This found object mandala couldn't have been stitched without the donations from several friends including Flavia Lovatelli, Marty Ornish, Teddi Fine, Scot Hockman, and Linda Whittenburg. Truly "one artist's trash is another artist's treasure!" THANK YOU to everyone who has sent things for me to repurpose! (If you have multiples of stuff needing an opportunity for artistic use, just mail them to me at Mouse House, 2123 Park Street, Columbia, SC 29201!)
The other, important source for my stash is (and likely always will be!) Bill Mishoe's auction. I've been attending for more than thirty years. Often, I don't even bid on anything. I just look. Walking up and down the aisles of used household items is inspiration. There are suggested narratives on every table lot, untold stories of the people who once owned the items. There are visions from past lives and an aura that seems to haunt my imagination. Sometimes, I do bid. Sometimes, I end up with vestiges of yesteryear for no particular reason. I didn't have a plan for the two, old rotary dial telephones in my stash when I bought them (years ago), but last week it occurred to me that there might be interesting parts inside them.
I'm a wiz with a screwdriver. Within minutes, I had both telephones taken entirely apart. Between the two phones, I had four gongs but only one dial (because I already used the other one for Mandala XXVIII.) I don't know if the other parts will find places on future mandalas but I also don't know why I didn't dismantle these phones when I stitched down the first rotary dial!
The more mandalas I stitch, the more variations have presented themselves. I really how the small, black buttons work themselves into a variation on a classic quatrefoil pattern, a design that looks like four symmetrical clover leaves. It wasn't planned at the beginning. In fact, it was the last thing stitched on this piece.
I am also pleased with the texture of this mandala. From the side, there are plenty of elevations created by the found objects.
Still, the focal point is the old, rotary dial. This was an object that was once found in just about every house. I had one until 1994! Getting rid of a rotary dial phone was important to me then. With a newer telephone, I could finally accept credit cards. Now ... that's not how it works and I don't even have a landline!