Art After Dark

Painted CD and Scratching Tools

My local library hosts a free "Art After Dark" program for adults.  This month was all about scratched CD art.

The library had a stash of old CDs and DVDs that they had their volunteers paint the shiny holographic cd side black using acrylic paint.  Each participant received a painted cd, pencil for doodling and their choice of scratching implements:  nail, plastic fork or paper clip.

First, I used the pencil to divide and mark eight arcs.  When it came time to start scratching in my design, I first tried the nail, which was a bit difficult to grip but produced consistent results.  After trying both the fork and paper clip, which buckled a little producing inconsistent scratches, I returned to the nail to etch in a mandala.

Doug joined the fun, although he claims not to be artistic.  He too created a mandala, that resembled a spider's web.  I especially love the pebbles/pearls he etched into the outer ring...very quilty!!

Hers and His Scratched Art

Finished Scratched CD Mandala

 As I was wrapping up my mandala, I became aware that one of my neighbors was trying to get my attention.  She noticed the stack of quilting books that I had checked out and asked if I was a quilter too.  We chatted more about our quilting experiences and the vibrant quilting community here in the Bay Area.  I invited her to check out an upcoming quilt guild meeting and gave her one of my business cards to stay in touch.  I will be sure to keep a look out for her at our next meeting!!

What a perfectly delightful zen-filled evening!!