Blue and white mandala embroidery in progress

The photographs show work in progress on a monochromatic blue embroidery on white linen mandala. This embroidery is destined to be pressed into clay to make a relief pattern for glazes to pool and reveal the slight indentations left by the embroidered pattern. Ceramics are a new medium to both me and Marc and it will be a while before that work is ready to merge with the embroidery. For now, the work proceeds in … >> read more

Circular paper grid

Paper grid in the round pattern for an embroidered mandala

In one of the early stages of embroidering a mandala I print out a paper pattern to regulate the stitches, sometimes just a plain grid-in-the-round like this one. This mandala is 34.5 cm in diameter (about 13 inches) and the grid had to be printed in pieces that here are joined with fun neon pink tape. In the next stage this pattern will be stitched to the fabric stretched on an embroidery hoop. See more … >> read more

Beaded and embroidered mandalas inspired by a kaleidoscope photo of a hairbrush

The mandalas were inspired by a kaleidoscopic filter on a cellphone camera app that turns any view into a radiating, swirling pattern. The very first mandala, photo above, was a photograph of a hairbrush. The brush had black tines tipped with pink plastic, on a pad of charcoal grey rubber. The resulting photo looked like the black tines could be embroidery stitches and the little pink tips could be seedbeads, all embroidered on a dark … >> read more

Gold textile gateway

Metallic textile gateways photos

These photos were made in June 2016 and they are early experiments in the mandalas project. The original images are below. This is what the camera actually saw while the filter was being applied for the above images.

Embroidery test on a mandala

Embroidery and beading test on blue silk

This chaotically embroidered mandala is the first test of embroidery with the help of a circular paper grid. The addition of beads was also tested. This is an experiment in the larger mandala project.  

Red and blue radiating mandala

Mandala from sarong textile

This image was created by photographing a loosely woven sarong with a kaleidoscope filter. The woven threads flow seamlessly into each other giving an overall effect that what is pictured was woven into this form. This photograph is a study for the mandala project.