Fixin' Leaks and Leeks

Watch out. One of Willie Wonka’s Everlasting Gobstoppers got stuck inside an angry, red sand worm, and it’s about to be gloriously regurgitated onto the Universe. Or, it’s a cabbage. Or, it’s a wild, wild flower, its petals caught in a gusty breeze, all the springs sprung.

However you look at it, whatever I’ve made/unleashed is coming at you in a spinning, hypnotizing, psychedelic dance—and it smells like mint, cherries, bananas, blueberries, oranges, and something else I can’t quite place.

Welcome to my mandala project! This, right here, is my attempt at a mandala, made with those Mr. Sketch scented markers—so there’s a lot going on. Also, I can’t decide whether I like the front the most or the back. Near or far? A or B? Coming or going? I guess I like it better when it’s going—on the way out—kind of faded, more subtle.

If I look closely enough, I can also detect a hint of a reflection of my digestive system. (I just drank some tomato juice, which I love, so I only have myself to blame when I complain about “all that acid.”) Okay, maybe it’s more than a hint. Or, it’s Nate’s colonoscopy, which I casually mentioned in another blog post a few weeks ago. Just so everyone knows: he did great! Not one polyp—as you can clearly see.

In any case, to achieve this fine specimen of a drawing, I watched a YouTube video about making mandalas, very precisely, with a paper plate template—or, as the video also mentioned, I could just make one freehand. So, I compromised. Using a Sharpie, I traced the outline of a plate I didn’t care too much about in my kitchen cabinet. Then, I guestimated where the center would be and a made a dot. From the dot, I drew squiggly lines, creating uneven “slices” through the circle. Then, I just started drawing bubble shapes around the center, a few lines, and some cloud-like shapes around the edges. After that, I ripped open my Mr. Sketch scented markers and went to town with bold, creepy colors.

The whole thing maybe took me about ten minutes, but those were the most relaxing ten minutes I’ve ever spent making something, so I highly recommend this sand worm/colonoscopy/digestive tract/cabbage project.

This project looks great hanging in:

• the doctor’s office
• the bedroom
• the kitchen
• the man-cave
• the she-shed
• the dentist’s office
• the crawlspace

Your Turn: What’s a relaxing project you’ve done lately?