Slow Doodling

I moved a little slow all day today.....some days are just like that.  So it was good day for some slow doodling.

I drew another mandala....this time I used some loose elements inspired by Julie Gibbons, the instructor of Mandala Secrets. I like the irregular swirls....and the wavy lines around mesh.

Had it not been for this class....it would have never occured to me to use a square within the circle....but I quite like the jusxtaposition.

It's a game changer to start with these base drawings.....

and the light pencil lines erase so easily at the end.

  

Mostly I used this sharpie pen....

but switched to another pen with a bigger tip to fill in some of the spaces.  But that second pen took a LONG time to dry....so it smeared in a couple places....lesson learned.  

I still may add some color.

The mesh pattern in the mandala reminds me of a security envelope that recently came in the mail.....I'm always looking for new patterns.  Have you looked inside your security envelopes?

The thing that struck me about this is there are intentional flaws....or irregularities in the weave making it so much more interesting.  It looks like a real window screen.

Next time I draw a weave...I'm going to try this irregular pattern!

This pattern was conducive to slow doodling patterns.

And a while back in Fodder School,  Sara Gardner encouraged us to use security envelopes for doodling what she called "micro fodder"....little snippets to use in collage.  

 

I made this little trading card collage after her lesson....and there's actually a tiny bit of security envelope fodder in it.  

Ready To Go!

Patty topped off her patio snow cake with icicles.....

.....a perfect example of how to add a little joy to the the job of shoveling 15 inches of snow.

Thanks for sharing Patti....it made me smile.

Even though I've been slowed down by my thumb.....which is improving every day....I still make big messes in the studio.  And I'm trying to establish new habits of pausing every few days to tidy things up before they get out of control again.  It's mostly working.

I sat down to tidy up my table this morning but quickly got sidetracked. Rather than put away the colored pencils that were strewn about....I used them to make another mandala. This time with color.....and a touch of gold.

Sometimes getting sidetracked with whatever is on the table is just the right thing to do.  I did eventually tidy it up.....and sharing results here is keeping me accountable.

Before.....

.....and after.

Before.....

...and after.  It's nice being all ready to go for the next project!

I'm enjoying the process of drawing these mandalas....

it's very calming. 

https://mandalamagicschool.com/

Another calming activity is getting the next puzzle rolling.  I'm doing the winter stamps one that Margie completed after Christmas.....and I'm going to try and work row by row....starting at the top and pushing it up on my table as I go along.  We'll see how long that lasts....probably as long as my clean craft table lasts.  

Six boxes of pieces at my side.....life is good when you're ready to go!

Round Things

The Circle Game, by Joni Mitchell

And the seasons, they go round and round

And the painted ponies go up and down

We're captive on the carousel of time

We can't return, we can only look

Behind, from where we came

And go round and round and round in the circle game

Sometimes joy is round and looks like a bowl 

Vietnamese chicken noodle soup with a dear friend!

 

Or it might look like mandala practice from last evening.

And joy is most certainly getting to use a tool to make round things I got from my father-in-law's stash.  Dave was an engineer and crafter....and I acquired several of his tools.  

This circle template is perfect for drawing the guidelines to practice mandalas.

Thanks to a tip from Roseanne....I've joined the free  Mandala Magic School....and I'm finding it quite enjoyable....and quite relaxing.

And when round things need square things....Dave had that covered too.  And now I'm all ready for another mandala this evening.

 

And who knows when I'll need s rectangle...or hexagon!

But today I'm celebrating round things....and fun tools from Dave's stash.