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

Double Exposure

I have been working on a bunch of new pieces lately.

combing the acrylic paint across the size.

The pieces I have been working on are double layered mono-prints. So every piece of paper gets put through the whole ebru process twice.


and it looks twice as cool.

The plus side of double the work comes from overlaying the patterns, which brings a lot of new life to the pieces. The hues vary as the two layers interact and define new details to delight in.


kinda like double exposed film.

In other news,
I am also working on a new embellished ebru piece. It will combine an original Sri Shiva screen print design with double layered ebru.

Also, we at Lucid Optic Lab have been working hard on making some art pendants. We made a few pendants out of select embellished ebru pieces of mine, as well as a few original ebru pendants check out what we have in stock here.

Until next time.

Peace & Love,
Danny

A Date To Remember

Earlier this year I was participating in the Portland SE Art Walk. While there I had plenty of time to hang out with the other artist around me. As a group we noticed that a bunch of us created mandala and yantra art. Which lead us to decide to do a group project involving mandalas. We ended up deciding on creating a mandala wall calendar for next year.

We came up with a 12 month wall calendar featuring art from five different artist, Joanne Licardo, Roger Long, Mark Marasco, Danny Rodriguez, and Nobuaki Suzuki.

combining the work of several independent artist with the wisdom of traditional symbolism and sacred geometry we mindfully created a calendar to enhance the quality of the lives it touches through its presence.

The 2012 wall calendar we made is titled "Mandalas & Yantras, sacred geometry art". It is 8"x 8" with a saddle stitch binding, and was printed and bound in Portland, Oregon by the artist.



I made a three layer ebru sri yantra that is featured in January. Plus I made a two layer ebru agni yantra, it is the third mandala down on the right.

Calendars are a helpful tool. They are great for planning and logging birthdays. Honestly I wouldn't remember half the events I partake in without one.

Plus this one comes with a full year supply of Mandalas and Yantras to look at and meditate on.

We marked the days with U.S. and Christian holidays and observances as well as Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, Rastafarian, and Celtic traditions. It really was fascinating to learn all the different holidays and see how they related with each other. It will surely be interesting to be aware of the holidays as they come to pass. I will see how many new traditions I will obtain over the next year.

The calendar is currently available through a presale in my etsy shop. If you order a calendar during the presale you get 25% off the regular cost. This means the early bird saves five bucks by getting a calendar for $15 instead of $20. The presale ends october 5th, 2011.

To celebrate the release of the calendar we are having a mandala art show on October 6th at Urban Grind in Portland, OR.


We have invited many other artist to show off their mandalas and yantras in the show as well as including all the pieces featured in the calendar. There will be a wide variety of mediums in the show including ebru, acrylic painting, oil painting, sand painting, pen and ink, and digital art. Plus during the opening will be the last chance to get the wall calendar at the discounted rate.

Grab your copy of Mandalas & Yantras 2012 calendar, then grab a couple more for gifts!

Peace & Love,
Danny

Grow With The Flow

I am making a lot of abstract ebru lately.


original handmade acrylic ebru mono-print on cotton paper.

I made this piece by using a combination of traditional ebru technique and traditional suminagashi technique. I love the colors in this piece, and the perspective really draws me in. I am also spotting tons of hidden faces throughout. I bet this piece would do great in a creative space.


original handmade acrylic ebru mono-print on cotton paper.

With a much looser design and a minimal color palette this gel-git ebru is all about balance and simplicity.


original handmade acrylic ebru mono-print on kozo paper.

A tarakli ebru full of blues and purples. This piece is like a deep river, calm, yet full of flowing movement.

I have been on a bit of a blue kick lately. All the blue is quite refreshing during the heat of summer. You can check out more of my work here.

I have also finished another buddha screen print piece.

original handmade acrylic ebru (Turkish paper marbling) mono-print on kozo paper with 3 color buddha screen print. 12.5"x19".

the ebru in this piece has a ripple effect to it know as the spanish wave. Its a cool effect that is created by altering the printing portion of the ebru process.

I am very busy creating so there will be plenty more to share next time. Until then.

Peace & Love,
Danny