Workshop Review

Take a look inside my ebru workshop.


I'm at the head of the table leading the Ebru exercise.

The Village Gallery of Arts  recently added me to their list of art instructors. My first VGA workshop was an introduction to Turkish paper marbling. After a brief introduction and a step by step exercise of the base patterns the group was free to play and experiment.


We went through a ton of paper!

The group caught on quick and turned out some unique ebru of their own. I spent most of my time helping guide others from patterns to new ideas, so I wasn't able to get much marbling done myself. All and all I think the workshop went great and by the end of the day I was already planning the next one.

Check out this 1600's illustration of a paper marbling studio. It looks quite similar.


Not much has changed.

- In other news,
I was recently featured in a one night only pop-up art and music show inside NW Shirts retail location in Vancouver, WA. I shared a wall with my partner, Acrylic painter, Chelsea Rose. The evening also hosted a live set from Vancouver's Quetzal.


a night of psychedelia.

Peace & Love,

-Danny

Guanyin and the Triskelion

I wanted to share some of my new embellished ebru pieces with you.

Guanyin Ebru, a double layered acrylic ebru embellished with a Guanyin screen print.


Namah Guan Shih Yin Pusa

The Bodhisattva Guanyin, deliverer of mercy and compassion, is an enlightened being from the Buddhist tradition. Depicted here in the lotus position, with both hands resting on her lap in the meditation mudra. If you where wondering what is in the vase, it's Amrit, otherwise known as immortality nectar or holy water.


Hear our cries.

I have also finished a new mandala.



I call this one the Triskelion Mandala. The triskelion or triskele is a celtic seal for personal development, physical growth, and spiritual expansion. Based around the number 3, the triskele represents the mind, body, spirit connection. I have also placed 3 of the Buddhist Gankyil in this mandala as well. The Gankyil is associated with the primordial energy that spawned the physical and spiritual realms, and the balance between the three to maintain existence. The Gankyil goes by many names, but is most known as the Wheel of Joy, the hub of the Buddhist Dharma Wheel.

The Triskelion Mandala has a strong presence. Both the Triskele and the Gankyil give the illusion of spinning movement, and the ebru art has a very kinetic appearance too. Plus in some light the lines almost look to be glowing.

In other news,
my ebru workshop is about three weeks away and there is only 4 open spots left. If you are around the Portland, Oregon area this is your chance to learn Turkish Paper Marbling from me. Sign up now. http://villagegalleryarts.org

Also, I have been doing really well selling ebru art alongside my partner Chelsea Rose at the Portland Saturday Market. We are out there most Saturdays, come by and say hi.



Peace & Love,
Danny

Spring Training

This spring I am offering a hands on ebru workshop in the Portland, Oregon area.


DIY LYFE!

The Village Gallery of Arts has recently added my Turkish paper marbling class to the calendar. On Saturday, May 19th, I will be hosting a four hour workshop. Giving time for the essential instructions, plus lots of hands on marbling time. This is your chance (if your in the area) to learn the techniques of marbling on paper, allowing you to produce sought after traditional patterns, or create unique individual expressions.

http://villagegalleryarts.org

In other news,
It's Spring and I am creating, and creating, and creating.


double layer ebru

The overlain transparency of lines and colors in this piece create a feast for the eyes. I feel drawn in one direction, yet pushed into another, leading into a swirl of melted sunset colors that whisper of days past.

With bright flowers popping up everywhere I look, no wonder I have been finding them in my ebru too.


spring bloom

This multiple layer piece captures Oregon spring time pretty well for me. The blue streaks of rain water running down the window augmenting the bright blooms amidst the gray, and the fleeting contrast of blooms and fallen petals.

Peace & Love,
-Danny

March Forward

Winter is fading away and it's looking more and more like spring every day. Which means its time to wake up and start the art vending season again.


Coming out of hibernation.

The first weekend of March marked the opening of the Portland Saturday Market, which went quite well. The rain stopped for a couple days and we even got some sun. Which is a big deal in Portland, OR. I got to sell a couple Ganesh prints to people who really appreciated them, which always feels really good. Plus I got to enjoy hanging out with other artist friends.

I am also in an art show this month at the Doll Gardner Gallery in Portland. The show features a wide variety of mandala art and runs through March.


Mandalas Anonymous.

During the opening reception I was asked to talk about Mandalas. I touched on sacred symbolism, sacred geometry, and transferring intentional energy into art.

Even with all sorts of events going on I'm still able to get some work done on new ebru projects.


Guanyin is ready for printing!

I paint my screens in by hand, which can take awhile, but the amount of positive energy that is transferred into the piece during the process is well worth the effort. At this point I am looking over my paints and picking out the colors I will use for the ebru prints. I hope to start mixing the size this weekend and start working out what ebru designs to use soon. More updates on the Guanyin project coming up.

Peace & Love,
-Danny

The New New

Hello everyone, happy new years. Its 2012, the year of the dragon, and the possibilities are looking limitless.


Shore of infinity.

I have been working on more abstract ebru. Trying out new ideas, and seeing were they take me. This shoreline looking ebru is one of the gems to come out the tray recently.

Also I have started several new embellished ebru projects that I plan on finishing over the next few months.


Guanyin the compassionate.

The Bodhisattva Guanyin, deliverer of mercy and compassion, is an enlightened being from the Buddhist tradition. I am very exited about this piece, so I will be working on it first. I will begin by making a frame, stretching screen mesh over it, and painting the design into the screen. Once the screen is done I will start the layered ebru process.


demon slayer Kali.

Kali the benevolent mother goddess, redeemer of the universe, will also be finding her way to my ebru tray and silkscreen mesh this year. I am really looking forward to this one too. Plus the Tantric goddess of time and change will not be the only hindu project I do this year. Keep an eye out for Narasimha, a lion headed form of Vishnu, and a new Ganesh with multiple heads.

OTHER NEW STUFF:
• I am having a big sale in my online shop. SALE!
Due to discontinuing the size, all 13" x 19" ebru posters are on sale. That means an archival quality print of one of my embellished ebru pieces is only $10. *while supplies last.
• I will be showcasing select pieces of mine at the event "the fifth world" on 1/28/12 at Berbati's Pan in Portland, Oregon.

Peace & Love,
-Danny

After Dark

I recently had an ebru exhibit in the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, Oregon.



I was invited to participate in a monthly event at OMSI called "After Dark". After Dark is a different theme each month and for the month of November the featured theme was DIY. So I gathered my supplies together and set up an exhibit that taught museum goers how to marble paper for art, scrapbook, collage, and even bookmarks.



I brought an old school overhead projector with me and projected my ebru tray on to a screen so people could see what I was doing without crowding.


Plus it looks really cool.

I brought a couple extra trays with me and set them up for the museum patrons to learn and play on.



My exhibit was set up in the planetarium wing of the museum so there was star lights and a full moon glowing over head as people learned how to make monoprints of galactic color swirls on water.



I also set up an art display of my ebru for people to see what can de done with the medium. When I found out I was going to be in the planetarium I put together a collection of weird abstract ebru pieces for the display. Some where quite appropriately cosmic.


A galaxy far far away.

All and all it was a ton of fun, and I look forward to using the projector much more down the line.

Peace & Love,
-Danny

Bom Shiva!

My latest embellished ebru project is focused on the Hindu deity Lord Shiva.

I have been working on this project for a few months now. Here are some of the process shots.

Hand painting the Sri Shiva screen on the floor while Chelsea Rose paints her tribute to Lakshmi.


Double layer ebru prints ready to be screen printed on.

Some know him as the Destroyer, and others know him as the Transformer. But Shiva spends most of his existence as the sage does, perched high in the mountains in a deep meditation.


original handmade two layer acrylic ebru (turkish paper marbling) mono-print embellished with Sri Shiva screen print on cotton paper. 19" x 24"

Shiva represents truth, wisdom, and humility.

Sitting in the lotus position with hands resting is the traditional gesture of meditation. The trident seen in his right hand represents the trinity of creation, protection, and destruction. While the drum in the left hand is said to be the source of the first sound from which all of creation resonated. Two more of his hands are reaching above his head with the index fingers touching the thumbs in the gesture of the Vitarka Mudra, a seal of knowledge and enlightenment.


The ultimate in self control, Shiva is the Lord of the Yogis.

Shiva is always seen with a cobra wrapped around his neck, showing his mastery over fear and death. The snake is wrapped around his neck three times symbolizing control over mind, body, and ego.

Shiva also has three lines of ash on his forehead which represent the mastery over the three stages of existence, birth, life, and death, and through the mastery of seeing beyond the illusions of this existence, the universe is cleansed of the impurity of desire through Shiva's third eye.

The third eye peering out of his forehead emits a cleansing flame from which the pure is reborn. No evil can escape the flame of the fully opened third eye of shiva.

In the top of his hair lies the goddess Ganga, from which the river Gangas flows down Shivas dreadlocks to the earth, where it purifies the people, as a statement of selfless compassion. Shiva is also associated with the waning moon which is a symbol of healing.


original handmade two layer acrylic ebru (turkish paper marbling) mono-print embellished with Sri Shiva screen print on cotton paper. 19" x 24"

Om Shiva Shankara Hari Hari Ganga! Bom Shiva!

~Other News
• on the topic of transformation, I recently used some ebru in the cover art for the new Bone And All podcast featuring Chelsea Rose's spoken word poetry, CHAOS CREATURE. Listen>>>

Chelsea Rose leads an exploration through consciousness and evolution.

• Also, later this month I will be doing an Ebru demo at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) as part of the monthly "OMSI After Dark" event. If you live in the Portland, OR. area, this is your chance to learn more about ebru first hand. See you there!

Peace & Love,
-Danny