Mandala LXXXIV

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Artist: Susan Lenz

Title: Mandala LXXXIV

Attribution: Mandala LXXXIV, 2021, Susan Lenz

Year: 2021

Materials: Found objects hand-stitched to a single block of a vintage quilt. Found objects include: a glass ring from a table lamp over a clock gear; four, orange plastic circles cut from a six-pack beer yoke; keys; laminated Tampa Nugget cigar bands; vintage slot machine tokens; laminated 2-cent stamps; silver-plated spoons; blue water bottle caps; eight brass shower curtain hangers; four Samuel Adams Octoberfest bottle caps; brass screw eyes; four inlaid backgammon pieces; eight, very well used blue-handled paint brushes from the Mad Platter in Columbia, SC; and buttons

Dimensions: Custom framed. As a diamond: 16 1/4" x 16 1/4"; as a square: 22 7/8" x 22 7/8"

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.