Stitching it Together

We have an update (Whitney-Anne and me). It took us what seemed like forever to get this round together. And it was me holding things up, she's very prompt. But between the two of us, two cameras were dropped and one computer crashed. So they were both finished at a certain point last week, but I was unable to make a post with the results until now - no photos.


Cycle 7, Round 3:

What Whitney-Anne did here was to paint the outside edge with a nice cherry red color. Then she did some very fine stitching, with (I'm guessing) embroidery floss. She has given me a great geometric pattern to work with in the last round, in addition to the chaotic/loose background. I enjoy the juxtaposition.

Whitney-Anne Baker to Shana R. Goetsch

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

What I did here was to take the movable center portion and attach it to a different "base". This was something that was previously made that I had lying around because I had no idea what to do with it, so I saved it and used it here. I originally created this base, quasi-mosaic piece with magazine papers. However, I did paint a wash of China Orange over the whole thing before I attached it to the movable portion. I also selectively painted over some of the gold in the center that Whitney-Anne had laid down in the last round. A little extra *pop*.

  

Shana R. Goetsch to Whitney-Anne Baker 

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

So there ya have it! (so far)

Gettin There!

I got mail from Holland! The exchange has finally been made and received!

Momo Luna has used objects as well as papers to create this round. The "world heads" are very cool, and she cut the entire piece out from its background, which will make for some interesting reconstructions by me again. In the piece that was sent to Momo Luna, I used fabric and string to make the snakes and alternately, the hints of their movement...enjoy!

Cycle 5, Round 3

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

                                 

 And now it's final round time! I love me a good final round.

Circling Broken-ly

The USPS has managed to do it again! I picked up my package from Elbee and it was all smashed and rattley."Do not bend" was clearly written on the front of the package. My conclusion is that the USPS are jerks.

Now that that diatribe is over... Elbee and I have exchanged slightly broken mandalas! I have made an approximation of what I think this was supposed to arrive looking like, but did not (see above USPS ineptitude). It was completely in pieces (including the piece that I put on the last round) so I tried to follow all of the glue marks, give or take.

Cycle 4, Round 3

Elbee to Shana R. Goetsch
Tallahassee, FL to Baltimore, MD

I was concentrating on getting this piece the right size, and Elbee goes and cuts parts away from the other. omg *head thunk*

Shana R. Goetsch to Elbee
Baltimore, MD to Tallahassee, FL

Stuck Together For a Moment

Cycle 1, Round 3 (continued):

Wes Way to Shana R. Goetsch

Harrisonburg, Va to Milwaukee, WI


This is Wes' piece, all stuck together, however briefly (it came to me cut-up, and stacked in a package).
Okay, now I am taking this apart again.

Deconstructing the Circle

Wes Way has obliterated the circle. And I am so happy and excited about it. He cut the mandala up into sections, and also added onto each of the pieces with different approaches and medias. I see collage, pen, garbage twist ties and construction paper. I also see WORDS on this mandala...

"We find out who we are by digging through the wreckage of what we thought we would be"

That is so perfect, and it looks like I will, in fact, be "Constructing the Universe". So I'm glad D. just sent me that guide on the topic a few days ago. (whew!) I look forward to assembling this, and will take another photo, and make another post about it when I do. Until then, here is what I received. Wes has a bag full of tricky little tricks...

Cycle 1, Round 3:

Wes Way to Shana R. Goetsch

Harrisonburg, VA to Milwaukee, WI

For my mandala, I sent Wes a variation on the symbol he used the last round. I just duplicated it...many times, and painted a different pattern in the center. After that, I tried to uncrinkle the piece by ironing it, and then I juiced up the color a tinge. The ironing aspect, was so that the crinkly paint pattern would only remain on one side of the mandala, since I left the other side blank, for Wes. I also thought seriously about how it could be hung up, eventually. I'm thinking a tree branch and loops, so that it hangs like a tapestry. Here's what I did...

Cycle 1, Round 3

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

STAY TUNED FOR THE (RE)CONSTRUCTION OF THE UNIVERSE!

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