wanna see the photos?...

Cycle 6, Round 2:

Brian Sylvester to Shana R. Goetsch

Somerville, MA to Baltimore, MD

Shana R. Goetsch to Brian Sylvester

Baltimore, MD to Somerville, MA

ETA: I also just noticed that we chose the same color palette this round. It is really, very strange that this keeps happening unknowingly between many of us, especially since it's not always the same color palette. Very interesting.

It Has Begun (Again)

The ATCTE project is back on! We were on a break, in a way. It was just a major adjustment for me to move across the country and start grad school within 3 months. That being said, mandalas have been exchanged!
Momo Luna and I had each received our respective packages last week, and so here we go with the show and tell! I am happy to have this starting again...both of us began with paper and paint and pens. I also attached a bit of purple colored plastic mesh to the center of the one I sent. The many uses for those mesh veggie bags can get kind of exciting for me, no lie.

Cycle 5, Round 2:

Moma Luna to Shana R. Goetsch

Arnhem, Gelderland, Holland to Baltimore, MD, USA

Shana R. Goetsch to Moma Luna

Baltimore, MD, USA to Arnhem, Gelderland, Holland

YAY for mandalas!

Big Wheel Keep on Turnin

Next on the agenda...the Seven Chakras. the word "chakra" come from the Saskrit, meaning "wheel". Elbee has nicely tied in some references, with some coincidence. I always like that combination, for inspirational purposes. Elbee happened to be thinking of ideas for this mandala, saw something that mentioned Chakras, and noticed she was holding seven of these wheel shapes in her hands. How about that!

Said 'wheels' are somewhat heavy, and look like stone or clay, but I think they are a form of plastic...when I tapped them, the sound was more plasticy than elemental. So Elbee glued on seven of these wheels, and armed me with the knowledge of her thought pattern on the Seven Chakras. Again, I will be making this piece slightly larger and square, so that it matches the others' size. Here is her mandala:


Cycle 4, Round 2:

Elbee to Shana R. Goetsch
Tallahassee, FL to Milwaukee, WI

For the piece that I worked on this round, I also attached things. This includes a piece of metal that has been sitting on a table in my living room for, I kid you not, the last 6 years. It's just been waiting for this project, I assume. So I attached it, then I painted a little bit with watercolor, and then I also attached a googly eye. Googly eyes are round and not eye-shaped...seems weird somehow. This particular googly eye happened to be the exact shape/size of the center circle that I covered it with. Another 'meant to be' moment for this round.

Shana R. Goetsch to Elbee
Milwaukee, WI to Tallahassee, FL

All this talk about wheels has made me think of Proud Mary by the fabulous Tina Turner...

Falling Down and Getting Back Up

While the mandala was on its way to me, from Danielle, I received an email from her. I share this with her permission, but I think it illustrates one of the challenges that lie in store for each of the artists working on this series: when to stop....since it's a shared project.

"...you are gonna have to change stuff. i have a hard time with this...i usually work with an idea of a finished piece in my head and this is really painful. not know where it's going or when to stop working....working on the thing, was like i kept falling down but couldn't figure out why.

sorry i fell down on yer project."

(ETA: Let me clarify, that I found this letter to be so cute and humorous, because she had nothing to worry about. Yet it brought up a relevant struggle for artists, 'the letting go'. I think every one of us has had the same thought in our minds, at some point during this process. I know I felt as if I 'fell down' on it during round two with Heather.)

I also received several photocopied packets from D. along in the package. One is called "Animal Speak" and has a lot of information about spiders in it. The other is a packet entitled, "A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe" which contains information regarding the Breath of the Compassionate (the universe being formed around it) and eight-fold geometry.

...Grandmother Spider has eight legs, doesn't she? D. is one smart chic.

D. has hand-painted (not airbrushed!) a pattern, of which I assume to be eight-fold geometry, onto the piece she sent me this round. She used gold, which is one of the colors she told me she has been using a lot lately. I went a different route, and used a reductive method on the piece I worked on. I scraped the paint from the wrapping paper in selected areas (no easy task), and added an Egyptian-looking eyeball (it's actually Alicia Key's eyeball) because I felt that the pattern was reminiscent of the lotus flower and other Egyptian symbols. Here we go...

Cycle 3, Round 2:

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

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

Flocking Together

For lack of a better term, I think Wes and I are the two biggest tree-huggers of the bunch. Natural, why yes we are! Wes has ascribed a particular symbol to this first piece. It's Big Drum in the Sky Religiony. What I like about this most, is the texture showing through with the brushstrokes. The piece that I worked on for Wes this round is slightly changed, color-wise, just a bit more muted than it was before. Then I added some strips of paper (4) that represent each of the elements, earth, air, water and fire.

Cycle 1, Round 2:

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

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

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