This week at Artful Journeys we want you to STAMP A MANDALA in your journal.
A "mandala" is described on Wikipedia as " Mandala (Sanskrit Maṇḍala, 'circle') is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Indian religions, representing the universe.[1] The basic form of most mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point. Each gate is in the general shape of a T.[2][3] Mandalas often exhibit radial balance.[4]
There are many kinds of mandalas in the world of mixed media, and most would generally agree that a mandala forms a circle, in general. A mandala can have radiating arms, be circular in nature within a square, but generally will conform to the overall shape of a circle. There are 100's if not 1000's of examples of mandalas on the internet, in adult coloring books, etc.
But for our purposes, we want you to make use of all those rubber stamps we know you have been collecting and have hiding out in your stash of beloved art supplies. Drag them out. Be creative. Use some you never use, but love.
Here's what we came up with this week for you.
First up is LYNN and she created this lovely example of some complicated mandalas for you. Here's what she had to say: "Hi girls. I used lime green paint as the background and had this circle stencil that I just used a black ink pad to stamp around it and added circles here and there for more of a design. So only 3 items was used this week. Stencil, Ink pad, and Lime green paint. Don't forget to check out what the other 3 girls did and thanks for looking."
Next up is MELODY has created another bright and eye-catching spread in her journal. She says, " For this week's prompt, I just started grabbing stamps! They're all by Heidi Swapp. I started with the butterfly, then tried going in a square around it, but that failed, and I just kept going until I ran out of room. The background was prepared with my favorite Quin Magenta & white acrylic, with some stenciling and the page edge finished out with some coordinating washi tape."
My spread (BETTY)
began with my favorite color combination of yellows and orange acrylic,
brushed on and then smoothed out a bit with a baby wipe. Quite some
time ago, I got this really great, but small stamps from Close to My
Heart and used them to form the basis of my mandala. I used a compass
to make some guidelines, which were later erased with a Hi-Polymer white
eraser by Pentel. Seems like every time I rough in a mandala I want
really circular without my trusty compass, it is a little wonky or I run
out of room on one side, so using the compass and starting in the
center of your page will help keep it even on the page. I always look
upon a mandala as more "the circle of life" as opposed to the more
traditional "universe". I love all kinds of mandalas, but one of my
favorites are the really ancient ones drawn based on iconic religious
symbols for various cultures and countries. Some of the most beautiful
ones I have ever seen were from victorian age Russia and ancient Tibet.
SHANA got super creative with her spread this week, and here's what she had to say: "
I made my stamped mandala in my Dylusions journal using black StazOn ink pad. Creating the mandala was so zen-like. I made no real conscience decisions when I created it, I chose the stamps based on size and just repeated on the opposite side. I loved how the pattern turned out but felt it needed some color, that is where the Dylusions spray came in! I used multiple colors and 4 or 5 different stencils blotting the excess until I got the color burst and texture I was looking for! I can't wait to use this background in the future! big hugs and mushy stuff! "
So there you go. Four different interpretations of a stamped mandala. We are anxious to see your beautiful creation, so be sure and share with us at Artful Journeys.
Have a fantastic week, enjoy the fall weather, and as always, remember to keep it artful!
ARTFUL CHICKS
~~Betty, Melody, Lynn & Shana
These are so beautiful! I cannot wait to try this technique. I love how everyone's stamps flow together in their mandalas!
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