Research

For a theme for my mandala I have chosen to begin with a music theme, specifically looking at the piano and its inner workings. The different of a piano (strings, hammers, keys etc) can easily form intricate patterns, which I can use as inspiration for the mandala.
I began using piano keys as a solid border to the mandala. I decided to give a slightly softer appearance to the border by including the f-holes of a cello in the outer pattern.
From the research I did I was inspired to create a pattern based on the piano strings, which are nailed to the piano. I used the pen tool and vertical brush to imitate the twists in the strings. However, when the picture was copied around the madala the angle of the brush did not remain constant and a gap became visible in the picture. I also decided the strings were dominating the work too much, making it hard to create anything closer to the centre.