I am a creative soul. It’s the air I breathe. I am always looking for new ways to create. In school, I studied oil painting, ceramics, photography, and theatrical costuming. I discovered a local maker space that offered all kinds of new technology, which I was eager to learn and absorb. The laser cutters were especially appealing and presented an amazing opportunity to use materials I hadn’t explored before.

I initially planned on using the laser to cut out my corset bodies, which are constructed with two layers of duck canvas. They were time consuming to cut out and stressful on my hands. I thought the laser could make short work of it but I kept setting the fabric on fire! So I scrapped that idea and waited for inspiration to come.

On Thanksgiving of 2018, I went to my mother in law’s and when she pulled out 12 trivets to serve dinner on, lightning struck! I began making functional trivets out of two layers of 1/4″ birch sheets. All of my designs featured radial symmetry, which has a special place in my heart. I utilized flowers, animals, musical instruments, and other symbols in my trivets. And I’ve never run out of gifts for my mother in law! She uses my trivets every day. I then started making keychains, cutting boards, and more.

My fine art wall mandalas evolved out of these items as I became more comfortable with designing on the computer. I also needed an infusion of color, as everything in my shop was previously tan. Each mandala is designed using CorelDraw. I can preview my color choices on the monitor and decide which layers will be what colors. Each mandala consists of as many as 12 layers. I hand paint or stain each sheet of 1/8″ birch and cut them out one at a time with a 60watt CO2 laser. Once each layer is cut, I carefully glue the layers together to make beautiful one of a kind pieces of artwork. I seal them with polyurethane to protect the wood.

My influence for these designs are rooted in sacred geometry, nature, traditional henna tattoos, and architecture. Everywhere I go, I see a mandala design in the making. I believe the ability for my mind to organize shapes and colors into universally pleasing motifs is one of my greatest strengths and I enjoy sharing it with others.

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https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100074505468489

https://www.instagram.com/karendeguirecreations/