A Mandala a Day

Bows

2012-03-03T23:26:00.002-05:00

I used to have a job tying bows. This one was my

daughter's suggestion.

Just doodling

2012-03-02T23:03:00.001-05:00

Another PITT pen doodle.

I started a brand new job this week and it took

all my mental and physical energy. My mandalas

have been decidedly unimaginative as a result. I hope to

hit my stride and have a bit more creative energy.

Thank you for visiting.

Amoeba

2012-03-01T22:35:00.000-05:00

Something different. PITT and Gel pens on smooth bristol

Dinner out

2012-02-29T23:35:00.001-05:00

Red pen on Applebee's paper napkin.

Go Blue Devils

2012-02-28T22:20:00.001-05:00

Sticks and Stones

2012-02-27T22:56:00.002-05:00

It ain't easy being green

2012-02-26T22:21:00.001-05:00

We are into muppets around here lately.

Wild Blue Yonder

2012-02-25T22:49:00.003-05:00

Gel pen on sky blue cloud paper.

Plant Life

2012-02-24T22:56:00.002-05:00

Just one more mark

2012-02-23T23:39:00.003-05:00

Sometimes a mandala keeps growing by little bits

seemingly without my needing to make conscious

decisions about what mark to make next. I love it when

that happens. It always surprises me.

PITT pen on smooth bristol.

iPadery

2012-02-22T22:26:00.001-05:00

Sheesh. I finally created an entry all on my iPad. I set up Blogsy to upload pictures. Now I am knackered.

This one smells really good

2012-02-21T23:37:00.002-05:00

Remember as a kid, scribbling with colored crayon,

then covering it with black crayon or paint, then

scratching through the black to make colored

patterns? It is every bit as rewarding as an adult.

Go. Try it.

I did.

And take a big whiff of that heavenly smell while

you're at it.

Snow

2012-02-20T22:24:00.003-05:00

I love snow. This was our first of the entire winter.

100

2012-02-19T19:05:00.004-05:00

Pennies.

Today is my 100th mandala.

In honor of this milestone, here are 100 pennies.

Old, new, indian head, wheat, and smashed.

Thanks to my husband for this idea, and the

use of his cents.

Jaws

2012-02-18T21:26:00.001-05:00

From my shark tooth collection.

Starburst

2012-02-18T00:17:00.003-05:00

Marker on smooth bristol

White and black

2012-02-16T23:30:00.003-05:00

For those of you looking for a good pen to use on

dark paper try Pentel Sunburst Medium Gel.

Sigh

2012-02-15T23:00:00.000-05:00

It's one of those days when I can't seem to settle on an

approach. So here is a little slip of a thing for today.

Happy Valentine's Day, Mrs. Grossman

2012-02-14T22:27:00.002-05:00

These are vintage stickers from my original collection

from the '70's and '80's.

I hope everyone has a heartfelt Valentine's Day.

Jack

2012-02-13T16:02:00.002-05:00

Scissors, tweezers, hat, coat, scarf.

Three Months In

2012-02-12T23:25:00.003-05:00

Well! I have completed three months of daily mandalas.

This has been an amazing experience and I am

really looking forward to seeing that the next three

months brings.

This is a crochet motif, and the really cool thing about

it is that I don't know how to crochet...I am learning

on the fly. That is just the type of thing that has

been happening through this daily practice.

Thank you all for visiting.

Pinwheel

2012-02-11T23:49:00.002-05:00

Pitt pen on smooth bristol.

Button, button

2012-02-10T22:15:00.000-05:00

Dot Dot Dash

2012-02-09T23:35:00.001-05:00

Super shiny gel pen on bristol.

Make a Wish

2012-02-08T23:38:00.001-05:00

Dandelion, tweezers, eyeglasses.

Talking Stick

2012-02-07T22:06:00.002-05:00

Prismacolor pencil on driftwood. This was a

challenge to photograph!

He loves me, he loves me not

2012-02-06T23:38:00.002-05:00

He loves me.

SpiroDoodle

2012-02-05T22:26:00.002-05:00

This is a Spirograph-like application that could easily

suck hours out of my day. Hours spent delightfully, mind

you. This is a spattering of the ones doodled this evening.

Sitting with a pen in my hand

2012-02-04T23:38:00.002-05:00

I have a book called the Dancing Wu Li Masters

(I think that's the title, I can't find it at the moment)

about Sufis. It has a wheel pattern on the cover and

somehow, the pattern found it's way into this

mandala. It is a luxury to sit with a pen in hand

for an entire hour to see what comes out on the paper.

PITT pen on smooth bristol.

Spastic

2012-02-03T22:34:00.004-05:00

Shhhh....I am chaperoning my daughter's first

slumber party and so have limited access to my stuff.

I did this sad little mandala on my iPad. I have very

little experience drawing with this tool. Does it show?

Drawn

2012-02-02T23:58:00.002-05:00

I forced myself to be patient and draw this. I have had

a hectic week and sitting still has been very difficult.

Working on this yearlong project has given me the gift

of seeing the benefits of sitting still long enough, and

doing enough work, to achieve a result. The result

doesn't have to be perfect, or even very good. It just

has to be complete.

For this swirly bit I used a PITT pen on smooth

bristol board.

The Knitter

2012-02-01T23:25:00.001-05:00

This was inevitable

I love to knit. So does my cat.

Versa Mark Ink

2012-01-31T23:47:00.001-05:00

This was done with a Versa Mark Watermark ink pad

and pan pastels. Basically, you rubberstamp with

the Versa pad and then blend pastels or chalk over it,

revealing the stamped pattern. You can work in layers

of color and pattern. I confess that this isn't my best

effort. I'm just plain tired tonight.

Paper Quilling

2012-01-30T23:54:00.004-05:00

Old Mandala and the Sea

2012-01-29T23:28:00.007-05:00

More of my beachcombing loot. Sea urchins this time.

Inky Fingers

2012-01-28T22:29:00.003-05:00

This one is for all of us who had the joy of opening

an Ed Emberley book as a child.

Thanks, Mr. Emberley

http://www.edemberley.com/pages/main.aspx?section=home

Simple

2012-01-28T00:26:00.002-05:00

Watercolor on very cheap paper. I like the

green parts.

Welcome to Oz

2012-01-26T22:25:00.001-05:00

My daughter named this post, since this

odd little mandala reminded us of horns, roads, and

buildings.

In other news, my very astute husband pointed out that my

project is really mandala 366, since this is a leap year.

So cool.

Office Supplies

2012-01-25T23:51:00.002-05:00

Admit it, you are all jealous of my giant purple elastic bands.

Found Mandalas

2012-01-24T21:18:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I need to get some fresh ideas. Here is a small sample of the mandalas I found around the house today:

Crepe Myrtle husks.

My eye.

Interesting weed my daughter found near the bus stop.

A lamp.

Plant stand.

In Jest

2012-01-23T23:34:00.002-05:00

An Old Friend

2012-01-22T23:56:00.003-05:00

The Spirograph.

Couched potato

2012-01-21T23:35:00.001-05:00

Today's title is just a bit of embroidery humor.

Silver thread, heavy black wool on thick pink felt.

Coral

2012-01-20T23:50:00.001-05:00

This daily practice has had the pleasant side effect

of giving me opportunities to enjoy my many

collections of flotsam and jetsam like this coral.

Teeny tiny beads

2012-01-19T21:50:00.004-05:00

Origami Fireworks

2012-01-18T23:28:00.001-05:00

This is a kinetic origami that flips inside out.

It was quite a challenge and I am very proud of it indeed.

Flowery

2012-01-17T23:12:00.001-05:00

One of the cool things about doing something everyday

for a year is that I get to use some of the art supplies

I have been collecting for ages and ages.

Today I used Derwent Inktense water color

pencils on Fabriano Artistico hot pressed water color

paper. A real pleasure.

Dots, mostly

2012-01-16T22:27:00.002-05:00

String Theory

2012-01-15T23:04:00.003-05:00

The most, um, meditative part was hammering in

80 nails.

Daisy, Daisy

2012-01-14T23:54:00.001-05:00

I have another beloved pen:

Rotring Artpen, finepoint. I'm not sure if it is

available any longer, but it is worth buying if you

happen upon it. it is a fountain pen, more or less, with a

long, tapered barrel.

Playing with my food

2012-01-13T22:38:00.001-05:00

Yum.

Back to basics

2012-01-12T22:15:00.002-05:00

Back to my trust Copic pen and cheap white paper.

Hmmm...

2012-01-11T23:22:00.002-05:00

I don't really know what to say about this one.

It started as a color study of purple and yellow

and turned into a sort of madcap zebra flower.

Fortunate

2012-01-10T22:07:00.002-05:00

Color Wheel

2012-01-10T00:04:00.002-05:00

Adobe

2012-01-09T00:44:00.002-05:00

More experimentation with using rulers and compasses.

On to something different tomorrow, I think.

Redux

2012-01-07T22:58:00.004-05:00

Watercolor crayon and pencil, Micron pen.

A Different Approach

2012-01-06T22:39:00.003-05:00

Many makers of mandalas use protractors and rulers to create

the design. Up until today, I hadn't tried that approach.

Then I happened upon a generous artist in Argentina

offering a free online workshop in this process, so I gave it a

try. The pictures show the progression of the piece. I like the way

it turned out and I am looking forward to trying more of these.

Check out Guada's site:

http://guadasartplace.blogspot.com/

Presto Change-O

2012-01-05T22:38:00.002-05:00

I really fancy the kaleidoscopic nature of mandalas.

I used a photo of one of my knitting projects for this

one. I used a kaleidoscope app on an iPad to create the

second image.

Yummy colors.

Bookworm

2012-01-04T21:08:00.000-05:00

Cats: the leading cause of illiteracy.

And mandala interference.

Ball of Whacks x3

2012-01-03T21:13:00.002-05:00

Yet more triangles, sort of.

More Triangles

2012-01-02T23:27:00.000-05:00

What can I say? I like these simple shapes.

Triangles

2012-01-01T21:04:00.004-05:00

The lovely triangle, around the circle.

Goodbye, 2011

2011-12-31T23:18:00.002-05:00

Cheers!

Sticks & Stones & Mollusk Bones

2011-12-30T23:39:00.002-05:00

More flotsam from my beach combing collections.

Seedlings

2011-12-29T23:30:00.001-05:00

Pentel Hybrid Technica on my trustee cheap paper.

This one reminds me of wee seedlings.

Wanda's Wonders

2011-12-28T17:03:00.002-05:00

I wish you could smell this one too: bay and pine.

These fragrant scraps are courtesy of Rainbow Farms.

Check them out: http://rainbowlilies.com/

Simple, but effective

2011-12-27T22:19:00.004-05:00

Pigma Graphic size 1 on more cheap white paper.

Parcheesi

2011-12-26T21:40:00.002-05:00

This is my dad's Parcheesi board, circa 1960.

I love the pieces: they are made of wood, stained the four

colors, and shellacked. One of the dice went missing so we

had to substitute the boorishly large plastic-y one, more's the

pity.

Pen Nibs

2011-12-25T23:54:00.002-05:00

These are my pen nibs. I took the photo at an angle

for a change.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T23:40:00.001-05:00

Today I received an amazing Christmas gift from my

best friend. She sent me a groovy mandala kit, which has a wheel

with all kinds of stencils on it. The wheel fits in a case holding

paper. You move the wheel around using arrow guides and

stencil your way into bliss.

Thank you, Beams. I love it.

I hope everyone is having a magical holiday.

Radishes

2011-12-24T00:24:00.003-05:00

This one goes out to all the Radishes out there.

happy happy, joy joy

Hearts

2011-12-23T00:23:00.006-05:00

Lots of love

Permanent marker and Neocolor II crayons

2011-12-21T23:35:00.002-05:00

Stitchery.

Vintage beads and sequins on felt

2011-12-20T23:43:00.003-05:00

Pentel Hybrid Technica pen on cheap white paper.

2011-12-19T22:27:00.003-05:00

The kids and I made gingerbread houses today, so I

swiped some sweets for this mandala.

If you live in or around Richmond, you probably

know about For the Love of Chocolate, an amazing candy

shop in Carytown. Go there. Get yourself a treat.

2011-12-18T23:57:00.003-05:00

Sometimes scribbling is the only way to go.

Gel pen, colored pencil, cheap white paper.

2011-12-18T00:20:00.002-05:00

This is another one made using a kaleidoscope program.

I used a picture of the Sugar Plum Fairy's costume from

The Nutcracker. We went to see it tonight and it was fabulous.

2011-12-17T00:16:00.001-05:00

This one reminds me of a screensaver I had

a million years ago. It was called Hopalong.

2011-12-16T00:13:00.003-05:00

Bead stitchery

2011-12-14T22:47:00.002-05:00

Cairns.

This one has captured my attention. It isn't

exactly symmetrical, which usually bothers me. However,

it is balanced-the very nature of cairns. After I drew it, I returned

to it several times, examining the 'rocks' to see if they really

would balance.

Fascinating.

2011-12-13T23:16:00.003-05:00

Today's mandala is brought to you by the Easy Bake Oven.

Yes, really.

2011-12-12T23:10:00.002-05:00

Copic pen and that lovely cheap white paper.

I wanted to add more to this, but it wanted to be as it is.

2011-12-11T22:17:00.001-05:00

Playing with blocks.

2011-12-10T22:31:00.001-05:00

I sense a theme growing.

I love pipecleaners.

2011-12-09T20:17:00.001-05:00

I wish you all could smell this mandala-that piece in the

middle is a slice off the bottom of our Christmas tree.

Maybe it is a little wintry here, after all.

2011-12-08T23:01:00.001-05:00

Leaves, river rock, acrylic paint and chalk

It still feels like autumn here in Central Virginia.

2011-12-07T22:30:00.001-05:00

This colorful mandala was done with a kaleidoscope program with Om Mani Padme Hum done in wordart on top. I'm telling myself that making one digitally is not cheating...

2011-12-06T22:40:00.001-05:00

Making the lines, then coloring them in.

2011-12-05T23:15:00.001-05:00

This little guy is made of wire, a washer and itty bitty beads. It's about 1.5 inches across.

2011-12-04T23:54:00.001-05:00

IdentiPen on Cheap paper

2011-12-03T22:19:00.001-05:00

Fly away home

2011-12-02T22:39:00.001-05:00

In the wild.

2011-12-01T23:24:00.001-05:00

Stabilo finepoint markers on cheap white paper

2011-11-30T22:01:00.001-05:00

And now for something completely different. The mandala is in the lower right corner, drawn with chalk on the Free Speech Monument in Charlottesville. Check it out: http://www.tjcenter.org/monument/

2011-11-29T23:36:00.001-05:00

Now I know my ABCs.

2011-11-28T23:59:00.001-05:00

Trusty Copic pen on slightly less cheap paper.

2011-11-28T00:18:00.001-05:00

Credit for this brilliant idea goes to my son, Elliot.

2011-11-26T22:32:00.001-05:00

Ah, the smell of crayons!

2011-11-25T22:20:00.001-05:00

Copic sketch pen on cheap paper. I can't tell if this reminds me of eyes or peacock feathers.