March ATC's, Mandalas

Have you ever made a Mandala? 
I think before this ATC trade I had but they were basic and I didn't really like the outcome. I have to admit when I found out that we were going to be doing Mandalas for one of our ATC trades I did a little research. 
The dictionary gave me this:
Oriental Art. a schematized representation of the cosmos, chieflycharacterized by a concentric configuration of geometric shapes, each of which contains an image of a deity  or an attribute of a deity.
And Wikipedia gave me this:
A mandala (Sanskrit: मण्डल, lit, circle) is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, representing the universe.^[1] In common use, "mandala" has become a generic term for any diagram, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically; a microcosm of the universe.
After watching a few how to videos I decided to start with a few lines to guide me while creating my Mandala instead of doing it freehand. I was quickly taken with it and did found I couldn't stop at just one.
It was so interest to see the variations or Mandalas in our group.

Louise

Lucie

Olive

Wendy

If you haven't tried making Mandalas before I highly recommend it. Since starting this I have made numerous ones of all sizes and colours. I think this is something I will continue to do for a long time. They are so fun and meditative to do.

Happy Creating.

Wendy

Lettering continues

Day 17

This months lettering challenge has been interesting so far. I've enjoyed it even though it's a busy month for me and it's hard to keep up. It's been an exploration of a multitude of pens, pencils and markers. I've used pens that I've had for years but never appreciated and tried some from friends that makes me think I may need more. 

Day 8

Some days the pages have been fun little creative pieces, like Day 17 and others like Day 8 are just about trying out some different pens and lettering styles. 

Day 7

So instead of sharing every days page I will just share a few of the ones I like best.

Day 11

Day15

Day 3

You can see more pages on Dragonfly Dreamers Monthly Challenge page along with a few from other people. If you'd like to play along feel free to join the group too.

As in previous months I'm already thinking about next months challenge and can't wait to start it. But for now I will keep lettering and hopefully have a few more pages to show you by the end of the month.

Happy Creating!

Wendy

September Challenge- Lettering

I'm kind of surprised that I'm starting a third month of challenges. It was not my intention when I started, to do more than a month of collages but it seems to have taken on a life of it's own. Each month I get to a point where I struggle to finish the challenge but then at some point I get an idea for the next months challenge and it motivates me to finish so I can start the next one. It's funny how things take on a life of their own and yet feels so right.

Day 1

So this months challenge is Lettering. It's going to be a busy month for me with 2 shows coming up and some fall workshop planning to do, so I wanted something that I thought would be easy to do. I've been reading Joanne Sharpe's book The Art of Whimsical Lettering and I guess it inspired me for this month. It doesn't have to be fancy or a finished product, it's just about playing around with letters and maybe making your own font or 2. 

Day 2

I'm going to be working in a small book I've made that's about 8 1/2" by 5 1/2" but you can work on or in whatever you like. I've chosen a 110 lb cover stock because I wanted something that can take a little ink, paint and/or water to do some backgrounds. 
As you can see from my first 2 days, I plan to have some simple days of just doing different letter styles and when I have time possibly a more finished product like day 1. Well it was the first page so I had to do something special on it!

If you'd like to join in and share your lettering, I will be posting again on the Dragonfly Dreamers Monthly Challenge group and would love to see your work too. 

Keep Creating!
Wendy