Mandala XCV

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Artist: Susan Lenz

Title: Mandala XCV

Attribution: Mandala XCV, 2021, Susan Lenz

Year: 2021

Materials: Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt. Found objects include: Two clock faces; copper pastry molds; shower curtain hangers; assorted bottle caps; keys; laminated Tampa Nugget cigar bands and late 1930s/early 1940s Christmas seals; wavy hair curlers; green casino chips; blue and white plastic bottle lids; sewing machine bobbins; buttons; and colorful, vintage Christmas light reflectors.

Dimensions: 38" x 38"

Image Statement: As a visual artist using found objects, I work in partnership with my materials to articulate the accumulated memory inherent in discarded things. I use multiples of seemingly mundane items to put into perspective the abundance of life and the capacity to keep things as if for a "rainy day". Paper clips, keys, bottle caps, buttons, nails, plastic spoons, and old clock parts are combined with dominoes, film reels, old toys, and holiday decorations. These and so many other, often vintage items, are repetitively hand-stitched into meditative patterns on sections of old quilts, bringing an extraordinary new life to otherwise everyday things. This work started during the pandemic's "sheltering in place" and speaks to the universal desire for a place of belonging and sense of home.