Finally got to a layered mandala

9 layers of 1/8” Baltic birch plywood.

Total size is 10.9 x 10.9” x 1.125”.

Integrated keyhole hanger in back.

Aligned with 0.0625” brass pins through the bottom 8 layers. Top layer glued on manually to hide the pins.

Painted with matte acrylic. Each layer is progressively deeper blue.

Final topcoat of matte clear acrylic sealer to protect the paint.

Side note: painting the edges of something like this is the worst. Takes forever. Maybe the key is an airbrush but previous posts have said that coverage from an airbrush isn’t great. In the future I might try painting/sealing/masking the panels first then cutting and leave the edges dark.

I mean the painted edges are my favorite part though. There may just be no easy solution to this one. Custom colored acrylic would be the best.

Not my design, I figure mandalas have been done to death and I didn’t need to reinvent them. The only area I felt like trying to innovate in is the decoration aspect.

No, the photos are not my best effort. I’m in a hurry today so you get what you pay for :slight_smile:

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Awesome. Still on my to do list. Love the blue.

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That looks fantastic, nice project!

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Nice! And looks like the sun finally came out :grin:

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It’s already gone (hence my hurry to take pics :slight_smile: ). Atlanta’s in a grey cycle, it’s been like a deleted scene from The Road over here for the past few weeks.

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That came out very well!

Originally from N.C. so I know about weeks of cloud cover. The 300+ days of sunshine here in Colorado is a favorite aspect of the high plains. Also the lack of humidity = few bugs, and the North side of the house doesn’t turn green like my Mother’s house in Atlanta did.

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It’s so very pretty! I really like the shades of a single color. It gives a lot of depth and subtlety.

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This is fantastic. I think custom colored acrylic (if it was available for purchase) would have made this ever so much easier.

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Nice work! Now we know why you want custom colored acrylic - sure would save some hassle. I too bought one of those designs and am still in the pondering stage. Maybe card stock?

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Yeah, that would be cool. I wanted depth for this one though.

Hmm maybe clear or white opaque acrylic with cardstock glued to it, then cut? Oh dang I like this idea actually and have a ton of cardstock in lots of colors.

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Now that’s a brilliant thought - adding depth by using clear acrylic behind the card stock!

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As a bonus, this would be begging for backlighting.

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Of course!

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Amazingly cool as usual.

What would be very cool would be to pour it from the center in multiple colors like expanding clouds and then cut it thus :grin:

I think Teflon in solid sheets with a hole in the middle and a means of pumping the liquid in with the air out the corners.

Years ago we were making curved safety glass for yachts and learned important lessons. Without some sort of scavenger chemical or “wetting agent,” even the best vacuum would leave a cloud of the tiniest bubbles, Also vertical pressure is real, the glass had to be laid flat, which freaked out the boss as even a 32nd inch thick would provide the same hydraulic pressure as several inches thick.

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Awesome color choices. Nice work.

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You’re totally right. Someone who is into acrylic pour painting should try that (I’ve not gotten my toes in that water yet.) It has the potential to be really cool.

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Good work.

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Love the blues! It is so beautiful!

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Stunning! The painted edges definitely set these layered pieces off as fine art. I will eventually make one of these… but I will NOT be painting all of those edges, if I paint at all.

I’m thinking smaller, and natural woods, maybe stained a bit… My challenge will be to either plan far enough in advance for all the cut outs to be used (jewelry likely) so that they are ready to go when cut out, and not saved to be cut again later… Because there are some cool shapes that will make cool earrings in all of these things I see. (Just can’t turn this neurosis off!)

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I’m sure you’ve thought of this, but if you had used 1/8" solid wood rather than plywood, the painting might have been easier. The edge of plywood absorbs paint too well. Just a thought. Beautiful work!