ScrantonMade: Arts on the Square Artist Spotlight: Meet Ariell from Mandalas by Ariell

We recently discovered Mandalas by Ariell and were blown away by the beauty and detail of her work! We’re so excited that she is going to be part of Arts on the Square!

Tell us a little about yourself and how Mandalas by Ariell came about?

I have always been crafty and I use to paint before having kids. I found myself building things more often, then painting the last few years. I had some large floor boards from our first house that we bought that I took with us when we moved. I knew that I wanted to paint something on these boards to put over our fireplace, so I decided I was going to paint a mandala. It turned out great and friends and family wanted me to paint more. Painting for me was my therapy, after I had my 3rd child, Zoey I found myself suffering from Postpartum depression. Painting for me is a type of meditation and it helped me deal with my depression. When you have kids and give all your energy to them, sometimes you lose a part of yourself that I feel is so important to your happiness. So I posted some of my pieces online and like wildfire people wanted to purchase them. That was only 6 short months ago. I'm truly blessed to be doing something I love.

Have you always known that you were an artist?

I still feel awkward with the title artist. I have known of my artistic abilities since I was a young age, but it still seems strange to me to be referred in that aspect. I remember having some artwork in shows growing up. To be honest, I referred to myself as more of a carpenter because I have been building things in my free time for many years. I took my love of wood and painting, and it turned into Mandalas by Ariell.

Your mandalas are so detailed. Tell us a little bit about your process and how you bring a design to life.

I use a lot of inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram. Each piece is painted on wood, so I have to cut, sand, stain, distress and assemble the pieces together. Recently I have been screen printing the outline of the mandala on the wood but for all my custom orders I draw by hand from the start. For this process, I find the middle point and draw all the circles and lines with my compass and protractor. Every mandala starts in the middle, referred to as the seed. The seed is where is all begins. Every mandala uses geometry and basically I draw or paint the same shape in every section. The detail work is always my favorite part because it completes the piece and makes it special. Some of my pieces can take up to 10 hours to complete.

Where else can our readers find your work?

I will be a vender at Split Rock's Wine Festival June 20-21st, of course at Arts on the Square and a few more shows coming up. My Facebook page, Etsy and my online store will also all be stocked up in the next couple weeks.