The 2023 Mandala Calendar is ready!
Thanks to my friend Simone for the encouragement to do a calendar this year, I think this one is a step up from last year.
This year I themed it: Be Who You Are, which is a wonderful jumping off point to create a year of authentic being and a wee bit of lightness.
Once I picked the theme, I was off and running. The new days that came forward seem to support everything I think about “being who you are”, which in itself is quite joyful I think!
Get ready … Friday, January 13th is “Make Your Dreams Come True” day … and that is just in the first two weeks of the year! It amuses me that most of the days to celebrate fall in March and April. No idea why, they just do.
I have done new mandalas for this one, each one on black using coloured pencil and gold metallic marker. Each month is accompanied by a quote that originated in compendium, my periodical.
This year I have also added the moon phases, because I am becoming increasingly aware of how important those are to a complete understanding and working in the world.
If you are interested in purchasing this quirky, yet practical calendar for your wall, you will find it here in the compendiumshop.ca
I don’t think there is a better time than NOW to be proud of who you are.
And so, November’s calendar page, and this desktop artwork would like to celebrate just that!
I hope you feel pride deep in your bones … deeper every single day.
~s
Just like a woodworker, artists often have to make “jigs” in order to repeat something accurately.
In this case, I needed to find the centre of a circular piece, and then mark the 30º and 60º angles on them. I could have done this individually, but because I was needing to mark quite a few pieces in the same way, I built a jig.
It’s pretty simple really … two thin pieces of basswood, positioned at right angles to one another. The small marks you see, highlighted with the red circle, is where I marked half the width of the circle. This meant I could put my t-square up against the edge of the wood and use my set square to make the marks. It saved me a lot of time.
I also found myself making another jig, to punch holes for stitching the bindings on the new journals I just made. It doesn’t look like much, and it’s made of a bunch of scrap pieces that were lying around, but it did the job!
Guess this living near a woodworker is having a bigger effect on me than I might have imagined!
This is the revision on a box I did a couple of months ago. It just got additional work done on it after it had appeared at its second show, and no one was interested.
I took another look at it and realized it was lacking ooomph. Yes, that is a highly technical term for, “it wasn’t grabbing anyone!”
So, back to the studio table to see if a bit of a rethink on it might be able to move it up to that next level. I think it did. Now I just have to see if anyone else feels that too 😉
I am feeling so very, very grateful these days. Words can barely describe it really … but I will give it a shot.
This past weekend, I held a small show and sale at my studio/home and it was so lovely. Everyone came in a joyous frame of mind, anxious to see what I have been doing. They carefully looked at the work in front of them and some chose pieces to keep, while others were seeing them as the perfect gift for a loved one.
Over the past few months, I have realized that doing small shows, either with another artist or solo, is the way I best share my work. Not big shows with people milling by who don’t pay attention to what they are seeing. I adore making connections. Real connections.
So, I think I will continue to approach things in this way. Small shows with invitations issued … and real connections resulting.
May your connections be as nurturing as mine.
~sarah
That box definitely has oomph! Here’s to more small shows and making real connections. And also here’s to Be Who You Are. I definitely look forward to working with that calendar in the new year!
It’s going to be an awesome year, that’s for sure!!