If you care to remember, I have been drawing mandalas from scratch. I’ve also been expanding my skill set designing and cutting on my Glowforge laser cutter. I’ve seen several 3D mandalas online where the design has been cut from layers of wood, with variable complexity and some true artists whose work must have taken days, if not weeks, to do.

My first attempt at a layered mandala, using 1.5mm thick birch ply:

It was a satisfying result, and I learnt the workflow that I had to use to create the different layers in Adobe Illustrator (which I use to design all my laser cuts). However, it was simple and thus missing the complexity of the more ‘artistic’ pieces I have seen on Pinterest.

So, this afternoon I have spent several hours converting this 2D mandala I drew back in March to its 3D counterpart.

And here it is! It’s 11″/27cm in diameter and made of 6 layers. I’ve not decided how to frame it, but a deep frame is clearly required (Ikea anyone?).

UPDATE:

I’ve now mounted and framed it…