Laughing All The Way

Switching things up from geometric masking to screen prints and stenciling. Variety is the key to life after all. Got to keep the process fresh and make the most of my work.

Laughing Buddha, Hotei, Budai, the Future Buddha. No matter how you know him, he is a pure symbol of contentment and the essence of Zen. However he was always humble, gaining joy from his work and not asking for much more from life.


Just for a laugh.

I spent a couple weeks painting the design into the screen mesh.



Once I had the screen all painted in and ready for printing, I was ready to marble some paper. After a great marbling session I made some test prints of the Laughing buddha. Then I cut out the silhouette of the design from the test prints, and that was how I made the stencil for the color fill on the Laughing Buddha. I used some Montana spray paint to fill in the color. Then lined up my screen and started printing.


The big reveal.


How do you Zen.



In Other News
----Workshops----

There will be a paper marbling workshop at the Loaded Brush in Portland, Oregon on July 28th.

I have my second paper marbling workshop at Art Supply Warehouse's Catalyst Gallery in Orange County, California. This August 22nd, We will be hand marbling paper at basic and advanced levels.

I will be teaching a workshop at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry during the PDX Maker Faire on September 13th.

*sign-up for workshops in advance.

Are you interested in commissioning custom art or booking an ebru lesson, workshop, demo, party, or performance? Contact me at art@dannyebru.com

Peace & Love,
- Danny

Meanwhile

While I was occupied with the epic commission project for Moen I was also quite busy with my own side projects. At the time It was unable to share, but now I have the time to do a recap.


Be aware of now.

I was actually just finishing this project when the Moen gig started. However this is the first time I am able to talk about it.

My intention was to create an image of a monk praying with his Mala(prayer beads) and opening his third eye. But first I had to stretch a screen.



Then I started by cleaning up a sketch on the computer. I printed it out then I outlined the image on to the screen I stretched.



Painting in the design on the screen took a couple weeks. But before I knew it I was ready to print.


Give it a pull.

Once again I combined layers of masked marbling with screen printing to achieve my finished look. But this time around I went one step beyond. I used liquid frisket to paint a lotus design that would reveal itself through the layers of marbling without the outline of a screen print to define it. This was my first attempt at utilizing hand painted frisket instead of hand cut paper masks. In the end I am ecstatic with the results.


Peace comes from within.

Many times I find myself creating small projects to break up the bigger projects. So while I was creating intense amounts of blue paper for Moen I was also knocking out little pieces for local group art shows.


Bill Murray Show, at Good Gallery.


Bling Show, at Splendaporium Gallery.

I even broke new ground by starting to marble old vinyl records. I marbled a small stack of vinyl and painted Mudra hands on a couple of them with acrylic paint.


Vinyl Show, at Future Shock.

Creating and showing artwork wasn't all I was up to.

I also hosted two sold out ebru workshops.


Paper Marbling at the Loaded Brush.

The first workshop was a paper class. It was a blast as usual.

The second workshop was a silk scarf class. I had four full scarf sized trays in operation at this workshop. Thats a lot of liquid size.


Silk Marbling at the Loaded Brush.


More silk Marbling at the Loaded Brush.

So that about sums up my hectic fall/winter. I am just now starting to catch back up with the world. I will be starting new projects soon, and I have a couple more workshops on the horizon.

In Other News
----Workshops----

I have my second paper marbling workshop at the Spark Arts Center in NE Portland, Oregon. Coming up on February 13th 7-9pm. We will be hand marbling paper to the theme of Valintines Day while enjoying sips of wine. It's a date!
*sign-up for workshops in advance.

I also have a paper marbling workshop coming up on March 15th at the Loaded Brush in SE Portland, Oregon. It will be fun for all!.

Are you interested in commissioning custom art or booking an ebru lesson, workshop, demo, party, or performance? Contact me at art@dannyebru.com

Peace & Love,
- Danny

Knotty Ebru

Everyone loves fancy knots!


handmade original, acrylic ebru (turkish paper marbling) on kozo paper.

The Celtics receive a lot of fame for their decorative knots. The Triquetra, a three cornered knot, being the most recognizable. The Triquetra has come to symbolize many threefold balance concepts such as the Triple Goddess or the Holy Trinity.


handmade original, acrylic ebru (turkish paper marbling) on kozo paper.

However, the Celts were not the only ones designing endless knots. Cord wrapping and weaving influenced artist and craftsmen in a variety of cultures across the world.


handmade original, acrylic ebru (turkish paper marbling) on kozo paper.

In India the Sri Vatsa, or Buddha Knot as its better known in the west, is a meditation tool symbolizing unity and eternity.


handmade original, double layered acrylic ebru (turkish paper marbling) on kozo paper.

Thats all the knotty ebru I have for now, but I look forward to trying more knot designs down the line.

- In Other News -

• I am spreading the healing vibes by displaying a few framed ebru pieces at the Portland Alternative Clinic in the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon.

• I have an ebru workshop this weekend at The Village Gallery Of Arts. The next paper marbling class will be held on July 26th at the same location. It will be an all levels class so all are welcome.

• My premier fabric marbling class will be held on August 17th at The Village Gallery Of Arts. Once again it will be an all levels class, so all are welcome.

Please sign-up for my ebru workshops in advance by contacting me at art@dannyebru.com, or the village Gallery at (503)644-8001.


Marbling workshop at Village Gallery of Arts.

Interested in booking an ebru lesson or workshop? Contact me at art@dannyebru.com

Peace & Love,
- Danny

Focusing Divine Energy

The new ebru pieces I have been working on are embellished with the Japanese Jumon, Choku Rei (sho-ku-ray).


Handmade original, double layer acrylic ebru (turkish paper marbling) on kozo paper.

The Choku Rei is a symbol used in Reiki Healing to increase the flow of energy through the practitioner, thus increasing the healing potential. Choku Rei loosely means, focus divine energy here, and is informally referred to as the Power symbol.

Reiki roughly translated means, divine energy.  I see Ebru as a representation of the same energy.


The Choku Rei focuses the flow of the divine energy.

These pieces were made by utilizing a paper masking technique which requires me to go through the ebru process twice to define the symbol.




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

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

Abstract Expressions and the Buddha

One of my favorite things about ebru, is the mediums ability to capture abstract visual representation of fluid movement. I think this recent piece of mine is a good example of that.

original handmade acrylic ebru mono-print on kozo paper. 8.5"x11" by Danny

Another name given to ebru is water painting. This is partly due to the fluid effect, but is mostly due to the fact that ebru is actually made by floating paint on top of a fluid referred to as size. Size is the name given to water that has a thickening agent, like carrageenan, added to it.

Using the right technique of pushing and pulling the paint across the size creates lines that lead the eye from one point to the next, visually suggesting movement.

original handmade acrylic ebru mono-print on cotton paper. 8"x10" by Danny

I love getting swept up in the movement of the abstract ebru pieces. I find them to be a great way to add life to a room.

I have also been working on embellished ebru pieces featuring a three color screen print of Buddha.

"Abhaya Buddha Ebru", original handmade acrylic ebru mono-print with three color Buddha screen print on cotton paper. 12"x18" by Danny

This is a very positive piece to have around the house or place of work, and will surely bring light into where ever it finds a home.

Every ebru piece I use I make by hand in my home studio. I also make all screen prints by hand too. Not only do I build the frames and stretch screen mesh crossed them, I also hand paint the print design onto the screen/screens. Then I do all the screen printing myself.

thats all for now.

Peace & Love,
-danny

Danny Ebru enters the Blogosphere - Fearless

And so it has begun...

How shall we get acquainted?
Lets start out with showcasing a current project in the works:

My current embellished ebru piece featuring the Abhaya Mudra Buddha:

"Fearless Ebru", original handmade acrylic ebru mono-print on kozo paper with 3 color buddha screen print. 12.5"x19" by Danny (more to come in varying print colors and ebru designs)

The Abhaya mudra is the gesture of the raised right hand with the palm facing outward. Abhaya in sanskrit means fearlessness, and the gesture symbolizes peace, protection, and the dispelling of fear. the Abhaya mudra is very important in Buddhism, it is said that when the Buddha came out of meditation after reaching enlightenment he stood and displayed the Abhaya mudra as a gesture of the absence of fear. The Abhaya mudra is great for warding off fear.

The left hand of the Buddha is portraying the Varada mudra. It also known as the boon granting gesture, symbolizing charity, patience, and compassion. the Varada mudra aids in breaking the delusion of pride.

The combination of the two mudras is also referred to as Segan Semui-in, or in japan its Yogan Semui-in. With both the Abhaya and Varada mudras the Segan Semui-in represents transformation and success.

All and all the "Fearless Ebru" is a very positive piece to have around the house or place of work, and will surely bring light into where ever it finds a home.

In other news, version one of dannyebru.com has gone live.
check out the official Danny Ebru website

More to come shortly.

Peace n Love
-Danny