More Custom Black Light Love

I'm currently having a really groovy time working on a special custom 16" black light mandala.  It's for a DJ who tells me that he plans to make a custom rotating display for this piece.  I hope he sends me a video when it's done!  I think that's such an amazing idea for creating a kaleidoscopic, psychedelic visual experience. Just imagine it spinning...

It's hard to paint with the black light reactive paints because you don't really know what color they are going to be until you look at it under a black light.  I've set up a spot inside my closet so I can check the work in progress.  This is what it looked like after I finished filling in all the colors. 

Here's what it looks like in natural light (I am almost done outlining with black):  

Click here to learn more about my black light mandalas.   You can also check them out in my Etsy shop here and here, and even more mandalas here.  I'd be happy to make a custom mandala for you, or maybe for the DJ or record collector in your life?  This is a great time to place your order for holiday gift giving, and you can get 20% off everything in the Eye Pop Art shop during the month of November with coupon code PORTLAND.  Have a groovy day!

Scratch art - Eye Pop style!

I love this technique! I recently used it on a big old 16" vinyl record that I did for a solo art show (The Big Mandala Show) which I have up this month at Seven Planet in downtown Portland.

SGRAFITTO

Sgrafitto is a technique where you scratch through one layer of paint to produce a drawing in the layer of paint beneath it. I learned about this when teaching elementary school art classes (using crayons) and have always been intrigued by the concept. I even showed my son how to do it on his wall!
Ha ha.

So here' s how I did the record.

First (after priming the record) I used a pencil to just basically scribble all over it and make a lot of overlapping, criss-crossing lines, just dividing it up into as many shapes as possible. You don't have to really think about this. The idea is NOT to make a pretty design, because no one is going to see this. The idea is just to get lots of different colors on there. You could just splotch it on.

Mine turned out kind of cool. It was sad to paint over it, and I almost just left it like that! A black outline would have made it really rad. But, I was determined to sgraffito it, so I did.

Now, if I had some black latex house paint on hand, that would have been ideal. It doesn't dry so fast so it would have given me more time to do a good job. But, I didn't have any, and I wanted to use materials on hand instead of going out and buying new stuff. So I used black acrylic paint which I mixed with LOTS of stuff to try to slow down the drying, including Slo-Dri Blending Gel and Glazing Liquid. Both of these products help extend the drying time, and this is really important.

I found that it dried really quickly anyway, so it was a bit of a challenge. And you know what? I loved that challenge. It was fun and exciting to be forced to work quickly!

Luckily, I planned to work in small sections. If I'd painted the whole thing black all at once, it would have been a nightmare. Instead, I just started in the center and slapped on a small circle of blackness.
I've designed many a mandala in my life, and only about once or twice have I ever actually had any sort of design in mind before starting. I had no plan for this one either, so I just had to get started and see what would happen. I used the eraser end of a pencil to scratch through the wet black paint, drawing a simple flower with five petals.

Well, I wasn't very happy with the pencil eraser, so I switched to an un-bent paperclip. This worked very nicely and gave me good crisp lines that weren't too thick or too thin.

While I was working, I realized that I didn't like my original flower design in the center, so I painted right over it with more black paint and started over.

Once I'd made the nucleus of the mandala, I then added another layer of paint around the circumference of the first one, and continued scratching into that paint and turning the record to continue the mandala pattern.


I just kept adding on to it until I reached the outer edge.

As I got closer to finishing, the paint became more difficult to work with. It was drying so quickly that I had to draw my designs insanely fast. This definitely made the finished product different from my usual intense precision and perfectionism!
But, I did have three different people tell me it was their favorite piece at the show. That made me happy.

Here's what it looked like when it was done and dry:

I'll post a few more pictures of the Big Mandalas and the Big Mandala Show soon!

Favorite Creative Reusers: Virginia Fleck

As promised in this post about the book 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse, I plan to share some of my favorite creative reusers here on ye old blog.

To kick it off, I have to start with my absolute favorite - Virginia Fleck. Oh my gosh. I am so amazed and blown away by Virginia's work. She creates stunning, gorgeous mandalas using plastic bags.

You have to look at her Public Art section to see some of the breathtaking installations she's created.

Virginia also oversees a service organization called the Angsty Teenage Eco Warriors, whose mission is "to identify and evaluate critical environmental and humanitarian situations and to take action with engaging, effective volunteerism."

Very cool. Check out their tutorial on how to make a Plastic Bag Tote like these:
They have a rad video too:




I'm so inspired and delighted by Virginia's work and just had to share it with you. Please take a look at her website and enjoy the recycled beauty!

Studio shot and other news

Ages ago, I joined a flickr group called "Studio Shot Tuesdays." But I have never actually participated until today. This is my photo, showing my messy table and some works in progress as I continue to plow through my big wholesale order for Mountain Green Goods, coming soon to Denver, CO.

(The awesome psychedelic coffee cup came from an Etsy vintage shop called Lishyloo...I am so excited about it as I used to have one just like it, but it broke.)

I also have received a request for samples from an eco-friendly catalog company called Viva Terra. They are considering ordering quantities of 100+ of my Mandala Record Bowls!

I am really glad that I managed to meet my goal of creating some new designs this summer before all of this hit! Here are a couple more of my new clocks - I have more in the works but they are on hold until after I finish my orders.


Oh, one more thing - there's a new interview with yours truly up on the Etsy Trashion blog. August is "vinyl month" for the Trashion team, so check it out to learn more about my upcycled vinyl creations! Click here for the scoop.

Beautiful Bowls

My record bowls turned out great! Here's a sneak peek at the finished pieces.

"Psychedelic in Portland" at Elemental Arts

I have a solo show hanging right now at Elemental Arts, located near Antique Row in Portland's Sellwood district. The title of the show is "Psychedelic in Portland" (after the title of my HGTV segment), so of course I had to wear my most psychedelic dress. There was an opening reception on First Friday. It was even mentioned in the Oregonian!

Kat and Obadiah came.

I pulled out all the stops and brought everything, including painted guitars, typewriter cases, and canvases along with my painted record items.


We even set up a laptop and had some "screenings" of my HGTV segment on "Look What I Did!". I sold a few things and had a great time. If you are in the Portland area, stop in to Elemental Arts at 6035 SE Milwaukie Avenue, right across the street from the Iron Horse Restaurant. My show will be up through December 6, but I will continue to have selected works on consignment so stop in any time. They also have wonderful handmade jewelry, handblown glass, and other unique gifts.